Job description

Title: Senior Finance and Database Officer

Organisation: Bliss, the premature and sick baby charity

Location: Bliss’ head office, London SE1

Salary: c.£32,000 pro-rata

Terms: 35 hours per week

Role description

Main purpose of the role

The Senior Finance and Database Officer is responsible for leading the development and modification of all financial processes and procedures. In addition, this role produces management reports, including monthly management accounts, and will assist in the production of the year-end financial statements and creating the annual budget. The role is also responsible for the ongoing recording of financial transactions to the Customer Relationship Management System and the Financial System through the performance and supervision of various activities.

About the team and department

The Finance team is a three person team that oversees all financial functions at Bliss including Income, Expenditure, Budgeting and Reporting. This team is part of the wider Finance and Operations team, a five person team that covers all administrative functions at Bliss including HR and Office Management.

Reporting structure

Reporting to the Head of Finance and Operations, this post manages the Database and Finance Officer and partially manages the Facilities Officer with financial tasks.


Key responsibilities

·  Overseeing the management of all day-to-day financial transactions, including:

-  Maintaining and supervising the recording of donations through various electronic sources, collection agents and direct banking to the CRM and the accounting system, undertaking this task during periods of absence

-  Maintaining and supervising the recording and reconciling of transactions through the company credit cards and petty cash

-  Maintaining and supervising the sales and purchase ledgers, including raising invoices and allocating receipts, identifying potential bad debts, liaising with account managers in the collection of debts, managing suppliers, purchase ledger invoices and their settlement

-  Maintaining and supervising banking, dealing with enquiries, preparing monthly bank reconciliations and cash flow forecasts

-  Maintaining and supervising the claiming and recording of Gift Aid through the CRM and the financial system

-  Assisting the Head of Finance & Operations in the production and filing of the quarterly VAT return

-  Supervising the Database and Finance Officer and the Facilities Officer with financial tasks

·  Leading the development and delivery of efficient financial systems and processes:

-  Maintaining and further developing digital financial systems and processes, using technical expertise to improve and automate internal systems and processes to deliver accurate, efficient and timely financial data and analysis.

·  Budget monitoring and preparation of management accounts:

-  Maintaining expenditure and project budgets, providing reporting and support to budget holders

-  Production of the monthly and quarterly management accounts, including assisting with the production of reforecasts and maintaining the automated production process

-  Assisting the Head of Finance & Operations with the recording of staff costs and the allocation of costs to various cost centres and providing reconciliations of the salaries control accounts

·  Support with annual accounts and audit:

-  Assisting the Head of Finance & Operations with the production of the year-end financial statements, including the recording of accruals, prepayments and deferred income

-  Liaising with auditors during their annual audit, providing them with assistance, documentary evidence and analysis required to complete their audit.

·  Line management of the Database and Finance Officer:

-  Providing regular one-to-one supervision and support, setting objectives, managing performance, and facilitating learning and development opportunities.

·  Any other duties as may reasonably be requested by the Head of Finance & Operations

Person specification

Skills

Essential:

·  Educated to degree level

·  Experience of recording income and expenditure, bookkeeping and the major checks, balances and internal controls of financial systems

·  Highly computer literate, with experience of computerised financial systems and CRMs, advanced Excel and Visual Basic

·  Experience of working within the charity sector and an understanding of the key financial processes therein

·  Excellent time management, with the ability to prioritise workloads to meet demanding deadlines

·  Ability to use and create automated routines to process volumes of data

·  Willingness to accept responsibility

·  Excellent analytical and problem solving ability

·  Excellent attention to detail

·  Able to demonstrate a commitment to the aims and objectives of Bliss.

Desirable:

·  Willingness to work outside office hours and weekends on occasions

·  Willingness to undertake further training as and when required

·  Bliss encourages all staff to volunteer to support events coordinated by teams across the charity; there is an expectation that all staff offer to support at least two or three events in a year around their direct job commitments.

About Bliss

Bliss is the UK charity for premature and sick babies. Our vision is that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life. We champion the rights of every baby born premature or sick to receive the best care. We achieve this by empowering families, influencing policy and practice, and enabling life changing research.

For more information about Bliss, visit bliss.org.uk

How to apply

Please submit your CV and equal opportunities form, along with a supporting statement describing how you meet the criteria in the person specification to or via post to: Senior HR Officer, Bliss, Chapter House, 18-20 Crucifix Lane, London, SE1 3JW. This information is used when shortlisting candidates for interview.

The closing date for applications is Monday 17 July at 9am.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 July.

It is Bliss’ policy not to contact applicants who have not been invited for interview so if you have not heard from us by Friday 21 July you should assume that, on this occasion, your application has been unsuccessful.

3