Gloucester Diocesan Board of Finance

Job Description and Person Specification

Job Title / Finance Officer – payroll & accounts payable
Salary Grade / Band 5
Section/Team / Finance
Reporting to / Head of Finance
Reporting to job holder / Finance Assistant
Date of issue / June 2017
Overall Purpose of Post
The overall purpose of this post is:
1.  To manage the accounting and taxation of stipends and salaries.
2.  To provide payroll services to the GDBF group and parishes in the wider Diocese.
3.  To oversee the weekly processing of accounts payable
4.  To support the Diocesan Director of Ordinands with the financial aspects of resourcing ministerial education.
Context in which Diocesan Jobs are carried out
We want all our people to have good working experiences – and we seek to continually improve our working systems and arrangements. We welcome and encourage new ideas and suggestions about what we can do better.
Responsibilities & Accountabilities / Nature and Scope of Role
1 / To manage the processing, accounting and taxation of stipends and related payments.
Stipends (c140 heads) / Liaise with Bishop’s office, notify church commissioners of leavers and joiners, check reports and perform spreadsheet analysis, post information through accounts system, undertake monthly reconciliations and monitoring other responsible bodies payment contributions.
2 / To provide payroll services to the GDBF group, related entities and parishes in the wider Diocese.
Salaries (c60 heads) / Similar to stipends with additional requirements to arrange monthly payments to individuals and HMRC. Monitor HMRC website/Bulletins for payroll changes.
3 / To oversee the weekly processing of accounts payable. / This post undertakes more complex journals (pensions, salaries) reviews key reconciliations and provides support to the finance assistant with the processing of accounts payable.
4 / To support the Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) with the financial aspects of resourcing ministerial education. / To ensure that all Ordinands funded by the DBF receive the correct support grants in line with National Church guidance. Liaising with the Archbishops Council re pooling and individual payment amendments.
Collate grant application supporting documentation. Recalculate grants as necessary when informed by Ordinand of changes.
To support and advise the DDO in all financial matters pertinent to Ordinands.
Act as first point of contact for Ordinands with financial queries.
5 / Miscellaneous responsibilities. / Within a complex, multifaceted organisation such as the DBF there will always be a number of relatively small but important areas of work. This post would be expected to offer support particularly in legally significant and confidential matters.
Generic Responsibilities
6 / To welcome visitors and/or receive incoming enquiries and telephone calls - dealing promptly and courteously with enquiries and ensuring high quality customer service at all times
7 / To ensure that all health and safety instructions are followed and that care is taken to ensure safety for self and colleagues, reporting concerns immediately
8 / To undertake as requested other duties as may reasonably be expected


Person Specification

Attributes / Essential (or expected to train/qualify to that standard) / Desirable
General / §  Polite and courteous
§  Confidentiality, probity & integrity
§  Excellent time management
§  Strong verbal and written communication skills / §  Strong analytical and reasoning skills
Qualifications & Training / §  AAT qualified or qualified by experience. / §  CCAB qualified or qualified by experience
Experience / §  Work within a finance department for at least three years.
§  Managed a payroll for at least two years
§  Strong sense of confidentiality / §  Some understanding of the important issues faced by the Church.
Knowledge, skills and abilities / §  Knowledge of principals of UK payroll taxation.
§  Ability to undertake and oversee processing within an accounts department.
§  Ability to plan, organize and prioritize effectively, in order to meet deadlines
§  Ability to communicate complex financial information to “laymen”.
Personal Qualities / §  Strong people skills, fair minded and able to communicate well to a variety of audiences
§  Capable of delivering results to tight deadlines and under pressure
§  Team player, willing to share in key decision making / §  Committed to the aims and ambitions of the Diocese and in tune with the ethos of the non-profit sector