Job posting – Secretary General at Finance Watch

Role profile

Job title: Secretary General

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Job type: Full-time or 80%

Role summary

The incoming Secretary General will be responsible for ensuring integrity, efficiency and the maintenance of high standards in the delivery of Finance Watch’s mission and objectives. They will help Finance Watch contribute to catalysing civil society’s efforts to ensure the public interest is prioritised in policy decisions relating to the financial system and its impact on society.

The position also involves ensuring the coherent and timely delivery of Finance Watch’s strategic plan. The Secretary General plays a key role in institutional decision-making and policy implementation within the organisation, and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, in line with the risk management priorities of the Board.

The successful candidate will be a senior professional with: 

• a deep, well-evidenced commitment to serving the public interest; 
• a nuanced understanding of the financial system and the most significant political debates around financial regulation;
• experience of fundraising and managing donor relationships; 
• an excellent understanding of the policy environment, EU decision-making processes and the regulatory landscape;
• demonstrable skills in building strong working relationships with members and stakeholders;
• the maturity to oversee and lead a highly-skilled, diverse team of professionals;
• relevant skills and experience of budgetary oversight and risk management as suited to an organisation of the scale, scope and size of Finance Watch;
• a strong work ethic. 

This role will be based in Brussels. 

The Secretary General will work effectively with all stakeholders more generally, and will respect the relevant accountability requirements. They will contribute to a healthy and respectful work environment, and to maintaining the established respect of labour rights and inclusion.

The Board expects that the Secretary General will continue to nurture a culture of professionalism, trustworthiness, mutual respect and accountability at Finance Watch. 

Key responsibilities

The Secretary General is responsible for the day-to-day management of the association in accordance with the strategic plan and decisions of the supervisory Board of Directors. 

Given below is a non-exhaustive list of the duties of the Secretary General role:

• Ensure the coherent delivery of Finance Watch’s mission  
• Oversee the timely implementation of the strategic plan agreed by the Board 
• Represent Finance Watch in the media, at public events, high-level meetings and conferences 
• Oversee the management of risks and ensure appropriate mitigation of all risks, in line with the agreed risk management priorities of the Board 
• Maintain a strong understanding of the wider European policy agenda for Finance Watch, and all advocacy and research priorities 
• Lead fundraising efforts in coordination with the relevant staff, maintain good relations with existing funders and actively reach out to potential funders to build and safeguard the financial sustainability of Finance Watch 
• Lead the development of long-term, productive relationships with potential and existing members and stakeholders  
• Oversee and manage the planning and prioritisation of staff time and organisational resources and ensure that their use is consistent with any donor or regulatory accountability requirements
  • This includes directly managing the department heads, taking ultimate responsibility for ensuring staff development, organisational development and the long-term financial soundness and resilience of Finance Watch
• Ensure the consistency of Finance Watch’s public positions on policy matters 
• Provide regular reports to the Board, and alert the Board to any and all matters which require Board intervention 
• Serve as the authorised signatory for relevant statutory and contractual documents 
• Take final responsibility for approving new hires to the Finance Watch team and to ensure that any termination of employment is handled in a professional manner 
• Help nurture an inclusive, collaborative, ethical and professional work environment
• Ensure that staff have clear and, where applicable, measurable goals
• Foster an internal culture of mutual respect, collaboration, active engagement and open and constructive dialogue

Profile / Qualifications

• Extensive professional experience (10+ years) with specific sectoral expertise in finance (e.g. financial supervision/regulation, financial industry, NGO active in financial matters)
• A master’s degree or equivalent 
• Meaningful experience at a senior level managing skilled staff and financial resources 
• Good practical knowledge and experience of the regulatory landscape in finance, EU institutions, international and national financial authorities, as well as civil society networks
• Understanding and experience of working, and building relationships, in a membership organisation or in coordinating movements for social change
• Experience working at/with board-level (or equivalent). Knowledge of senior decision-making processes and organisational governance structures and requirements 
• Experience of fundraising, including the EU funding process, at scale 
• Willingness to travel both domestically and abroad 
• Good communicator (including public speaking skills) with excellent English (both written and verbal) and a good grasp of at least one other European language

In line with Finance Watch’s principles of transparency, independence, good governance and nonpartisanship:

• we request from candidates a declaration of interest related to any electoral/political mandate held in the past or currently;
• we will ensure a reasonable cooling off period for candidates who have represented the interests of the financial sector.

What we offer

• An opportunity to lead a highly professional team and make a real difference to finance in Europe
• A permanent contract under Belgian law
• Full-time or 80% negotiable
• 40h a week
• Hybrid (i.e. teleworking in Belgium + presence in the office in Brussels)
• A competitive salary, dependent on seniority and skillset
• 20 days of holidays (prorata) per year + 1 recoup day per month (prorata)
• A monthly expense allowance subject to Finance Watch internal rules
• A laptop (for professional use)
• Full reimbursement of public transportation in Belgium
• Lunch vouchers 8€ per working day
• Ecocheques 250€ per year (prorata)
• Training possibilities
• A multidisciplinary and multicultural working environment

You can read more about our work at www.finance-watch.org.

Process

The recruitment process will include CV selection followed by an assessment process that will include one or more interviews in person in Brussels.  

Interviews will be conducted in Brussels on 24 & 25 September, 2025.

Equal employment opportunity

Finance Watch is committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all employees, regardless of sex, marital status, disability, nationality, religion, age, sexual orientation and any other characteristics unrelated to the performance of the job. 

Application guidelines

Interested candidates are invited to send a letter of motivation addressed to the Chair of the Board + CV via email to: [email protected]. Within the motivation letter, please include a sentence to confirm that you are eligible to live and work in Belgium and the declaration of interest mentioned above. References will be requested as part of this process. The deadline for application is 7 September, 2025.

Please quote “SG recruitment” in the title of your email.