Q1 has been a quarter of two halves (although those accountants in my network will no doubt point out that is an illogical statement!) January 2026 saw a positive influx of good quality and senior level work which kept the team busy through until March, but then as we hit the financial year end there was a drop off in permanent assignments, although interim and temporary saw a positive uplift. The NI increase that landed in April 2025 is still working its way through charity P&Ls, the cost-of-living conversation hasn’t gone away, and the trend of charities and not for profit organisations continuing to be asked to deliver more for less continues.
Here’s a few more detailed observations that I’ve noticed in my patch, senior finance, transformation and change across charities, cultural institutions, housing and the wider public sector, mostly Yorkshire and the North.
Demand has held up better than the headlines might suggest, but the shape has shifted. Permanent senior finance hires across charities, cultural institutions and higher education have been prominent. The reasons behind vacancies are varied and generally positive and roles I’ve filled have been as a result of retirements, some after over 37 years (!), organisation mergers and restructures and significantly people taking extended career breaks for a range of exciting reasons as people are valuing the pursuit of personal goals as well as pure career advancement. What’s noticeably up is interim and contract work: finance change, financial reporting overhauls, restructures or roles to “hold” whilst decisions are made. Where organisations are nervous about adding to permanent headcount, they’re reaching for interims to get the work done in the meantime and I’ve seen interim roles at all levels increase in number from transactional through to interim finance directors.
Candidates are a little more cautious and they are slower to make a move unless they are as “certain” as they can be. Q1 has been the quarter of the long deliberation. People are staying put longer than they might have a few years ago, partly down to political or economic nerves, partly that their current employer has perhaps made more of an effort to keep them, partly because the package on the table doesn’t pencil out once they factor in a greater % of office based working and a potentially longer commute with an increase in petrol/diesel costs. The good ones are still moving for the right role, but the threshold to actually leave has gone up and I’m regularly seeing candidates asking for approximately 20% pay increases to consider a move.
This is where it gets more difficult. Charity and public sector employers are juggling NI increases, internal pay claim pressure, and flat or shrinking funding. This has meant that salary uplifts on senior finance roles have been thin. However, the good news is that within charity, public and not for profit sectors, people are generally not making moves only for financial reasons and these sectors continue to beat those with higher salaries by offering better hybrid working, flexibility, holiday allowance, pension contributions and sense of social purpose. Hybrid working is a baseline expectation now, not a benefit and as we see some private sector employers mandate “return to office” those who remain committed to hybrid working are able to choose from a deeper and wider talent pool.
In summary, a bit slower than I’d like. Senior charity finance hires are routinely running at least two-stage panel interviews plus a presentation, often with board involvement, and the gaps between stages have stretched a little. Where a process used to take four to six weeks, eight to ten has become more common. Thankfully, I’ve been able to retain most candidates within processes, as most of my candidates have been “passive” and not actively managing multiple processes, but there is always a risk with longer processes that you might not get all shortlisted candidates through to interview stage if the timescales become more drawn out.
Financial reporting at the senior end is tight, particularly people who can run a complex group consolidation with deep technical knowledge and steer an external audit through real change. Charity SORP knowledge remains the perennial requirement: clients want it, candidates without it are nervous about applying and often in small to medium sized charities there are limited internal resources to train someone up on the intricacies of SORP and restricted and unrestricted funds. We invest time in coaching both sides through the gap, identifying what the real gaps are and what can be potentially learned “on the job”.
In recruitment there are three levers you can use to make a job easier or harder to fill. You can pay more, you can expect less (sector knowledge, qualifications or specific experience) or you can be more flexible with time required to be on site. Remote working will see your applications increase ten-fold in 2026. On the candidate side, the biggest challenge is package realism, gently helping people see what the market will actually pay versus what they’d like it to pay as the market has re-adjusted after the 2021/2022 post-covid hiring boom.
Purpose hasn’t gone away, but it isn’t doing the job on its own anymore. Candidates I’ve spoken to in Q1 want, in roughly this order: a manager they trust, genuine flexibility, a salary that respects their experience, and a mission they can get behind. I’m seeing more part time roles coming to market which is refreshing to see, allowing candidates to continue a senior finance career without having to compromise as heavily on responsibilities they have outside of work. People are also asking harder questions about the financial health of the organisation. Nobody wants to land a senior finance role in February and find out about the deficit in March.
I’d expect Q2 to be busier than Q1 on permanent senior finance hires, particularly where boards have used Q1 to finalise structures and budgets. Interim demand will stay strong. The candidate market won’t loosen materially. It’ll stay slow and considered, and the clients who win will be the ones running a tight, respectful, fast process and paying realistically. I’d also expect more senior finance leaders to start seriously thinking about a move they’ve postponed through 2024 and 2025. And with year end almost out of the way for many organisations, they might have a bit more headspace to review their team structures and proactively hire into any upcoming gaps.
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Lucy Rider
Senior Director, Broster Buchanan
t: 0113 868 0884
m: 07983 549758
e: lucyrider@brosterbuchanan.com
