Operations Team: Head of Finance

About CEA

The Centre for Effective Altruism’s mission is to build and nurture a global community of people who are thinking carefully about the world’s biggest problems and taking impactful action to solve them.
To foster this community, we run conferences, support hundreds of local groups, and provide online resources and forums for discussion.

About this role

The Head of Finance is the most senior finance professional in the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA).
CEA aims to improve the world by supporting the growth and development of the effective altruism community. Effective altruism is a growing social movement dedicated to using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible. CEA is also the fiscal sponsor of 80,000 Hours, Giving What We Can, EA Funds, GovAI and the Forethought Foundation.
CEA makes grants to hundreds of high-impact projects, individuals, and organisations via programs such as EA Funds, CEA community building grants and groups support funding, and Forethought fellowships.
The organisation is also rapidly growing, whose income is doubling roughly every two years. The operations team doubled in size in April 2022 alone. This pace of growth is formidable and shows no sign of slowing down.
We are looking for a world-class finance professional who is comfortable with modern finance methods, is a creative problem solver and a strong people manager.
They will need to lead a finance function that supports the scale and growth rate of CEA, bring the financial systems to the next level, work well with the Board, and be excited about being part of a social and philosophical movement that is addressing the most challenging problems in the world today.
Key Responsibilities
  • Management of the Finance Team
    • Support the team, by providing guidance and problem solving
    • Set clear goals for the team, and manage their capacity
  • Design of Financial Systems
    • Design streamlined systems to save staff time
    • Ensure that our accounting infrastructure remains able to handle our growing scale and oversee any developments or upgrades as required
    • Develop and implement systems to efficiently analyze cost-effectiveness of programs, and other questions
  • Oversight of Financial Controls
    • Ensure that organisations within the legal umbrella are in good financial health
    • Ensure that our financial systems mitigate any risk of fraud, loss or theft
  • Investment of Assets
    • Manage $50m of reserves, which could generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for programs each year
    • Oversee the organisation’s asset register which in time may include significant property investments
The ideal candidate will be:
  • Experienced in finance: So that you can draw on your previous experience in complex financial situations and develop strong systems to support CEA’s growth.
  • A good people manager: You will be responsible for ensuring the output of the Finance Team is to a high standard.
  • Highly-organised: You are able to manage a competing set of priorities well.
  • Committed: We’re looking for someone who is excited to stick with us as our programs grow, and who wants to commit for at least two years.
  • Clear thinking and analytical
  • A capable problem-solver: In addition to needing the intellectual capacity for solving complex problems, you will need the leadership ability to bear the burden of decision making and see that solutions are found.
Salary, Benefits, and Location
You can find out more about our approach to compensation here. There may be flexibility in salary for exceptional candidates with significant experience.
Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible work hours, a £5,000 annual professional development allowance, a £5,000 mental health support allowance, extended parental leave, ergonomic equipment, 3% pension contribution, 25 days of paid vacation, and more.
Some regular presence in the Oxford office is desirable but not essential. The operations team meet in-person twice a year.
Application Process
Carnelian Search has been appointed to lead this search.
This is a search-led process rather than an application-led process. There is therefore no application form. If you would like to discuss this role, please contact CEA@carneliansearch.com with your CV.
Shortlisting is scheduled for 27th July and interviews with CEA will take place in the first week of August 2022.
We are happy to consider applicants from overseas and may consider visa sponsorship if needed. CEA serves a global community, and our team works with people and organisations all over the world. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, and we encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. We especially encourage applications from women, gender minorities, and people of colour who are excited about contributing to our mission. We are an equal opportunity employer.
This position is now closed.
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