Who we are 

Clean Air Fund is a global philanthropic organisation that brings together governments, campaigners, researchers, funders, and businesses to create a world where everyone breathes clean air. 

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Clean air for all 

We all need clean air to live, grow and thrive. Yet 9 out of 10 people breathe harmful, dirty air, making air pollution one of our biggest health threats. 

Globally, over 7 million people die every year because of air pollution — more than twice as many as from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. The poorest communities, living in the most congested areas, are hit the hardest. Babies, children and older people suffer most. 

In addition to harming our health, air pollution is linked to climate change. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. 

Cleaning our air can be a solution to some of society’s greatest challenges, from public health to climate change, children’s development to sustainable economic growth. 

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How we work 

From grassroots to government, Clean Air Fund supports partners to accelerate action on clean air. We do this by: 

• funding and partnering with organisations across the globe that promote air quality data, build public demand for clean are and drive action; 

• influencing and supporting decision-makers to act on clean air and to strengthen the air quality cause; and 

• working with communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

Find out about our ‘Clean Air For All’ strategy here. Learn more about where we work here.

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What Clean Air Fund offers 

We are a growing organisation that is clear about what we offer and what we expect from everyone in the team. 

We offer the opportunity to be at the heart of efforts to drive the air quality agenda and tackle air pollution across the globe. You would be joining an ambitious organisation that is expanding the scale of its work year-on-year and making a real difference. 

We provide a competitive reward package, flexible working and a commitment to supporting your learning and professional development. As a relatively new organisation, we are intentional about building trusting relationships and, to facilitate a strong culture across the team, everyone comes into the office for 50% of their time. 

Everyone who works with us shares our values — collaborative, dynamic and evidence-informed — and a commitment to our mission. We are growing rapidly, so comfort with change and the ability to work at pace is vital, as is a desire to learn, improve and develop with the organisation. Find out here about our values, offices, benefits, salary and commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality. 

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Department background 

The Finance and Operations team is responsible for financial management; governance, legal and risk; IT and premises; and HR. The team provides support and business partnering to CAF’s grant making and direct charitable activities.

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Job purpose 

This role will provide support across both the Finance and wider CAF team. It will take a business partnering approach in helping provide a robust financial service, particularly to our Strategic Partnerships & Comms team (covering advocacy, private sector engagements, communications and thematic portfolios of data, health & super pollutants) and MEL team (monitoring, evidence & learning) and our grantees & partners to ensure new and existing grants & projects are well managed and well implemented. This role reviews and approves the financial and operational aspects of Clean Air Fund’s grants and projects, including due diligence and budgets. It will support the relevant portfolio teams as well as the Executive Directors in managing their grant making budgets and with grant forecasting.

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Key working relationships 

This role reports into the Head of Finance but will need a working relationship with the whole Finance team, and across CAF but in particular with the Portfolio teams across Strategic Partnerships & Comms and MEL. 

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Key accountabilities

Grantee and project assessment and support 

• Conduct due diligence on grant & project proposals and grantee organisations. Ensure proposal budgets are reasonable, that they comply with the Clean Air Fund’s internal policies and are compatible with the Fund’s priorities and financial resources. 

• Support portfolio teams in analysing the financial reports submitted by the grantees and in preparing summaries of progress and performance. 

• Manage our outsourced grantee audits, which cover the financial expenditure and internal controls of grantees. Work with internal teams and grantees to help implement the recommendations from these reviews 

• Support the team and our partners by reviewing and building budgeting and reporting tools 

• Support the procurement of suppliers, ensuring appropriate processes are undertaken and Clean Air Fund gets value for money on external contracts. 

Grant & project financial analysis, planning & reporting. 

• Support regular grant forecasting with Portfolio leads enabling accurate and reliable planning over short- and medium-term. Support the department Executive Director to understand progress against targets for each portfolio. 

• Support annual budgeting & business planning for grants and help manage grant fund allocations, particularly with regards to restricted funds 

• Enable strategic decision making up to executive level by providing analysis of grants data, and up-to-date and valuable management reporting 

• Ensure cohesion and clear communication of financial data between Finance, Portfolios and Senior Leadership team, as well as with the wider organisation. 

• Provide guidance to the portfolio team on best practice granting, including approaches to foreign exchange, inflation, cost benchmarking etc 

• Drive forward change and continuous improvement to systems, processes, tools and templates.

Grants System management 

• To help support and manage use of our grant management system, AkoyaGo. Ensure AkoyaGo records are complete and support the team to effectively use the system. 

• Review the system on a regular basis to ensure it is still fit for purpose, engage with the wider team about usage of the system and implement or manage any changes required. 

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Person Specification 

Essential technical competencies 

• CCAB Accountancy qualification or equivalent by experience 

• Sound knowledge of Charity SORP 

• Experience of working in a global facing organisation and ability to adapt working style where appropriate • Experience of building relationships with senior stakeholders and working collaboratively across teams 

• Ability to take a business partnering, solution focused approach, with commercial acumen 

• Able to analyse complex information, and present it in a simple, easy to understand format 

• High quality written and verbal communication skills 

• IT proficiency (most specifically in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Desirable technical competencies 

• Experience with working in a grant-making organisation, covering an understanding of working with grantees/sub-grantees and the grants management process 

• Exposure to due diligence and working across a range of grantees 

• Database systems and ability to manage and design reports for databases is desirable 

• Experience of working with SMEs would also be of value 

• An understanding of the financial risk environment within the international development sector 

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Essential behavioural competencies 

• A do-er, able to work at pace and respond to opportunities. 

• Happy to work autonomously and with an instinctive pragmatic and problem-solving approach. • Professional, sound independent judgment, strong organisational and project management skills and the ability to be flexible as priorities and needs change. 

• Collaborative with strong interpersonal skills, quick to build relationships and influence others. 

• Highest ethical standards, confidentiality and personal integrity. 

• Strong problem solving skills, approaching situations strategically, methodically and with a high degree of rigour. 

• Great attention to detail and thorough 

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Salary

£54,430 - £65,000

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Further information 

• The role is based in London and home working can be facilitated for up to 50% of the time. 

• This is a full-time position, or for an outstanding candidate part time working would be considered. 

• We will not be able to support visa applications.

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As an employer, we are committed to ensuring the representation of people from all backgrounds regardless of their gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, returning parents, carers or any other aspect which makes them unique. We particularly welcome applicants from under-represented groups  to apply and would encourage you to let us know if there are steps we can take to ensure that the recruitment process enables you to present yourself in a way that makes you comfortable. We are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.