Job Description

Job Title: Finance Business Partner
Salary: Up to \xc2\xa352,500 dependent on experience
Closing Date: 21 November 2023
Reporting to: Finance Director
Line management: None at present but works closely with the Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator
Contract: Permanent - full-time (5 days) or part-time (4 days). The Access Project welcomes requests for flexible working arrangements.
Job Location: Hybrid (combination of London office and home working)
Interview date: 1 Dec 2023
Start date: ASAP

About the role
This is an exciting role for a motivated self-starter, who is keen to influence the organisation and has a well-rounded approach to finance business partnering. The Access Project has ambitious plans to grow and is looking for a Finance Business Partner to build strong foundations in relation to financial literacy and commercial awareness across the organisation, working closely with the Finance Director. This role will be crucial in supporting the Finance Director to enable the organisation through the next stage of its journey.

This role will give you the opportunity to make your mark by building strong relationships across the organisation and providing outstanding customer service to its various stakeholders.

Given the relative size of the organisation, this is a broad role, encompassing many different aspects of finance and therefore will provide an amazing opportunity for the right candidate to progress to the next stage of their career.


Role responsibilities
The key elements of the role are as follows:

Business partnering
The most crucial part of the role is to support all budget holders across the organisation in order to enable them to manage their own budgets effectively and make strategic decisions based on sound financial understanding of the organisation as a whole. This will include the following, with the support and guidance of the Finance Director:

• Developing The Access Project\xe2\x80\x99s financial strategy and associated KPIs
• Developing multi-year forecasts and financial models in line with the organisation\xe2\x80\x99s strategic goals
• Leading on the annual budgeting and forecasting cycles
• Working closely with the fundraising team in order to ensure the accuracy of the in-year fundraising pipeline and future income projections
• Providing the fundraising team with financial information for funding applications and producing financial reports to funders
• Understanding restricted funding, its implications and ensuring that spend is in line with requirements of funders
• Providing on-going training and support to budget holders in relation to the use of accounting software

Systems, Financial and Management Accounting
In order to provide sound business partnering support, the information used must be of utmost integrity, relevant and timely. Your role will ensure this by:

• Producing high-quality monthly management accounts to the Executives and Trustees, including reporting on finance and fundraising KPIs
• Successfully managing the month-end process including reviewing the work of the Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator and meeting reporting deadlines. This will involve posting of month-end journals and preparation of balance sheet reconciliations.
• Maintaining a system of sound financial controls
• Managing the accounting software (Xledger), its users and applications that integrate with it
• Managing any upgrades and implementation of new finance systems and applications
• Assisting with the preparation of the annual statutory accounts and supporting workings

Payroll:
Manage the monthly payroll process in conjunction with outsourced payroll providers, ensuring that staff get paid correctly, on time and The Access Project fulfils its obligations in relation to tax and other regulatory requirements. This will involve working closely with the HR department and provide opportunities for automation of current processes.

Treasury management:

The Access Project is about to embark on its first investment strategy to make better use of its surplus cash resources and maximise interest income, whilst reducing reliance on a small number of financial institutions and the inherent risks. You will assist the Finance Director with this by:

• Maintaining and monitoring a rolling 12-month cashflow forecast
• Analysing monthly movements on short-term deposits and producing associated reporting to Executives and trustees
• Managing the organisation\xe2\x80\x99s portfolio in line with its investment policy, in conjunction with the Finance Director

Other:

• Providing on-going training and support to non-finance colleagues to increase financial literacy across the organisation
• Providing on-going training and support to non-finance colleagues to enable them to use the accounting system for claiming expenses
• Maintaining, regularly reviewing and updating organisational policies relating to finance
• Assisting with audit queries during the year-end statutory audit process
• Providing cover for the Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator, and deputising for the Finance Director, as and when required
• Undertaking other tasks and ad-hoc projects as requested by the Finance Director

Person specification

• Holds a professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACA/ACCA/CIMA)
• Has relevant substantial experience within the not-for-profit sector
• Strong understanding of Charities SORP (FRS102)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to adapt a style to various stakeholders
• Able to build effective relationships across the organisation, ensuring that budget holders are fully supported in relation to finance to enable them to carry out the financial aspects of their roles effectively
• Able to effectively communicate complex financial matters to non-finance colleagues
• Outstanding attention to detail
• Committed to driving and seeing through improvements within the finance team
• Flexible and able to work well as part of a team and alone
• Passionate about educational disadvantage and The Access Project\xe2\x80\x99s mission
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
• A commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Committed to upholding a professional code of ethics

Skills and experience

• Demonstrable business partnering experience, preferably in a similar size organisation and business model
• Strong financial and management accounting background
• Advanced Excel skills and experience using a range of financial reporting tools
• Experience of using a range of accounting software
• Experience of using Xledger (desirable)
• Good working knowledge of MS Office programmes and Google Workspace
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to adapt and influence change

About the organisation

We believe that every young person should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and make the most of their education. We\xe2\x80\x99re passionate about reducing the educational barriers our students face, helping them to pursue a career in their chosen field and follow their dreams.

Our mission is to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access top universities, through a unique combination of tuition and in-school mentoring. We work with them to make good applications, get the grades and transition to university.

The programme combats educational inequality and improves social mobility by raising students\xe2\x80\x99 grades and supporting them to understand the pathway to a top university. Students who receive support from our programme are more than twice as likely to attend top universities as statistically similar students, according to UCAS.

For more information including our values, why work for us and our team, please follow:
https://www.theaccessproject.org.uk/about-us/join-our-team

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave p.a. (pro rata) plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure.
• PerkBox \xe2\x80\x93 offering nationwide shopping discounts, gym memberships, holidays, learning and much more.
• Employee Assistance Programme, a 24-hour helpline for staff
• Online Medical assistance \xe2\x80\x93 access 24/7 to a qualified GP within minutes, with referrals and prescriptions available same-day.
• Interest-free travelcard loans
• Cyclescheme loans
• 3 paid Volunteering Days
• Employer\xe2\x80\x99s pensions contributions (3%)
• CPD options

Safeguarding Statement
The Access Project is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Equal Opportunities Statement
The Access Project is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We are working towards improvements with equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Disclosure of a Criminal Record
The Rehabilitation of Offenders 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order 1986 applies to posts where there is access to children. This means that applicants for employment that involves working with children and young people must disclose anything listed in their criminal record, with the exception of protected cautions and convictions. All Disclosures are carried out in the strictest confidence and are made only in connection with your application for employment and for no other purpose. The application for a DBS check at a level appropriate to the job role will be activated before your first day of work. Members of staff who are not eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check are required to undertake a basic DBS check only in line with legal requirements. If you are selected for appointment to the role, you will be subject to this procedure.

Present or most recent employment
It is important to give full information, including the organisation you work in, or most recent employment if not currently working, full dates, address and explanation of any gaps in employment.

References
All appointments are subject to verification of employment and suitability of the candidate for the post applied for. We reserve the right to approach any previous employer for a reference and to verify their identity but will request your permission before doing so. If you have experience of working with children, please include this as one of your references.

Education, Qualifications and Training:

• Ensure you give all the information requested, including dates, establishment where you studied and make clear the level of any examinations e.g., GCSE, GCE \'O\' Level or \'A\' Level or equivalents etc. and the grades you obtained. Also include any skills training you have had. You will be required to produce original documentary evidence of any qualifications relevant to the job, and these will be detailed on the person specification.
• Proof of qualification is required before the appointment is confirmed.

Contact information
Please direct any queries to our email via: info@theaccessproject.org.uk
For further information about The Access Project, please see our website via: www.theaccessproject.org.uk or contact The Access Project on 020 4513 5999.
Please ensure that you complete all of the questions in the application form to enable us to shortlist your application for an interview, otherwise it will be disqualified automatically. Resumes and CVs will not be considered.