External Member of the Finance Committee

External Member of the Finance Committee

Application Deadline: 6 April 2026

Department: Board Committees

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Part Time

Location: Edinburgh - Hybrid

Compensation: £0 / year

Description

The SFC is currently looking for a new external member to join its Finance Committee and to contribute to the oversight of the financial management and decision making of the organisation. The Finance Committee is a sub-committee of the SFC Board and advises the Board by considering the key outputs of the executive’s monitoring of the financial health of colleges and universities and by scrutinising the financial position of SFC.

Key Responsibilities

We are looking for our new Finance Committee member to contribute to the high-level oversight of all financial aspects of SFC. External members will provide appropriate strategic guidance, insight and challenge and will offer their specialist sector expertise. Specifically, external members of the Finance Committee will be involved in:

• Reviewing and monitoring the financial health of institutions and funded bodies and making recommendations to the Board.
• Reviewing the medium-term financial planning and recommend to the Board its approval and any subsequent changes.
• Scrutinising the annual budgets for programme fund, for both financial (April to March) and academic (August to July) years, prepared by the SFC Executive and recommend to the Board their adoption.
• Reviewing the financial aspects of the annual report and accounts for consistency with financial information reviewed by the Committee during the year.

The standing orders and remit of the Finance Committee are available here: Finance Committee - Scottish Funding Council.

As an external member of the Finance Committee, you would be expected to make a full contribution to the work of the committee and bring relevant expertise and experience to this key area of work.

This is an unremunerated role (travel and expenses incurred through the attendance of meetings will be reimbursed) and offers a unique opportunity to work with dedicated and expert colleagues supporting the vital work of our Board. The Finance Committee meets multiple times a year and the committee meetings are a mix of in person and virtual.

Committee meetings planned for 2026 are due to take place on the following dates:

• Thursday 11 June 2026
• Tuesday 15 September 2026
• Thursday 8 October 2026
• Thursday 3 December 2026

Interviews for the above post are planned to take place Tuesday 28 April via Teams.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

It is important through your CV / Cover Letter that you give evidence of proven experience of each of the following essential criteria:

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Accounting experience, particularly in respect of financial management and financial reporting, budgets and medium to long term financial plans.
• Skills and experience in overseeing the management of investments.
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to interrogate and interpret complex information and participate fully in Committee deliberations.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, demonstrating an ability to work collaboratively, identify key issues, and reach balanced conclusions.
• Appreciation of the importance of confidentiality.

At least one of these:

• Knowledge or experience of the tertiary education sector.
• An understanding and/or experience of college sector funding.
• An understanding of the role of the further and higher education sectors to provide high quality teaching and research and to provide economic, social and cultural value to society.
• An understanding of the external pressures in the further and higher education sectors and the challenges facing universities and colleges to overcome these.
• Proven ability to work effectively within the public sector requirements for accountability and openness and within financial constraints.

External committee members would be required to comply with SFC’s Model Code of Conduct.

Further information about the committee and its current members can be found on our website. Applicants are required to submit their CV and provide a short personal statement (no more than 500 words) setting out an overview of the skills and knowledge that they have to offer and why they feel suitable to serve on this committee.

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