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Finance Lead

Open Food Network UK
Remote working

Posted: 16 Apr 2025

Deadline: 19 May 2025

Compensation: £42,900 per annum pro rata

Living Wage employer Ethnicity Confident scheme Disability Confident scheme

Paid Part-time Permanent Remote working

Job description

The Open Food Network UK team is seeking a passionate and motivated person to join our team in supporting food producers, food hubs and customers to use our open source software platform.

About the Open Food Network (OFN)

OFN UK is a Community Interest Company that enables sustainable food hubs and producers to sell online, extend their customer base and benefit from our range of management tools. Our vision is an international network of food enterprises that put their communities and the planet first. A world in which all food is produced using agroecological methods and is distributed in such a way that communities thrive and everyone is well nourished. We’re best known for our ‘food hubs’ functionality, which lets hubs connect with producers, stock their products, and develop localised, resilient and sustainable food networks.

The Role

We’re looking for someone who will play a pivotal role in keeping Open Food Network UK financially strong and well organised. You’ll be responsible for ensuring we have the right financial systems and processes in place to support our team and our nationwide community of food enterprises.

You’ll oversee our day-to-day finances, including bookkeeping, grant tracking, and financial reporting. You’ll support the team and board to make informed decisions through clear reporting and budget insights. You’ll also take an active role in the OFN Global Finance Circle, helping to shape shared processes and ensure financial transparency across our international network.

As part of a small, collaborative team, your work will help sustain and grow a movement for fairer food systems. If you enjoy making organisations work better through strong financial management, we’d love to hear from you!

Your main responsibilities

• Financial management & bookkeeping – Maintain accurate records using Xero, managing both commercial income and grant funding. Liaise with our accountants on VAT returns and payroll, and ensure our financial records support good governance.  
• Grant oversight & reporting – Ensure grant income is tracked and reported clearly, working with the team to meet funders’ requirements and maintain transparency.  
• Contribution to OFN Global Finance Circle – Participate in a global working group to support budget tracking and decision-making on shared costs and projects (typically one hour, one or two evenings a month).  
• Financial processes & improvement – Work with the team to review and improve our financial systems and ways of working, ensuring they’re efficient, robust, and aligned with our needs.  
• Strategic financial support – Help the team with planning and decision-making related to funding and long-term sustainability, including supporting funding bids and financial modelling.  

Our ideal next team member will:

• Be financially competent – You have experience managing finances, including bookkeeping, grant tracking, and preparing financial reports. You’re comfortable using Xero (or similar software) and working with accountants to ensure everything runs smoothly.  
• Have strong analytical and problem-solving skills – You can interpret financial data, spot trends, and communicate insights clearly to help others make good decisions.  
• Be detail-oriented and organised – You manage your time well, keep accurate records, and can juggle multiple tasks without letting things slip.  
• Be an effective communicator – You can explain financial matters clearly to colleagues and board members, and liaise confidently with accountants, funders, and partners.  
• Be collaborative and adaptable – You work well in a small, remote team, balancing independence with teamwork. You’re open to feedback, proactive, and keen to improve systems.  
• Be comfortable working in a non-hierarchical, sociocratic environment – You value shared decision-making, take ownership of your work, and contribute constructively to team governance.  
• Have a global perspective – You’re happy to collaborate with our international network on shared finance processes and global decision-making.  This part of the role involves 1 one-hour meeting each month which is scheduled in the evening to accommodate multiple time zones - typically starting at 8pmGMT or 9pmBST.  
• Align with our mission and values – You care about building fairer food systems and want to support a purpose-driven organisation to thrive.  

Further details

We’ve always worked remotely, so you’ll need your own computer. Our team is non-hierarchical and we function as a sociocracy, so you’ll be working with all of us. From experience, we know this requires a mix of humility, accountability and autonomy. If this resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you.

This role is offered as a 0.2 FTE position (1 day / 7.5 hours a week), which can be spread across the week to fit your working schedule. You’ll need to be available for our team meetings on Thursday mornings and a monthly call with the global finance circle (usually evening).

This is a permanent role, including a three-month probationary period.

We have a simple pay structure at OFN UK. Given the responsibilities of this role, it will be offered at our highest pay level, currently £42,900 per annum, pro rata. We’re open to either fixed-term employment or self-employment, depending on your situation.

Application information

To apply please do not send a CV - simply click here and answer these questions before Thursday 19th May 2025.

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