Context and Purpose of the Job. Finance & Resources GRADE: 7

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1 JOB TITLE: TEAM: GROUP: LOCATION: REPORTS TO: Project Accountant Finance Finance & Resources Stratford Finance Manager GRADE: 7 HOURS: 35 per week The Refugee Council is the leading organisation in the UK working with asylum seekers and refugees. Our operational teams based in various locations in England provide advice and assistance across a wide range of issues, including helping asylum seekers through the complexities of the asylum system, addressing issues of destitution and assisting refugees and asylum seekers to access key services including housing, welfare benefits, health, education and employment. Our teams work with relevant agencies including the Home Office, Refugee Community Organisations, Local Authorities, Legal Service Providers, Housing Providers, Health Institutions, Job Centre Plus and other mainstream service providers. Context and Purpose of the Job The Refugee Council was established in 1951 and has been helping asylum seekers and refugees in the UK ever since with a range of expert and holistic services. We also work within the wider refugee movement, and through our advocacy work push for wider changes on asylum systems to the benefit of refugees both here and abroad. With the world in the grip of the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War the need for our work has never been greater, and so we are seeking to grow our charitable activities and funding to maximise our response to the current need. In recent years the Refugee Council itself has been through an extensive period of change and transition. On the funding side this has included a change from a majority government grant funded organisation to one with a more balance range of funding, still including central government grants but also from trusts and foundations, individual giving, EC funding and some commercial income. Alongside this we have changed the way that finance works with the rest of the organisation, rebalancing our team s work from a transactional and control function to a more strategic and supportive focus. The Refugee Council is aiming to further increase and diversify our funding; for this strategy to succeed the organisation must be supported by top class financial analysis, planning, and management. This new post has been created specifically to add capacity to the finance team in these areas. Registered address: British Refugee Council, PO Box London E15 9DQ Registered charity no Registered company no

2 The post holder will work under the Finance Manager and be allocated as finance support and business partner to several of our key departments. You will work closely with budget holders in services, with income generation (fundraising), and the wider organisation on the financial aspects of externally funded projects. The key purpose of your work will be to provide budgeting support for external funding bids, help budget holders to monitor and manage funding to achieve maximum impact for our clients, and to ensure accountability for the funding in the form of prompt and accurate funder reporting and financial accounting. You will also be involved in providing ad hoc financial analysis in support of service specific and organisational wide needs. This is an exciting time to join the Refugee Council, and this is by no means a regular accountant post. The finance team has fostered a positive and collaborative working environment with the rest of the organisation, underpinned by a thorough understanding of our services and how they make a difference for our clients. We expect this post holder to build upon and develop the quality of our work, suggesting and implementing improvements to both financial and organisational systems. It is a post in which you can make a real contribution to the charity, and so help to make a difference to the lives of refugees. As a flexible finance team in a changing organisation, the Project Accountant can also expect to assist other members of the team as required, including in the provision of management and financial accounting services to the charity; in transaction processing; and in general administrative responsibilities for the team. Page 2 of 7

3 Main Duties and Responsibilities Management Accounting, Budgeting & Monitoring 1 To support budget holders in the financial management of services by helping them to monitor actuals against budgets, service plans and forecasts. To liaise with managers to address any issues and suggest options to mitigate any variations from resourcing plans. 2 To produce and maintain multi year financial projections for service areas and funding streams, including assisting service managers with the production of annual budgets and in-year forecasts. 3 To meet formally on a quarterly basis with service managers to review actual expenditure and consider reforecasts required for the year. 4 To review the allocations of shared costs to projects to ensure costs are appropriately charged to funding streams. 5 To produce management commentaries for the Finance Manager for inclusion within the monthly Management Accounts, identifying and investigating variances and trends that need to be reported to senior management. 6 To use spreadsheets and the finance system to enter and maintain approved budgets and reforecasts, process year end accruals and prepayments, and to create and post corrective journal entries as required for correct management and financial accounting. 7 To provide friendly and expert support to service staff on a range of financial topics. 8 To play an active part in the organisational budget planning cycle, both annual and longer term. Funder Planning and Reporting 9 To work with service managers and the income generation team on funding applications for a range of funders including central and local government, trusts, and individual donors. In particular to work with service managers on the production of realistic and complete budgets aligned to the activities planned, within any criteria set by the funder. 10 To review grant agreements and contracts ensuring requirements can be and are met by the organisation. 11 To advise the Finance Manager, Director of Finance and Director of Services on the financial and resource implications of bids and related contractual agreements 12 To maintain mapping of funder accounting requirements to Refugee Council standard financial reporting. 13 To produce the financial information required for donor reporting, and work with service managers to ensure that narrative reports to funders are consistent with financial reporting. 14 To work alongside service managers and the income generation team on the monitoring and management of grant activity and spend, including identifying reasons for variances and helping to identify options for dealing with them. Page 3 of 7

4 15 To work with the Finance Manager, service managers and the income generation team to highlight areas and gaps in services which will need funding and to work closely with those teams on routes and strategies for securing funding. 16 To maintain oversight of the overall financial position of service areas and support the Income Generation team where they need to look at adjustment to fundraising plans. 17 To work with the Finance Manager, other finance team members, and the wider organisation, on the development and standardisation of grant budgeting, bidding, monitoring, and reporting processes. General 18 To act as an expert critical friend to services and the organisation, ensuring services are run to the maximum benefit of our clients whilst conscious of the overall financial parameters of the charity and of financial accountability. 19 To identify and implement continuous improvement in finance processes, controls and services, in particular where these relate to projects and funding bids, and to negotiate with senior management on best practice in financial processes. 20 To respond to all correspondence ( , telephone, post, fax etc) from staff, volunteers, funders, and other finance users on a timely basis, providing high quality customer service; to escalate more complex queries to the Finance Manager as necessary. 21 To attend key meetings internally in particular with budget holders, fundraising staff, and senior management; to build links with other teams to ensure a comprehensive service to all finance users. 22 To attend key meetings externally with funders as required representing the Refugee Council and its financial interests. 23 To share in general administrative support responsibilities for the team, including post opening, purchasing, records management including scanning, filing and archiving, procedures manual and standard form updates. 24 To help cover the work of other team members as necessary Additional Information Health & Safety The post holder is responsible for: Cooperating with the Refugee Council in delivering all legal responsibilities in respect of your own and your colleagues, volunteers, clients and others health and safety whilst at work. Becoming familiar with the Refugee Council s Health & Safety Policy and procedures including evacuation procedures in the workplace. Page 4 of 7

5 Carrying out risk assessments for their work and especially their own workstation to ensure that they or others are not exposed to unnecessary risk. Flexibility In order to deliver services effectively, a degree of flexibility is needed and the post-holder may be required to perform work not specifically referred to above. Such duties will, however, fall within the scope of the job, at the appropriate grade. The job description will be subject to periodic review with the post-holder to ensure it accurately reflects the duties of the job. Equal Opportunities Statement As part of its recruitment policy, the Refugee Council intends to ensure that no prospective or actual employee is discriminated against on the basis of race, sex, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation, employment status, class, disability, age, religious belief or political persuasion, or is disadvantaged by any condition or requirement which is not demonstrably justifiable. Flexible Working This job is suitable for occasional working from home subject to operational requirements. The postholder may occasionally be required to travel within the UK, most likely to Croydon. Personal Effectiveness With the support of their manager the post-holder will need to effectively manage their own workload and medium and long term plans and objectives. Page 5 of 7

6 JOB TITLE: Project Accountant Qualifications Essential 1. Part qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW or equivalent). Candidates who only have an AAT Accounting Qualification or equivalent but are actively studying towards one of these qualifications and have exceptional relevant experience will also be considered. Experience Essential 1. Relevant project accounting experience. 2. Charity or grant funded not-for-profit sector experience. 3. Experience working with and supporting non finance staff on the production of project budgets for grant or contract applications. 4. Experience of working within a donor funding environment including producing financial reports to external donors. 5. Experience reviewing management accounts; identifying areas of concern in project accounts, and liaising with project management to decide on the financial and operational actions required. 6. Experience of identifying and implementing improvements to financial or organisational processes. Desirable 1. Experience of EC funding. 2. Use of Great Plains accounting and FRx reporting software. Knowledge, skills and abilities Essential 1. Ability to manage own workloads to consistently meet strict deadlines, with a pragmatic approach towards achievement of goals and resolution of problems. 2. Highly computer literate; with excellent skills in standard office IT packages to include particularly high ability in the use of Excel. Page 6 of 7

7 3. High degree of communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey financial concepts and information to non-finance staff. 4. Able to work independently and as part of a team, both within the Finance team and across the organisation. 5. Adherence to and understanding of the principles of equal opportunities. 6. A commitment to the work of the Refugee Council. Desirable 7. Knowledge of the issues and context of charity-specific project accounting, for instance full cost recovery, restricted and unrestricted fund accounting, and the treatment of VAT for charities. August 2016 Page 7 of 7