Fractional Finance Director

Chartered Institute of Public Relations Fractional Finance Director

Role Description and Person Specification

Role Description

The CIPR is seeking an experienced Finance Director and Qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAE or ICAS) to undertake a project in Q1, Jan 2026 (earlier start possible).

Background:

The CIPR is embarking on an important period of development. Alongside ensuring strong financial governance, we are committed to strengthening long-term sustainability, diversifying income streams, and investing in initiatives that will grow and support our membership.

The CIPR has traditionally budgeted year to year and has not had a medium term financial strategy. The Institute is a fairly simple cash-based business – it owns no property and has no investments. The existing finance function is well-managed and the CIPR has had consistently clean audit reports for a number of years.

The Board wants to begin moving towards a medium term financial planning process that will frame each annual budget and allow the Board to take a more strategic approach to the Institute's business.

The current Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Financial Team lack the experience and capacity to lead this work. For this reason, we are seeking a highly experienced Fractional Finance Director to provide strategic financial leadership and to work with us to develop a financial sustainability plan until the end of 2029 alongside a framework for renewing this periodically.

This plan will ensure that the CIPR has the financial resilience, income diversity, and reserves strategy to support its ambitions for growth and professional leadership. The postholder will work with the CEO, Honorary Treasurer, and Board to design forward-looking financial models, assess risks and opportunities, and create a practical roadmap that balances ambition with financial prudence.

Tasks/outputs

1. Lead the development of a financial sustainability plan to the end of 2029, setting clear priorities for income generation, cost management, and reserves policy.

2. Provide forward-looking financial analysis, scenario planning, and stress-testing to support long-term strategic decisions.

3. Advise the CEO and Board on financial opportunities and risks in relation to CIPR's strategic objectives.

4. Present clear, evidence-based financial insights to the Board to inform strategic decision-making.

5. Work closely with the CEO and Honorary Treasurer to strengthen Board-level oversight of and accountability for the financial sustainability of the Institute

6. Coach the SLT on how to work to the plan, and how to renew it on an annual basis.

7. Support the Finance Manager in the development of the 2027 budget, so that the detailed financial plans for 2027 align with the financial sustainability strategy.

Timing

Estimated 40 days @£500 per day with flexible timing. Milestones will be agreed for the project with the successful applicant. Key reporting points:

3 April 2026 – submit initial report to Audit and Risk Committee. The emphasis in this initial period will be working with the SLT to ensure the right questions are asked as we prepare to build the 2027 budget.

14 May 2026 – attend the Audit & Risk Committee meeting

4 June 2026 – attend the Board meeting

4 August 2026 – submit the second report to Audit and Risk Committee

3 September 2026 – attend the Audit and Risk Committee meeting

Person specification

• Qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAE or ICAS)
• Experience working in membership associations
• Track record in developing financial strategies for similar organisations
• Demonstrable familiarity with the operating environment of similar organisations

Job Type: Freelance

Pay: £500.00 per day

Work Location: Hybrid remote in London EC2M 3TY