Finance Manager

Salary range: £40,000 - £47,940 per annum, depending on experience
Location: Hybrid - our office is in London EC4Y 8EE
Contract: Permanent, full time (31.5 hours over 5 days)
Directorate: Operations
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Direct reports: Finance Officer

Job Purpose

This role is responsible for managing BSR’s day-to-day financial activities, leading on financial planning and reporting, and supporting financial governance. The Finance Manager acts as a trusted business partner to colleagues across the organisation, improving financial understanding and supporting business delivery. As a values-led and high-performing organisation, our finance team looks for innovations in our financial operations, using data to make decisions and measure impact. The team work collaboratively with colleagues, empowering them to make excellent financial decisions and demonstrate longer-term thinking. This is a great time to join our team, as we’re looking to further improve our processes and management level reporting ahead of the next strategy period. We’re maturing as an organisation in terms of our financial strategy, and you’ll be able to bring your experience and new ideas about how the finance team can best support the organisation to ensure we make a difference for people with rheumatic conditions. While you will need a strong background in finance to meet the technical requirements of the role, as a learning organisation we recruit for potential, not perfection. This might be your first management role, or you might not have worked in the charity sector before – but if you are able to do the role, we are happy to provide you with the support and training you need to succeed. This could include supporting you to complete a professional accounting qualification if you don’t already have one. Alternatively, you might be an experienced Finance Manager, looking for a new challenge or to join a flexible organisation which aligns with your own values.

Main responsibilities

Day-to-day financial operations

• Manage the financial activities of the charity and trading subsidiary (BSR Enterprises)
• Ensure accuracy and efficiency in the accounts
• Process payroll and administer the pension scheme
• Ensure compliance with HMRC, including monitoring VAT threshold, tax and gift aid, and undertake necessary returns where necessary
• Be the main contact with and management of, the day-to-day operations of the Charity’s banking arrangements, in line with authorisation requirements

Financial planning

• Lead the preparation of the annual budget
• Produce the monthly management accounts
• Maintain cashflow forecasting looking forward at least 12 months

Business partnering

• Work with the COO to improve financial understanding across the organisation
• Train, support and develop budget holders
• Support business delivery and development

Financial reporting

• Provide financial reports and analysis to the senior management team and Trustees
• Attend quarterly Finance and Risk Committee meetings
• Complete required statutory reporting
• Prepare year end schedules and act as main point of contact for financial auditors

Financial governance

• Ensure appropriate financial controls are in place
• Identify and mitigate financial risks

Finance function development

• Develop finance policies, processes and systems to reflect best practice and improve efficiency
• Manage, support and develop the Finance Officer
• Develop and deliver a workplan for the finance team in line with BSR’s strategy and values

Person Specification

1. Accounting qualification or part qualification (for example, AAT, ACCA or CIMA) or equivalent knowledge gained through experience
2. Experience managing financial operations, planning, reconciliation, reporting and analysis
3. Knowledge of financial governance, including accounting regulations and best practice
4. Experience of working with and co-ordinating income and expenditure across multi-project budgets
5. Confident using and improving IT systems for a finance department
6. Business partnering mindset
7. Ability to explain financial information to non-finance colleagues and Trustees
8. Commitment to continual professional and personal development

Equity, Inclusion and Diversity statement BSR is committed to encouraging inclusion, equity, and diversity in our workforce. We are actively trying to increase the diversity of our staff team. We try to reduce as many barriers as we can for those with a disability. We know that everyone is an individual, so please always tell us what we can do to support you. We welcome approaches from individuals from underrepresented groups, including those from minoritised communities, and those with a disability, to better reflect the community we serve and help broaden our perspectives.

Benefits of working at BSR

We offer a wide range of benefits, most of which start from day one of joining us. Our benefits fall into four main areas: Wellbeing, Time- based, Learning and development, and Financial. Just some of them include:

Wellbeing:

• Free period products in our office
• Free flu vaccinations
• Mental Health First Aiders
• BUPA healthcare scheme- we offer a cash plan, which you can add children or partners to
• Employee Assistance Programme. This is a free, confidential counselling service to all staff, as well as a general advice service provided by BUPA
• WeCare offers access to a 24/7 virtual GP, as well as a mental health support service, a get fit programme and an online portal with lots of helpful resources
• Our enhanced sick pay offer is:
  • Up to two years’ service: 4 weeks full pay and 4 weeks half pay
  • After two years’ service: 12 weeks full pay and 12 weeks half pay
• We work in a social environment with a range of activities, both virtual and in person, run by our Social Squad. This includes an organisation- wide volunteering day.

Time-based:

• We offer 30 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays
• All staff can request sabbaticals at any point, which are considered on a case-by-case basis
• We also offer an extra day for moving house
• Bank holiday swaps- you can swap a bank holiday day for another day’s leave (entitlement remains 1:1 days)
• We’re a 4 day week employer, which at BSR means working your fulltime hours (31.5 each week) over 5 days

Learning and development

We will help you develop your career by supporting your personal development and encouraging internal progression. This includes recognising individuals’ achievements through our internal staff awards. We offer a huge range of learning opportunities, both in-house and externally. This includes a thorough induction programme when you join us, as well as development opportunities aimed at line managers, and wellbeing-based learning sessions. And if professional membership is a required part of your role, we’ll cover the cost of that.

Financial:

• We offer a performance related pay incentive scheme
• Income protection scheme
• You’ll be enrolled on our pensions scheme with Aegon (via Second Sight). Our current pension match is 5% employer contribution if you contribute 4% (9% contribution in total).
• Our life assurance policy pays three times your basic salary
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Ride-to-work scheme
• Interest-free loan scheme
• We also provide generous enhancements within our parental and family leave policies.
  • Our maternity/shared parental/adoption offer is 6 weeks at full pay, 33 weeks at half pay, followed by 13 weeks at the statutory rate.
  • Our paternity leave offer is 6 weeks at full pay.