Treasurer | Ovarian Cancer Action

Ovarian Cancer Action are seeking a Treasurer who is driven by a vision of a world without ovarian cancer and a belief that we can create a better future.

Ovarian Cancer Action are committed to making faster progress to ensure ovarian cancer becomes a survivable disease. We intend to fund the next generation of research and to accelerating progress in three main areas: preventing the disease, diagnosing it early, and developing effective, personalised treatments. We believe this approach will help more women survive ovarian cancer than ever before.

One woman dies in the UK from ovarian cancer every two hours. Although five-year survival rates for ovarian cancer are improving, other cancers such as breast cancer, had better survival rates two generations ago than ovarian cancer does today. We’re here to change all that. And we’re following two routes to achieve that change: awareness raising and scientific research.

We are campaigning to improve the understanding of symptoms among the public and medical professionals. Education is vital, as the sooner ovarian cancer is diagnosed the better the chance of survival. This is where we know we can make the quickest impact.

We fund research for the biggest impact. Since 2006, Ovarian Cancer Action has invested more than £12 million in research: more than any other ovarian cancer charity in the UK. We opened the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre (OCARC) in 2006, Europe’s first ever centre dedicated to ovarian cancer research; and we continue to run our HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer, which has been bringing together the world’s leading scientists to determine research priorities around the globe since 1987. Over the last sixteen years, our funded research has achieved dramatic results, but there is so much more to be done.

After several years of sustained growth and development, we are embarking on our ambitious five-year organisational strategy to scale our investment in world-class scientific and clinical research to build momentum in more effective treatments and early diagnosis. We will also lead bigger and louder campaigns to increase disease and symptoms awareness, and awareness of hereditary cancer and prevention. We have also launched IMPROVE UK working in partnership with the NHS, a ground-breaking clinical excellence project to tackle health inequalities for women with ovarian cancer which will be the first major project to build an infrastructure and develop a legacy of best practice sharing up and down the country.

Who we are looking for

As we embark on our new strategy and as our current Treasurer, Jenny Knott, comes to the end of her term with us later this year, we are looking to appoint a new Treasurer. Our new Treasurer will be a senior financially qualified professional who is strategic, values-driven and has strong experience of driving and building strategies, understanding what good governance looks like, building relationships and can communicate financial information to others. We are looking for someone who is passionate about our cause and women’s health; our new Treasurer will support and challenge our board and executive team as we continue to grow and develop.

We value inclusivity and actively encourage people from all backgrounds and cultures to apply. We are keen that our board represents the diversity of our society, and we encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds and experiences including LGBTQIA+, disabled and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Particular ethnic minority backgrounds have a higher increased risk of ovarian cancer, including the Ashkenazi Jewish population, who are more likely to have a BRCA1/2 gene mutation, and we would welcome applicants from this population.

Our board meets four times a year in central London (usually in Old Street), and our new Treasurer will chair our Audit & Risk Committee which meets up to four times a year. We have a strategy away day up to once a year and we are keen that our Board members have an opportunity to visit and explore the research labs and meet scientists we fund at both Imperial College London and University of Oxford. We expect the time commitment for our new Treasurer to be up to one day per month, spread across a variety of activities, from preparation for board meetings, reading papers, to ad hoc discussion and conversation with our Chief Executive, Head of Finance and Operations, and other board members.

It is an exciting time to join us, as we seek to accelerate our impact in all areas of our charitable activity.

What drives us day-to-day is the potential benefits we can make for patients with ovarian cancer now and in the future.

Closing date: 9 a.m. Monday 12th September 2022

Please click ‘Apply on website’ to be directed to the Peridot Partners website and to contact the advising consultants to discuss this role in more detail.