Around five years ago, Nish Chikhlia went through a recruitment process with Careers4Change to become Director of Finance at Social Investment Business (SIB) – a social investor offering investment, grant funding and flexible support to charities and social enterprises.
Nish has over 30 years experience across senior management level roles, focused on change management, systems implementation, project management and more. He specialised in setting up, restructuring and managing dispersed finance teams, coordinating budgeting processes for businesses to maximise profitability and leading on year-end statutory accounts and audit processes.
From 2014, he has worked as a Finance Director for charities and social enterprises focused on skills development, business support, supporting young disabled children into independent living, social housing for elderly people and more.
Read below about his experience moving into social investment, his tips for others and his observations of the sector.
What inspired you to pursue a career in social investment?
Most of my career has been within the charity and not-for-profit sectors. So, when I saw the role at SIB, it ticked a lot of my boxes in terms of its mission, vision and values. Plus, I was on a contract role within the social housing sector and wanted to secure a permanent role with remote or hybrid working options.
What skills were helpful to have?
Apart from the sector-specific knowledge and background, the rest of the skills I acquired while working as a Financial Director for charities and social enterprises from 2014. Also, my experience working remotely – starting from around the same time – definitely helped to prove that this kind of role could be managed from a distance.
Plus, whilst working as a consultant in change management, I was brought in to hit the ground running to deliver and, where necessary, review or amend processes and procedures with often strong resistance. The key was to work closely with teams and let them see how much better things can be. Change is not always negative and the reward can be making a positive difference.
What do you wish you’d known sooner about the social investment sector?
Just how complex the structures are – particularly the funding contracts varying from short to long term but also in terms of cyclically sizing up and down with a very spikey business model.
Whilst I have worked within charitable and commercial organisations, the constantly changing environment and landscape within social investment is another level – you have to be agile and adaptable. It’s definitely a fast-paced environment.
What tips would you give to someone thinking about a similar transition?
Be ready to work at pace. It will put your technical knowledge to the test but with a calm, methodical approach you can always find the relevant expertise. Taking pride in your work in terms of accuracy and quality are key to being successful – and other skills can be taught. The social investment sector is always on the look out for talented people for Finance, IT and Business Development roles.
How do you see the sector evolving?
The sector continues to grow but the funding tends to come in cycles, meaning organisations must expand or downsize their teams accordingly. As a result, a pool of short-term or agency staff becomes essential. Although, this may pose a dilemma in retaining key employees with proven skills between contracts as often they are not funded consistently. One effective way to retain them is by training them to be multi-skilled and adaptable across a range of roles.
What excites you about the social investment sector?
The sustained flow of funding to invest within the youth and energy sectors and seeing the positive impact it has on people’s lives is so rewarding. At SIB, we continue to innovate with investment from our own reserves to pilot impact-led initiatives, initially very data-led so that’s creating openings for graduates who have the drive to learn, become passionate about the sector and develop over time to be future leaders.
Keep an eye on our job postings and contact us to speak about your career move!
