Help shape the financial future of Speakers Trust as Treasurer, bringing senior financial expertise to a charity empowering young people to be heard.
Speakers Trust is a national charity helping young people build the confidence, skills and opportunities to speak and be heard. Working with more than 43,000 young people each year, the charity is now reaching communities across every English region.
Speakers Trust is seeking an experienced finance professional to become its next Treasurer and Trustee. This is an exciting opportunity to provide financial leadership at an important stage in the charity’s development, helping the Board shape a sustainable financial model for continued national growth.
The successful candidate will bring strong financial expertise, sound judgement and the ability to make complex financial information accessible to others. Experience of management accounting and charity or small business finance is essential, while previous trustee experience is not required.
Who we are
Founded 25 years ago, Speakers Trust exists to help young people be heard. The charity works with schools and communities to develop the confidence and communication skills that enable young people to express themselves effectively and have their voices valued.
Through professionally trained facilitators, Speakers Trust delivers workshops and creates opportunities for young people to speak publicly, from school assemblies and regional events to its flagship Speak Out Challenge. Its work is particularly focused on young people in disadvantaged communities, where its evidence shows the greatest impact.
Today, Speakers Trust works with more than 43,000 young people each year, across every English region, and has supported well in excess of half a million young people since it began.
About the role
Speakers Trust’s finance function is small, modern and largely automated. It is led by the Chief Executive, who has significant financial experience, with support from an external accountant. Management accounts are produced by them and reviewed by the Treasurer. The Treasurer is a signatory to payments and has a small approval role in financial commitments — this is a non-executive role.
As Treasurer and Trustee, you will provide financial insight and constructive challenge to the Board, helping Speakers Trust make informed decisions as it continues to grow nationally. You will oversee the charity’s financial health while bringing a strategic perspective to its future sustainability.
Key responsibilities will include:
- Overseeing budgets, management accounts and annual financial statements.
- Advising the Board on reserves, cost management, investment and financial viability.
- Supporting the development of a sustainable financial model, including reducing reliance on a single funder and growing unrestricted and earned income.
- Overseeing financial risk, controls and compliance.
- Chairing the Finance Committee as required and acting as a liaison with external auditors.
- Acting as a second signatory and providing financial advice to the Board and staff.
You will play an important role in determining the financial parameters for Speakers Trust’s continued growth and ensuring its ambitions are underpinned by a sustainable approach.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for a confident and thoughtful finance professional who can combine strong technical expertise with sound judgement and the ability to communicate clearly with non-financial colleagues. You will be comfortable providing constructive challenge, asking the right questions and helping the Board understand the financial implications of strategic decisions.
We are particularly keen to hear from candidates who bring:
- A recognised financial qualification, or equivalent senior-level financial knowledge and experience.
- Experience of management accounting and charity or small business finance.
- The ability to analyse proposals, assess financial consequences and advise on risk.
- Strong attention to detail and a willingness to make and stand behind difficult recommendations.
- The ability to translate financial information into clear, accessible insights for a non-financial audience.
- An interest in developing sustainable income and supporting organisational growth.
- The capacity to provide occasional ad hoc advice to staff.
Experience of charity governance, fundraising, earned or unrestricted income, or SORP and fund accounting would be advantageous. Previous trustee experience is not essential; Speakers Trust welcomes applications from finance professionals who are new to board-level roles.
Time commitment
The Treasurer role requires a commitment of approximately one to two days per month, including attendance at Board meetings, with an additional two to three days during the annual audit process.
Key commitments include:
- Attending four Board meetings per year, with at least two held in person.
- Convening and chairing the Finance Committee as required, rather than on a fixed schedule. This will involve specific pieces of work such as reviewing the budget and reserves policy.
- Attending three or four Speakers Trust events each year, which may take place during the day or evening. These include public speaking and fundraising events and provide an opportunity to experience the charity’s work first-hand.
- Being available to staff on an ad hoc basis for financial advice and enquiries, within agreed boundaries.
- Undertaking second signatory duties and authorising expenditure in line with the charity’s financial delegations.
- Liaising with the charity’s external auditors around year-end, including on the auditors’ management letter and related Board representations.
- The role is remote, with board meetings held in London. Speakers Trust’s work is national, but many of our events take place in London and the South East, so a willingness to travel to meetings and events is important.
Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses are reimbursed in line with Speakers Trust’s expenses policy.
Term of office
It is a four-year term with the potential to build up board experience by serving for a further four years.
To view the role description and person specification, please go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab above, fill in your details and download the candidate pack.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:
Marie McQuade | marie@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07903 442646
Anish Patel | anish@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07932 557505
Speakers Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1139377).
Welcome from the Chair
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in becoming Treasurer of Speakers Trust. I hope this pack gives you a clear picture of what the role involves, and of why we think it is a rewarding one.
We believe that when every voice is heard, society is stronger, happier and more connected. Right now, too many young people, and especially those from the least advantaged backgrounds, feel that their voice does not matter. That belief shapes their confidence, their sense of belonging and their wellbeing. It also shapes what they believe they can go on to do.
That is what we exist to change. We dismantle the barriers that stop young people from being heard: we build their belief that what they have to say matters, we develop the skills that get people listening and we create the platforms on which they can say it to people who can act on it.
Last year more than 43,000 young people worked with us, and we have now trained well in excess of half a million since we began. Our flagship programme, Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge, reaches 35,000 young people a year in London and Essex. We work in one in five state secondary schools in England, and we now operate in every English region.
We are recruiting because our Treasurer, who has served us with real distinction, will be moving overseas in 2027. That gives us time for a proper handover, and it gives you the chance to arrive alongside someone who knows the charity well.
It also comes at an important moment for us. We have spent the last two years running planned deficits, investing our reserves in taking the work national. That investment has worked. We expect to return to break-even in the year just ending, and we have further investment planned for 2026/27. What we need now is a Treasurer who will help the board think clearly about how far and how fast to go, how we diversify and grow our income and what a sustainable financial model looks like for a charity of our ambition.
You would be joining a board that is strong on communications, education, policy and people, and that would value the experience and perspectives that you can bring.
If any of that appeals, I would be glad to hear from you.
Lizzie Runham
Chair, Speakers Trust
About us
Speakers Trust is a national charity with a simple but powerful belief: every young person should have the confidence and skills to make themselves heard. For 25 years, it has worked to remove the barriers that prevent young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, from expressing their views and participating fully in society.
The charity has grown significantly in recent years. It now works with more than 43,000 young people annually, operates across every English region and has supported well in excess of half a million young people since it began. Its flagship programme, Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge, reaches around 35,000 young people each year across London and Essex, while its wider work combines school-based programmes with public events that give young people platforms to share their ideas and experiences.
The organisation’s strategy is centred on two priorities: Empower, by extending its work within schools, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities; and Champion, by creating opportunities for young voices to be heard by people with the power to act. The ambition is not simply to grow wider, but to go deeper where the charity’s evidence shows its work has the greatest impact.
This growth brings an important financial challenge. Speakers Trust deliberately invested its reserves over the last two years to support its national expansion, resulting in planned deficits. The charity expects to return to break even for the year ending August 2026, with further investment planned for 2026/27. Its projected reserves are around £300,000, above its policy minimum of £150,000–£200,000.
Looking ahead, the charity wants to build a more sustainable and resilient financial model. In particular, it is seeking to reduce its dependence on a single funder, grow unrestricted and earned income, and establish the appropriate financial parameters for continued national growth. These are important strategic questions for the Board and will be central to the incoming Treasurer’s contribution.
Learn more about us
Thank you for your interest in this role. Please download the Role Description and Person Specification.
To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.
Please include your home address, contact email and mobile.
Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk, inserting “Application: Speakers Trust — Finance Trustee (Treasurer)” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:
Marie McQuade | marie@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07903 442646
Anish Patel | anish@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07932 557505
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Timetable
Closing date: 9 a.m. Friday 9th October 2026
Candidates informed of outcome: Tuesday 13th October 2026
First stage interviews (online): Thursday 22nd October 2026
Second stage interviews (in person): Thursday 29th October 2026
Equal Opportunities Monitoring
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