Financial Controller Maternity Cover

23 December 2013

Dear Enquirer

Financial Controller – Maternity Cover

Aquila Way is a Christian response to homelessness and disadvantage providing housing, support and other specialised services in the north-east. We welcome applicants from all faiths or none but it is important that all employees understand and sympathise with the Christian vision, ethos and culture of Aquila Way.

Thank you for expressing your interest in the role of Financial Controller – maternity cover for which I have pleasure in providing you with our Application Pack:

Job Description and Person Specification

Application Form including an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
Guidance on filling in the Application Form

For more information about Aquila Way’s vision and mission please visit our website:

The Closing Date for the return of the Application Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form is Monday 13th January at 9am.

We hope this information will help you decide whether to apply and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Carolyn Rochester

Office Manager

Encs

Job Description

Job Title:Financial Controller – Maternity Cover

Responsible to:Chief Executive and the Board

Responsible for:Finance Assistant and Finance Clerk

Hours: 37 hours per week

Fixed term to 31.03.15 with possible extension

Salary:Grade E £26,979 - £32,677 per annum

Benefits: Eligible to contribute to the Organisation’s stakeholder pension scheme after 3 months service, subject to you making monthly contributions of at least 2% of your monthly basic salary or £20 (whichever is higher). After successful completion of your probation period the Employer will pay contributions at the rate of 6% per year of your basic annual salary to the scheme.

25 days holiday per year, increasing by one day per year after 5 completed years service up to a maximum of 30 days per annum.

Job Purpose:To provide sound financial management systems for the charity, including development of accounting controls and procedures and provision of financial guidance and support to internal managers and the Board.

Organisation Context:

Aquila Way is a Christian response to homelessness and disadvantage providing housing, support and other specialised services. We welcome applicants from all faiths or none, but it is important that all employees understand and sympathise with the Christian vision, ethos and culture of Aquila Way. However, it will be a genuine occupational requirement that a practising Christian is needed for some specified roles. This will be highlighted in the qualifications section of the job description and will be clearly stated in the job advert. This is not one of those posts.

This post is based in the Central Office which provides the senior management, financial and administrative support to the projects it operates.

The Financial Controller will provide a lead in the financial management for the charity, working alongside the Chief Executive and board.

Duties and Responsibilities:

To manage the operations of the finance department.
To maintain account records to professional standards and statutory requirements.
In conjunction with the Chief Executive and budget holders prepare the company’s annual budget, departmental budgets and cash flow forecasts.
To provide financial information to the Board, senior management team and all budget holders and to assist them in the smooth and effective management of the company’s operations.
To liaise with budget holders re financial and accounting objectives.
To set-up, monitor and record all financial information related to grant funding.
To prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts including a variance analysis, monthly financial and other ad hoc financial reports for the senior management team and the Board.
To forecast on a quarterly basis or more regularly if it is required.
To manage and supervise the company’s payroll, including pension administration and end of year returns.
To prepare Annual Accounts for audit.
To manage and supervise the purchase and sales ledger systems including the payment of invoices and recovery of all debts.
To be responsible for ensuring that adequate financial controls exist regarding counting, recording and banking.
To liaise with external agencies, such as external auditors, local authority, partners, suppliers, Inland Revenue, etc.
To work with the Chief Executive and Chair of Finance on all matters pertaining to the financial health of the charity
To service and participate in the Finance Sub Committee to the Board
To prepare and provide financial reporting for Edberts House, registered charity 1127388
To actively participate in the wider life of Aquila Way

Scope and Limits of Authority:

The annual budget of the Association is in the region of £1.5million.The postholder has responsibility for accounting for all income and expenditure and ensuring accurate and legally compliant records. The postholder is required to remain abreast of changes to statutory accounting regulations, including those specific to charitable organisations.

Personal Specification/Key Competencies:

Qualifications:

Qualified accountant with knowledge of management and financial accounting (Desirable)

Experience:

Several years experience within management and/or financial accounts, in particular including production and analysis of financial reports, development and application of accounting procedures and controls (Essential)
Experience of working within a growing organisation and used to managing change (Desirable)
Experience of working with a housing charity (Desirable)

Skills, Knowledge & Aptitude:

Knowledge of statutory financial regulations, and particularly those relating to charities (SORP) (Essential)
Knowledge of financial regulations for HCA Registered Providers (desirable)
Knowledge of accounting software e.g. PS Financials and SAGE (Essential)
Strong organisation and planning skills (Essential)
Analytical skills (Essential)
Ability to manage, develop and motivate a small team of staff (Essential)
Ability to partner with other managers/team leaders in a time of change (Essential)
Good IT skills and ability to ensure accounting software is appropriate and effective to the business needs (Essential)
Good interpersonal skills, in particular to develop collaborative working relationships with internal budget holders and externally with banks, suppliers and statutory bodies e.g. Inland Revenue (Essential)

Motivation:

Be in sympathy with the Christian ethos of the organisation (Essential)
Be committed and enthusiastic (Essential)

Employment Application Form

This form must be completed in full. A CVwill not be accepted as a substitute.

Please refer to the Job Description to check if an Occupational Requirement applies to the post.

If possible please type your application. If you post it please ensure the correct postage is used. (You may need a large stamp).

Personal Details

Application for the post of:
Surname: / Forename(s):
Permanent address: / Telephone nos:
Home:

Work:

Mobile:
National Insurance No. / Email:

Please return your completed Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form to or post to :

Admin Department

Aquila Way

573 Durham Road

Low Fell

Gateshead

NE9 5EY

Education

School, College, University or other institution attended / Date from / Date
to / Course details / Qualifications gained

Please give details of any other training or courses attended since leaving school.

Course / Date / Length

Please give details of any membership of professional/technical bodies you may have.

have.

Present Employment (current or most recent)

Employer’s name and address and business type:
Present salary: Notice period:
Date from: Date to:
State position held, main duties including responsibilities and reasons for wanting to leave:

Previous Employment

Please give details of full and part-time work both paid and unpaid (eg volunteering) you have undertaken (this includes Saturday and holiday jobs). Continue onto a separate sheet if necessary. Please list in order with the most recent first.

Employer’s name and address
Type of business
Position held / Final Salary:
Main duties and responsibilities
Reason for leaving
Dates employed from / to / From: / To:
Employer’s name and address
Type of business
Position held / Final Salary:
Main duties and responsibilities
Reason for leaving
Dates employed from / to / From: / To:
Employer’s name and address
Type of business
Position held / Final Salary:
Main duties and responsibilities
Reason for leaving
Dates employed from / to / From: / To:
Employer’s name and address
Type of business
Position held / Final Salary:
Main duties and responsibilities
Reason for leaving
Dates employed from / to / From: / To:

Time Unaccounted For

Please give details of any time not already accounted for above (including unemployment).

Aquila Way Values and Ethos

Aquila Way is a Christian charity, established to provide a Christian response to homelessness and disadvantage. All staff and volunteers are required to work within Aquila Way’s values which are mentioned on our website in Who We Are/Vision and Mission. Please explain how you would do this and to what extent you personally identify with these values.

Supporting Statement

Please write a supporting statement indicating:

1) Why you want this particular post

2)What qualities and experience you think you can contribute to the charity

3) Any further information about your experience which has not been covered elsewhere in this Application Form

Immigration Information

Are you eligible to work in the UK?

□ Yes□ No

Personal Information

Motoring Information

Do you hold a current full driving licence?□ Yes□ No

Do you own or have access to a car?□ Yes□ No

Please note that if you are required to use your vehicle for business purposes it will be necessary for you to have appropriate insurance cover that includes travel in work. You will be required to fund this at your own expense and we will ask for a copy of your insurance certificate as evidence.

Special Requirements

Please identify any special requirements or equipment which may assist you to participatein the recruitment/interview process. (Please note that interviews are often carried out at our Central Offices on the 1st Floor where there is no lift).

References

Please give the names of at least two referees. One should be from your current or most recent employer (if applicable). If that is not possible, please explain why. Neither of the referees should be related to you.

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

To your knowledge, have you ever had any allegations made against you relating to the safeguarding of children or adults at risk which has been reported to and investigated by Social Services and/or the Police?

□ Yes□ No

If YES, we will need to discuss this with you.

Criminal Convictions

Do you have a prosecution pending, or have you ever been convicted at a court?

□ Yes□ No

If YES please give details.

Depending on the role you are applying for you may be required to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau Check for an Enhanced Disclosure before the post can be confirmed.

As the position is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, this check will reveal any details of cautions, reprimands or final warnings, as well as formal convictions. This process is subject to a strict code to ensure confidentiality, fair practice and security of any information disclosed. The CRB Code of Practice and our own procedures are available on request for you to read. It is stressed that a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to appointment, only if the nature of any matters revealed could be considered to place children or vulnerable adults at risk.

Declaration

Data Protection: We take our obligations under data protection legislation seriously. These require us to explain how the data you provide on the application form and any other data, which may be created in connection with your application, may be used. Any data about you will be held in secure conditions, with access restricted to those who need it in connection with dealing with your application and selection. Data may also be used for the purposes of monitoring the effectiveness of our selection processes, but in these circumstances, all data will be anonymised.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

To be completed by the applicant

Application form for the post of:
Surname/family name:
Forenames (in full):
Date of birth:
Please indicate where you saw the advert for this post:

We are committed to Equality of Opportunity in respect of our recruitment and employment practices and aim to ensure that no employee or applicant is discriminated against, either directly or indirectly, without justification.

It is important for us to monitor the effectiveness of our Equality & Diversity Policy. We would like you to assist us in this by completing the form attached.

This information is confidential and its sole use will be for monitoring purposes only.

This form which will not be used in either the short-listing or appointment process.

Gender:□ Male□ Female

Age:

□ 18-25□ 26-35□ 36 – 45□ 46-55 □ over 56

Race/ethnic origin:

(A) White□ British

□ Irish

□ Any other white background

(B)Mixed□ White & Black Caribbean

□ White & Black African

□ White & Asian

□ Any other mixed background

□ Pakistani

□ Bangladeshi

□ Any other Asian background

(D) Black or Black British□ Caribbean

□ African

□ Any other black background

(E)Other Ethnic Groups□ Chinese

□ Any other ethnic group (please give details)

Religion or Belief:

□ Committed Christian□ Jewish□ Hindu

□ Sympathetic to Christian values□ Sikh□ Other

□ Moslem□ Buddhist□ None

Sexual Orientation:

□ Heterosexual/Straight□ Gay man

□ Bisexual □ Gay woman/lesbian

□ Transgender

Disability:

Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Equality Act 2010.

In these terms, do you consider that you have a disability? □ Yes□ No

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