Finance Director

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Role Level: Level 7 – Executive Leadership Team (ELT)

Location: Special Olympics Ireland, Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 (Hybrid Options)

Role Purpose

The Finance Director will provide strategic leadership, governance and executive oversight of Special Olympics Ireland's financial strategy, financial management, statutory compliance, control environment and finance operations. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and a direct report to the CEO, the Finance Director will ensure that the organisation has the financial insight, effective controls, institutional capability and professional standards required to deliver its strategic objectives compliantly and sustainably.

A critical focus of this role is leading the next stage of development and digital modernisation of the finance function. The Finance Director will set and sponsor the finance transformation roadmap, approve the future finance operating model and ensure that suitably skilled resources are accountable for the design, implementation and adoption of automated financial workflows and improved reporting systems. The successful candidate will set clear standards for accuracy, service and delivery, while developing a strategic, technology-enabled, and highly analytical finance function.

Strategic Context

Special Olympics Ireland's 2026–2028 Strategic Plan represents a critical bridging period prioritising financial stabilisation, operational consolidation and digital enablement. The finance function currently relies on a number of manual, Excel-heavy workflows and administrative processes, creating avoidable administrative burden and material key-person dependencies that constrain efficiency and scalability.

The incoming Finance Director will lead the next stage of development of the finance function, establishing a modern financial architecture, strengthening organisational capability, developing the skills and confidence of team members and implementing proportionate systems, processes and controls that support efficiency, compliance and sustainable delivery.

Key Responsibilities

A. Finance Transformation & Digital Modernisation

Set and sponsor a comprehensive finance transformation roadmap, approve the future finance operating model and ensure that suitably skilled resources are accountable for replacing Excel-heavy shadow spreadsheets with controlled, automated workflows.

Lead the evaluation and selection of appropriate financial systems, secure approval for investment, and provide executive sponsorship and governance for their implementation, integration, and effective adoption.

Establish clear expectations for process efficiency, automation, data quality and service delivery, holding process owners accountable for reducing manual administration and improving financial workflows.

Define the organisation's management-information framework and Board reporting requirements, ensuring that finance personnel deliver timely, accurate and decision-useful reports, forecasts and dashboards from controlled data sources.

Ensure that the finance function provides responsive, decision-useful financial information to other departments and maintains controlled sources of key financial information to support decision-making.

B. Strategic Financial Leadership & Sustainability

Collaborate closely with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team to develop and execute financial strategies that support stabilisation, overhead absorption, and long-term sustainability.

Lead the organisation's annual and multi-annual financial planning framework, ensuring that robust budgets, forecasts and financial scenarios are prepared, challenged, consolidated and presented to the CEO, ELT, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FARC) and Board for consideration and approval.

Identify key financial risks to the organisation and ensure that these, together with proportionate mitigating actions, are reported to the CEO and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FARC) and Board as appropriate.

Provide executive oversight of cash flow, reserves, investments, liquidity and financial commitments to support organisational resilience and protect against external economic disruption.

Act as a principal strategic advisor on all corporate financial matters to the CEO, Board of Directors, and Board Subcommittees.

C. Team Turnaround, Leadership & Accountability

Provide clear, purposeful, and supportive leadership to the finance team, communicating a compelling vision for a professional, modern, and high-performing finance function.

Set clear expectations for performance, service, output and professional development, addressing barriers to effective delivery and ensuring appropriate accountability throughout the finance function.

Conduct a comprehensive review of team structure, roles, and competencies; identify skills gaps and implement structured upskilling, training, or strategic recruitment plans.

Balance clear performance expectations and professional accountability with mentoring, support and modern tools, empowering team members to take confident ownership of their responsibilities.

Establish and oversee a finance business-continuity and process-documentation framework, ensuring that designated process owners maintain current procedures, control records, systems documentation and appropriate cross-cover arrangements to reduce material key-person dependency.

D. Financial Controls, Risk & Charities SORP Compliance

Maintain a rigorous standard of internal control and robust financial governance, ensuring appropriate protection of assets and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Ensure appropriate implementation of Charities SORP 2026, FRS 102 and subsequent amendments, consistent with the organisation's adopted accounting framework and reporting obligations.

Ensure that the organisation's financial management, accounting and reporting arrangements comply with applicable legal, tax, charity, company, funding and regulatory requirements across the jurisdictions in which it operates.

Lead the organisation's relationship with the statutory external auditors, ensuring that the audit is appropriately planned, supported, completed, and that significant findings are addressed.

Own the organisation's financial policy and delegated-authority framework, ensuring that policies are appropriately developed, reviewed and approved.

E. Grant Stewardship & Restricted Funds

Provide executive oversight and assurance in relation to public and private grant income, restricted funds and designated funds, ensuring transparent accounting and proportionate control arrangements.

Oversee the complex compliance and multi-annual reporting requirements for primary statutory funding partners, including Sport Ireland, Sport Northern Ireland and the HSE.

Provide executive oversight and assurance in relation to grant stewardship, restricted funds and funder compliance, ensuring that designated finance and programme personnel maintain complete audit trails, timely reporting, effective expenditure controls and appropriate escalation arrangements.

Ensure that effective responsibilities and controls are in place so that grant leads, budget holders and finance personnel appropriately authorise, verify, evidence and report grant expenditure.

F. Management Information & Reporting

Transform management information from a retrospective summary to a predictive, highly strategic asset, delivering clear and actionable insight across the organisation.

Champion financial accountability and capability across the organisation, ensuring that appropriate training, guidance, reporting tools and business-partnering support are provided to budget holders.

Agree on the organisation's key financial and finance-related performance measures and provide the CEO, ELT, RLT, FARC and Board with clear analysis of material performance, trends, risks and corrective actions.

Person Specification

Essential Experience & Qualifications

A recognised professional accountancy qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or an equivalent qualification, with current professional standing.

Significant post-qualification experience in a senior financial leadership role, including responsibility for organisational financial strategy, governance, controls and Board-level reporting.

Demonstrated track record of successfully leading substantial finance transformation or change, including operating-model development, structural realignment and team capability-building.

Proven experience in implementing modern accounting/ERP software and driving digital change in a transactionally complex environment.

Proven experience in financial risk management and reporting.

Deep expertise in charity accounting, including the application of the Charities SORP, restricted funds accounting, reserves stewardship, and public grant management.

Experience operating as a trusted strategic adviser to a CEO, Executive Leadership Team, Regional Leadership Team, Board of Directors, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and external auditors.

Core Competencies & Skills

Strategic Transformation Leadership: Strong programme and change-leadership skills, with the ability to establish clear structures, accountability and sustainable high performance.

Digital and Technology Capability: Strong capability in selecting and leveraging modern digital tools to automate processes, reduce paperwork and improve analytics.

Financial Modelling and Analysis: Exceptional financial analysis and problem-solving capability, with the ability to translate complex numerical data into clear strategic options.

Communication & Influencing: Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to influence executive and regional leaders, build financial capability in non-finance staff, and champion organisational values.

Leadership & Cultural Style

Visionary & Grounded: Strategic and forward-looking, but comfortable 'rolling up the sleeves' to provide hands-on detail and guidance during a transitional period.

Purposeful and Supportive: Able to set clear expectations, address barriers to effective delivery and hold individuals and teams appropriately accountable, while providing the leadership, resources, development and support required for success.

Passionate Advocate: Committed to Special Olympics Ireland's mission, values, and the enablement of athletes with intellectual disabilities through the strategic power of a modernised finance function.

Working at Special Olympics

Special Olympics Ireland provides benefits and supports, as follows:

25 days' annual leave with increments for service up to a maximum of 31 days, plus two extra company days (Good Friday and New Years Eve)

Pension scheme with 7% employer contribution

Cycle to Work scheme

Employee Assistance Plan

Hybrid working environment (2 days per week on site at Sport Ireland Campus offices)

Discounted Gym Membership

 Equal Opportunities

Special Olympics Ireland is committed to equal opportunities and to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities.

We value the perspectives and experiences that a diverse team brings. Recruitment decisions are based on the skills, experience and capabilities relevant to the role.

We are committed to an accessible recruitment process. If you require reasonable accommodations at any stage, please let us know so we can support you to participate fully.

 How to Apply

Please click on the link to submit your application, including your CV with cover letter attached, by 5pm on Thursday, 12 November.

 Shortlisted candidates will be contacted during the week commencing 23 November.  

Please note that interviews will take place from 30 November to 4 December.