Job Title:
Finance Manager /

Post Number

SEPH0143
Grade: 9 /

Hours37

Overall Purpose of Job:
To provide a full range of accounting and budgeting services and financial support to PHASE (young people’s support) CIC, in a confidential manner.
Main Responsibilities:
1. / Provide monthly financial reports to the Managing Director, including Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets and Forecasts. Attend PHASE Board meetings where required.
2.
3. / Undertake budget preparation and year end tasks, including Corporation tax returns and company accounts
Reconcile the bank, payroll with the SAGE accounting system
4.
5. / Respond to queries, sometimes complex, as appropriate.
Ensure that financial procedures are reviewed and kept upto date and adhered to
6.
7 / Investigate and resolve queries relating to the finance of PHASE, refer more complex queries to the Managing Director as appropriate.
Provide VAT returns, corporation tax and other necessary reports ensuring that all information is checked for accuracy.
8. / Produce both standard and bespoke financial and management accounting information for the Managing Director. Identify reporting gaps and suggest improvements where necessary.
9. / Update, interrogate and maintain financial systems using appropriate technology and interrogation tools, including maintenance of data integrity and support to development of such systems.
10. / Assist the Managing Director in financial planning and the preparation and monitoring of more complex budgets, including grants and external funding arrangements.
11. / Take responsibility for the closure and supervision of on-going reconciliation of accounts.
12. / Complete financial returns including statistical and grant claims and performance /activity measures.
13. / Support the Operational Support Clerks in the inputting and recording of financial transactions.
14. / Deputise as required for the Operations Manager and Managing Director
Knowledge, Skill and Experience Required:
  1. Previous experience of working in a financial environment, and detailed knowledge of financial management and budgeting practices and processes.
  1. The ability to use IT systems and software, including specialist packages such as SAGE accounting, planning and monitoring applications, and business intelligence tools. A thorough understanding of the range of guidelines and policies which must be complied with including; accounting procedures set down by the Accounting Code of Practice, Technical guidance for specific processes within the financial year, including guidance on preparing end of year company accounts, Corporation tax and VAT’. Guidance on the use of the SAGE and other financial reporting systems and Grant regulations and reporting requirements
  1. Qualified or part qualified AAT, ability to work towards.
  1. Ability to liaise with staff both within the function and with non financial managers
  1. Literacy and numeracy skills.
  1. Good communication skills. The post holder must have the confidence to address groups and convey technical financial knowledge (e.g. for the Board of Directors)
  1. Ability to manage and prioritise own workload and to take responsibility to guide more junior staff on a shared task or project.
  1. The ability to construct and develop spreadsheet and other recording systems to underpin the key financial responsibilities of the post.
  1. Ability to review and implement financial procedures
  1. Ability to analyse and present financial information to the Managing Director
  1. Ability to work with auditors

Creativity and Innovation:
  1. Contributing to the review and development of policies and procedures is response to changing external environments, legislation and other requirements.
  1. Reviewing and amending service specific spending and funding streams to maximise financial benefit to the company.
  1. Contributing towards the development of financial systems to improve the effectiveness of financial data and interpretation of accounting rules, grant conditions and legislation to ensure the most favourable outcome for PHASE.
  1. Innovative communication tools to ensure important messages are received by the whole staff team, most of which are not under the direct supervision of the post holder.
  1. Making the best use of the financial systems to meet changing needs.
  1. Creation of financial models to support any bidding/tendering process
  1. Create financial information that is easily understood by the whole staff team within PHASE

Decision Making:
Decisions that this post would make include:
  1. Checking of financial transaction coding and carry out journals where appropriate..
  1. Recommendation of corrective action in cases of budget variance and areas of financial risk.
  1. Make decisions involving the reconciliation of bank and SAGE accounts following technical guidance and/or previous working papers and/or using own knowledge.
  1. Decisions on format of presentation of information to different audiences including the Managing Director, potential funders etc.
  1. Interpretation of grant claims and returns.
  1. Correct treatment of matters in year-end accounts, budgetary preparation and maintenance where options exist
  1. Prioritise own workload to meet demands, and advise Operational Support Clerks as appropriate.
  1. To provide advice to the Managing Director on areas which require improvement, including budgetary spend and business processes.
  1. To take decisions within defined parameters about issues within the scope of the post such as accounting treatment, technical fixes, investment of cash balances.
  1. Decisions on the allocation of surplus into reserves

Contacts and Relationships:
  1. Frequent contact with Managing Director to receive direction in working requirements, to ensure consistency of financial treatment, to minimise duplication of work, to share best practice and information and resolve queries
  1. Contact with Board Members to present financial information.
  1. Contact with other managers within PHASE who are responsible for a budget.
  1. Regular contact with staff of PHASE on financial matters that affect services, to share best practice and information and to resolve queries
  1. Contact with HMRC, Companies House, and any other body to whom PHASE has an obligation to provide financial reports. This includes contact to resolve or highlight any financial issues.
  1. Colleagues within team:, to ensure consistency of financial treatment, to minimise duplication of work, to share best practice, for training purposes, for direction in particular working requirements, to seek advice, to share information and to resolve queries
  1. PHASE managers, administration staff: regular contact to provide advice, training and answer queries
  1. Interaction with government departments and agencies, suppliers, banks, brokers, other public commercial and voluntary organisations to resolve queries, seek advice or confirm transactions between any of these bodies and PHASE
Responsibility for Resources:
None
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Work Demands:
  1. Work is carried out to an annual cycle with regular monthly, weekly and daily requirements to complete tasks within specified deadlines (e.g. monthly budget monitoring, grant returns and the reconciliation of bank and SAGE accounts.There will be additional demands and tight deadlines, to meet service requirements or a statutory requirement
  1. In addition some ad-hoc work requires immediate attention and has to be done to short deadlines, including urgent work that may be required to avoid high risk financial situations.
  1. There is a need to manage and respond to conflicting demands, requiring prioritisation, sometimes between different managers such as the First line managers, Operational Manager and Managing Director.
  1. On occasions an immediate response will be required to address any identified financial risks

Physical Demands:
Involves deskbound work, and significant use of a PC and telephone. It would also involve a degree of general filing, moving and accessing files, and the distribution of tabulations where these are not distributed electronically.
Working Conditions:
The post is office based, but will involve travelling to otheroffices or establishments.
Work Context:
Minimal risk to health.

Position in Organisation

Indicate how many staff the post is directly accountable for:
Does the postholder supervise the posts: see footnote
Are posts supervised in more than one location? No
Is the supervision shared with another post in the structure? see footnote
Please indicate which post(s) see footnote







The post is subject to:
Disclosure of convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exemption) Act 1974 No
Political restriction No
Footnote
The Finance Manager will oversee finance work that the Operational Support Clerks undertakes. Management responsibility will be with the Operations Manager.

Note:

Post holders will be expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their post and may be asked to perform other duties, which reasonably correspond to the general character of the post and are commensurate with its level of responsibility. This job description is provided for guidance only and does not form part of the contract of employment.

Date of Job Description…………………………….

Date copy sent to Post holder…………………………….