Director of Strategy & Commercial

About WIBF

Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF) is the UK's longest-established membership network dedicated to advancing gender-balanced leadership across Financial Services and finance.  Founded in 1980, WIBF has spent more than four decades supporting individuals and organisations to unlock the full potential of women in the workplace through connection, development, advocacy, research and influence.

Women in Banking and Finance is entering one of the most exciting periods in its 45-year history.

Our ambition is to build the UK's most influential career-long ecosystem for women across financial services and finance, combining leadership development, AI-enabled career support, industry-leading insights and benchmarking, powerful networks and measurable impact.  To achieve that ambition, we are evolving from a traditional membership organisation into a modern, purpose-led social enterprise that combines commercial discipline with meaningful social impact.

This Executive Board role offers a rare opportunity to shape that transformation - a rare opportunity to shape WIBF at a genuine inflection point. The Director of Strategy & Commercial will help translate our three-year ambition into reality, building the commercial foundations, partnerships and team that will define what WIBF becomes over the next decade. Beyond the strategic remit, this role offers Executive Board-level experience, a seat alongside senior leaders across financial services, and the chance to build a network of corporate partners and industry figures at the forefront of inclusive leadership. Above all, it offers the opportunity to make a tangible difference to the careers of women across the sector, at a moment when that mission has never been more relevant.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Great leadership comes in many forms and we encourage applications even if you do not meet every requirement.

The role

Reporting to the Chief Executive, the Director of Strategy & Commercial is responsible for ensuring WIBF has a clear strategic direction, a commercially sustainable operating model and a portfolio of partnerships and initiatives that deliver long-term impact.

As a member of the Executive Board, this role helps shape organisation-wide decisions, balancing commercial opportunity with purpose, governance and member value.

The Director will build and lead a high-performing Strategy & Commercial function, bringing together colleagues responsible for commercial partnerships, corporate engagement, grant funding and future strategic initiatives. As WIBF grows, this Director will shape the structure of the function, ensuring the organisation has the capabilities needed to deliver its long-term ambitions.

This role is as much about deciding what WIBF will not do as what it will do, ensuring resources remain focused on the activities that create the greatest impact.

Key responsibilities

·       Lead the ongoing development and refinement of WIBF's organisational strategy, ensuring alignment across strategic pillars, programmes and initiatives, ensuring it remains responsive to evolving industry needs.

·      Work with the COO to translate strategy into practical priorities and measurable outcomes. Support annual strategic planning, prioritisation and performance review processes.

·      Monitor emerging trends across Financial Services, leadership, AI, workforce transformation and organisational effectiveness, identifying opportunities and risks for WIBF.

·      Develop WIBF's long-term commercial model and identify sustainable revenue opportunities.

·      Ensure propositions have clear customer value, commercial viability and measurable impact.

·      Oversee WIBF's strategic partnership portfolio.

·      Champion responsible innovation, including AI-enabled opportunities.

·      Work closely with Finance on investment priorities and long-term financial sustainability.

·      Build relationships with industry bodies, regulators, government stakeholders, academic institutions and research partners.

·      Contribute fully to Executive Board leadership and organisational decision making.

·      Contribute to the development of thought leadership, research and sector insight.

·      Provide strategic direction and leadership to your team, setting clear objectives, prioritising activities, and ensuring alignment with the organisational KPIs and objectives.

·      Coach and develop others, promoting accountability and supporting effective collaboration and decision-making.

·      Uphold and role model WIBF’s behaviours, leading by example across all WIBF volunteers.

Leadership

The Director will lead a growing team of both volunteers and paid colleagues.

Initially this function is expected to include:

·         Head of Commercial Partnerships

·         Head of Corporate Partnerships and team

·         Head of Individual Memberships and team

·         Grant Funding Lead

·         Emerging Philanthropic donations Lead

As the organisation evolves, the Director will design and build the wider Strategy & Commercial function, ensuring WIBF has the capabilities needed to deliver its long-term ambitions.

What Executive Board membership means

Executive Directors are collectively responsible for shaping the future of WIBF and making decisions in the best interests of the organisation as a whole.

Responsibilities include:
• Taking collective ownership of organisational performance.
• Helping define and refine long-term strategy.
• Making prioritisation decisions and balancing competing opportunities.
• Acting as custodians of WIBF's culture, values and reputation.
• Supporting effective governance and constructive challenge.
• Championing innovation grounded in evidence, member value and sustainability.
• Representing WIBF externally with credibility and integrity.

Executive Board members are expected to think beyond their own functional remit and contribute actively to every aspect of the organisation's success.

Success after 12 months

• Three-year strategy clearly articulated and embedded.
• Commercial strategy supporting long-term sustainability.
• New strategic partnerships established.
• Investment priorities agreed across the Executive Board.
• High-performing Strategy & Commercial function established.
• Strong collaboration across Commercial Partnerships, Corporate Partnerships and the Executive Team.
• Sustainable grant funding pipeline in place.
• Capability roadmap established for future growth.

Experience and skills

We welcome candidates from strategy, consulting, commercial leadership, partnerships, innovation, transformation, technology, financial services, membership organisations, charities or social enterprises who have experience operating at a senior leadership, executive or Board level. Ideally candidates will have experience working in a volunteer-led organisation but more than this, we value passion for WIBF's mission and commitment to advancing gender-balanced leadership.

We are looking for strategic thinking, commercial judgement, collaborative leadership, relationship building, transformation experience, excellent communication skills and a passion for creating more inclusive leadership across financial services.

Time commitment

Approximately 4–6 hours per week, flexible around existing commitments, including monthly Executive Board meetings, strategy sessions and key WIBF events.

Diversity & Inclusion

At WIBF, we believe better leadership comes from broader perspectives. We actively welcome applications from people of every gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, faith and lived experience. Whether or not you meet every requirement listed, we encourage you to apply if you believe you can make a meaningful contribution to our mission.

Why this role matters

WIBF's next chapter requires more than ambition alone. It requires clear strategy, effective governance, disciplined execution and credible evidence of impact.

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of gender-balanced leadership across Financial Services and finance and leave a lasting legacy across the industry, helping to translate our three-year ambition into reality, building the commercial foundations, partnerships and team that will define what WIBF becomes over the next decade. Beyond the strategic remit, this role offers Executive Board-level experience, a seat alongside senior leaders across financial services, and the chance to build a network of corporate partners and industry figures at the forefront of inclusive leadership. Above all, it offers the opportunity to make a tangible difference to the careers of women across the sector, at a moment when that mission has never been more relevant.