Polly Raymond

As Senior Finance Manager, Polly’s role is to manage the smooth running and delivery of the organisation’s core finance activities, focusing on ensuring compliance with our control framework, identifying process improvement opportunities and striving for operational excellence. Reporting to the Head of Finance & Operations, she plays an important business partnering role to colleagues and supports them with managing suppliers, expenses and managing budgets, as well as coordinating with our external bookkeepers.

Polly joined Design Council after ten years in the not-for-profit financial sector. Recent roles include managing the finance functions at award-winning creative arts charity HeartnSoul and global democracy campaigning organisation Digital Action. At HeartnSoul she oversaw a period of financial success and stability with multiple years of surplus, steady growth in reserves and turnover rising to £1.3 million. She reported directly to the board of trustees and managed the budget featuring restricted grant funders from over thirty funders that support around ten different programmes of activities. More recently she managed Digital Action’s annual budget of $1.1 million and an overhaul of finance systems including the introduction of rigorous management accounts reporting and financial planning for the organisation’s ambition plans for growth across multiple countries.

After getting a degree in Economics at Newcastle University, Polly worked across a range of sectors including journalism and then policy research and project management, before settling into her most recent specialisation in finance. Out of work Polly enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to the theatre and walking her border terrier.