Advertised from 2 September 2025

Role

Background

The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere (GSAB) was designated in July 2012 as Scotland’s first UNESCO Biosphere and is now one of seven in the UK. Covering 9,800 km² across Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, and East Ayrshire, the Biosphere encompasses rich natural heritage, diverse habitats, and vibrant rural communities.

Governed by an independent, community-rooted SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation): the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership (SC044137), the governance model ensures local ownership and long-term sustainability, with Trustees drawn from local representatives in the public sector, environmental NGOs, community organisations, and local businesses.

Our vision is to demonstrate “a passion for living in a way that benefits people and nature” and our mission is to promote a balanced relationship between people and the environment by leading collaborative, place-based work across conservation, climate action, sustainable enterprise, and learning.

We focus on delivering tangible change through a diverse portfolio of projects such as the £750k Borderlands OPIN Project, a 5 year pilot transforming how farms assess and improve their environmental performance, species recovery initiatives and a wide range of sustainable business and education programmes. We also currently host the Dumfries and Galloway Community Climate Action Hub supporting 40+ grassroots groups in delivering community based climate adaptation.

The Biosphere Partnership has a current annual turnover of £800,000+ comprising a mix of core funding and project delivery. Funders currently include public sector partners, private trusts, foundations and donations. With pressure to reduce dependency on public funds the funding model is becoming increasingly diverse with a growing focus on generating our own income through social enterprise activities.

This has led to the Biosphere Partnership creating a Company Limited by Guarantee, called Biosphere Enterprises Ltd. This is a trading arm through which we offer a small range of paid services and run our fledgling business Merrick Scottish Blackface Knitwear. Profits from Biosphere Enterprises Ltd. are reinvested into the charity to enable further delivery of its core purposes.

The Role

As Finance Officer you will be responsible for co-ordinating the financial management of the organisation, helping to ensure strong financial governance, robust budgeting, effective financial reporting, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. You will support the senior management team in both core and project funding applications and reporting to both funders and Trustees. As a key member of the Team, you will help ensure the organisations financial sustainability and supporting the delivery of its charitable objectives. You will also support the Directors of Biosphere Enterprises Ltd in the financial management and growth of trading activity that will further benefit the charity.

You should be familiar with working in a third-sector environment and used to dealing with a complex range of funders with a variety of reporting requirements. As finance officer you liaise directly with the organisations accountants, assisting in the production of annual audits, accounts and reports to OSCR. You should be familiar with the use of online accounting software preferably Xero.

Application notes

Closing Date for Applications is Midday Monday 29th September 2025.

Proposed interview dates for the two-stage interview are;

Stage 1 Monday 6th October 2025 (online)

Stage 2 Monday 13th October 2025 (in person)

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