Job description

1. / Post:
/ 15.16FI06
Post: / Finance Officer – Sales & Cash ledgers /
Service Area: / Finance
Line Manager: / Financial Systems Accountant
Responsible for: / No line management responsibility
Location: / 1-10 Keeley Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 4BA
The post holder may be required to work at other locations.
Grade: / Support salary spine grade C, spine points 22-25
Salary: / £26,293 to £28,399 inclusive of London Weighting. We will normally appoint at the bottom of the salary scale unless the successful candidate has relevant experience relating to the person specification over and above what is required.
Hours of work: / 35 hours per week.

2.Main purpose of the Job

The post holder will be primarily responsible for the cash book, sales ledger and credit control function within City Lit. You will be expected to develop and enhance the quality of credit control across the College, working in both the finance and student enrolment teams.

3. Main Activities and Responsibilities

Cash book
  • Ensure all receipts are banked daily and all direct debits and bank transfers are posted. Prepare a monthly reconciliation of all the Institute’s bank accounts and resolve all outstanding balances within a reasonable timescale liaising with the Institute’s bankers as necessary.

Sales Ledger
  • Working in conjunction with student enrolment services and other departments across the college, ensure that Sales Invoices are raised on a timely basis, ensuring the completeness of income recorded.

  • Responsible for improving and streamlining the sales invoicing process, in particular around the development of any new finance systems.

  • Responsible for ensuring that all sales income is collected and effective relationship are established with clients, in particular Student Finance England.

Student Fee Income
  • Input into the process of interfacing between EBS and the finance system. Responsible for the management of this interface once developed.

Credit Control – sales invoices
  • Responsible for the chasing of all sales invoices raised by finance, using effective debt collection methods by telephone, letters and email.

  • Ensure that all course fees paid by third parties are paid in advance of the course commencing, working in conjunction with enrolment services to cancel attendance as and when required

  • Dealing with customer queries regarding payments and outstanding invoices

  • Handle disputed accounts and negotiating to bring payment into line with terms

  • Develop credit control procedures to ensure that City Lit maximises its resources and reduces the levels of bad debt

  • Able to accurately prepare documents required to instigate legal action where necessary

  • Placing accounts on stop in line with financial procedures

  • Production of customer statements and copy invoices as well as processing requests for customer refunds

  • Ensuring best practice and continuous improvement of policies and procedures within the Finance function in relation to sales invoicing and credit control

Credit Control - Student debt
  • Working in conjunction with student registration services, ensure that all student debt is chased on a timely basis, by telephone, letters and email

  • Work to establish a system of direct debit payment for students paying by instalment and be responsible for the processing of direct debit payments once a system has been established

  • Responsible for ensuring that student finance records on both EBS and the finance system are kept up-to-date

Control Account reconciliations
  • Responsible for reconciling the student debtor figures between EBS and the finance system, and investigate and correct differences as appropriate

  • Responsible for the reconciliation of other sales ledger control accounts.

Gift Aid
  • Responsible for ensuring that the reconciliation of cash received to Fundraising records is carried out prior to submission to the Financial & Systems Accountant, and that all supporting documentation is maintained.

Gift vouchers
  • Responsible for the accounting for gift vouchers issued.

Additional activities and responsibilities
  • Assist the Financial & Systems Accountant in the development of Finance related systems across the college.

  • General administrative duties

  • Other transaction processing tasks as required

  • Contributing to the work of the Finance team including covering the work of other post holders during periods of leave

  • Any other duties as appropriate to the post.

  • To work at all times in accordance with and to further the policies and procedures of City Lit, including those regarding safeguarding, health & safety, equality & diversity and customer care.

4. / Selection Criteria
Your application should address each selection criterion, which relate to our standards for people and offer evidence in your application how you meet our key requirements for that criterion (the bullet points below each criterion).
Qualifications /
  • Must be ACA, ACCA, CIMA part qualified
  • Should have a degree or equivalent that can be shown to be relevant for the role.

Work experience /
  • Proven experience of working in a finance function
  • You have excellent IT skills with the ability to use Access, Word and Outlook to a good standard and spreadsheets and accounting packages at an advanced level.
  • You have a strong understanding of financial systems and procedures.

Improving Quality /
  • Innovate, can ensure that an outstanding student experience drives quality improvement.

Communication and influencing /
  • Have effective communication skills that engage hard to reach groups and can manage poor communication.
  • Can understand the needs of adult learners and can advocate for adult education.

Planning and Managing Resources /
  • Are organised with good time management skills, can make and execute successful plans and manage resources and risk effectively.
  • Can have a strategic vision for your subject area.

Using evidence and data to make decisions /
  • Can make effective decisions and can develop proposals that are evidence-based and support strategy.

Equality and diversity /
  • Can understand and promote equality and diversity.

Safeguarding /
  • Can manage safeguarding issues as appropriate to your role.

5. / How to apply
To express your interest in this role, please address the above yellow highlighted criteria on no more than 1 A4 side and email to
Closing date:Midnight, Wednesday 27 January 2016
Interview date: Tuesday 2 February 2016
Please refer to the guidance notes when completing the application form.
Statutory requirements
Prior to the commencement of any employment City Lit has a statutory duty to verify your right to work in the United Kingdom, your identity and any qualifications claimed in support of your application.
Contractual requirements
This post is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of employment in accordance with the probationary procedure.
Our values
Collaborate
Create
Transform
Our values support our mission and vision.
We expect our staff to work by and promote our values as we believe this contributes to our success. These values underpin our selection criteria; therefore, we aim to appoint people who can display an understanding of our values and how they relate to our mission, vision and strategic objectives during the recruitment process.
Job description created: December 2015