JOB PURPOSE: The role holder will work closely with the Chief Executive and wider team to maintain and establish effective financial and administrative systems and processes. S/he will be responsible for the smooth running of our financial systems, undertaking book-keeping, reporting and regularly reviewing policies, processes and procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose and will liaise with the Board about financial issues. S/he will manage other operational matters from time to time

Key responsibilities

1. Financial management

• Be responsible for accurate and timely management of all MCFB income and expenditure cashflow management using SAGE
• Administer invoice approval and payment processes, manage bank accounts and operate expense claim procedures and payment processes
• Manage monthly financial ledger, including profit and loss and balance sheet reconciliations and cash flow analysis
• Processing month-end journals, including accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations; preparing corrective journals for income and expense reallocation for approval and processing. Reconciling accounts and ensuring accuracy of Trial Balance.
• Produce quarterly management accounts and financial reports for the CEO and the Board
• Support the development of the annual budget based on strategic priorities, trends and projections, and assist the Management Team in developing a strategic business plan to maintain the financial health and sustainability of the organisation
• Providing the CEO with regular and ad-hoc budgeting/forecasting and management reports in preparation of budgets for grant submissions, and grant financial reports as required by grant funders
• Support the preparation of annual accounts for audit and liaise closely with the auditors in the preparation of draft and annual statutory accounts
• Maintain and regularly review fixed assets register
• Oversee tax and regulatory and compliance issues, including Gift Aid reclaim
• Develop and document business processes and accounting policies with the CEO and management to maintain and strengthen internal controls
• Liaise with the payroll provider to manage payroll and pensions provision
• Responsible for liaising with internal teams in the timely submission of monthly expenses claims

2. General

• Accept personal responsibility for own learning and professional development
• Provide leadership, including by modelling positive behaviours to the diverse staff team
• Maintain a basic knowledge and understanding of issues affecting those that MCFB seeks to help
• Adhere to the organisation’s data protection, confidentiality, health and safety, and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults policies
• To undertake any other duties as may be required from time to time, which are commensurate with the nature of the post. Positive, pro-active approach, with an ability to problem-solve and the drive to develop and implement new systems and processes as necessary
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in all work with well-developed organisational and administrative ability, including proven success in setting up systems, keeping records and delivering financial reports to deadline and to a high standard
• Is discreet, trustworthy and respects diversity, equalities issues and confidentiality

Skills and specifications:

• At least 3-5 years experience in a similar finance role working in the charity sector
• Qualified l/part qualified, AAT with charity accounting experience of 5 years and above or Certificate in Charity Accounting and relevant degree
• Experience working in a financial management role and managing financial accounting systems, preferably SAGE
• Experience of using Microsoft Office – particularly Excel, minimum of intermediate level.
• Experience of an ERP or Modern Accounting Software e.g., QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, Microsoft Dynamics etc. would be advantageous
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• Experience with purchases ledger transaction processing, invoicing, credit control and month-end income and expenditure analysis.

Please note, we do not offer sponsorship for work visa’s therefore you need to have the right to work in the UK to apply for any of our posts.

Do you want to join an organisation that has been named recently as a Top 100 company to work with by The Sunday Times?

If you do and would like to have an informal chat before applying then please call Rhonda Wilson, Head of Admissions and Programmes, on 07715 238337.

About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses

Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. We have a strong ethos of values and a culture that enables us to Be Brave and to Keep the Promise of involving the children and young people as fully as possible in taking decisions that affect their lives.

Our home in Fort William is a Hybrid Model, we have a residential service for children and young people as well as a service that we call Sustain Plus, which supports whole families by providing both emotional and practical support. We work with families and parents to secure a nurturing environment for children up to 18 years old. We also help parents/caregivers develop their ability to care for their children, provide practical parenting skills, and engage with their community. Our service provides flexible support of varying intensity and aims to encourage the development of family routines, resilience, and improved parental confidence.

We are looking to appoint a House Manager who will join our strong and thriving Residential/Sustain Plus community in Aberlour.

What we are looking for

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a passion for supporting vulnerable children and whole families to achieve the best possible outcomes in their lives. The successful candidate will have the drive, determination and cultural values to be able to lead their team to empower the children and young people to make the changes which will ultimately transform their lives.

We want someone who believes that all children and families are deserving of love and someone who will support the team to ensure that our children and families are able to live fulfilling lives without having restriction imposed on them in their everyday lives.

The person we choose to join us must have experience of working in and leading practice in a children’s house and with families. They must be visible to the team and children to ensure that the vision and values are lived every day - This will include working evenings and weekends.

Our homes provide a rich environment that provides safety, relationships, growth and healing for the children and adults who live and work there. To achieve this the successful candidate must have knowledge about developmental trauma, how this will have impacted children’s early life experiences and understand how to lead a team to ensure that every response a child receives takes account of their trauma.

A comprehensive support package focussed on achieving excellence in practice is provided to all of our teams and the successful candidate will also receive clinical supervision, provided externally to support their professional practice development and well-being.

If you share our vision of Being Brave for every child, young person and families, and Keeping the Promise, and you have the skills and passion required to meet the challenges of this role we look forward to hearing from you.

Ideally, candidates will have experience of leading a team within a residential childcare environment involving a residential shift rota and also experience in supporting whole families. You will be required to have or be willing to work towards the qualifications for being a manager in a residential childcare facility: a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 9 or above plus a management qualification at SCQF level 8 or above.

What we Offer

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.