Finance Lead

Job Title:Finance Lead

Job type: Full-time, permanent

Location of Position: London

Reporting to: Alinea UK Director

Remuneration: In line with market rates.

Citizenship: Must be eligible to work in the UK

Language Requirements: Must speak fluent English. Ukrainian, Russian, or French are considered an asset.

Application Deadline: March 22, 2024

Application Instructions:

• A cover letter is mandatory to be considered. Cover letters should effectively align your skills and experiences with the specific job responsibilities and qualifications outlined in the position’s description, demonstrating your aptitude and enthusiasm for the role, your daily fee and current availability.
• To apply for this position, email your cover letter and CV (Curriculum Vitae), following the important instructions below:
• Important, please mark the position name in the subject line, as it appears on the job posting.
• Important, please ensure your CV and cover letter include your name on the document file name before you email your application.
• Email your CV and cover letter to employment@alineainternational.com
• Only successful candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.

About Alinea

Alinea is an international development consultancy providing technical and management expertise that helps people improve their lives. We work with governments, investors, companies, and communities to create lasting change. Over 38 years, Alinea has successfully delivered more than 1,000 projects worldwide. alineainternational.com

At Alinea International we value diversity, equity, inclusivity, accessibility and belonging in everything we do. We are an equal opportunity employer opposed to all forms of discrimination. We actively seek and encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds recognizing that an inclusive workforce enriches our organization and achieves smarter, more innovative results.

Alinea is committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Due to the nature of our work, all candidates will be subject to due diligence checks and extensive background checks where appropriate.

About the work

This position will work with both the Alinea UK corporate team in London and Alinea project teams on assignment. The role is responsible for all UK entity accounting, project reporting, billing and cash management operations and liaising with HQ finance team in Canada on preparation of UK statutory accounts and supervision of annual external audit.

The Finance Lead will provide support to projects in reconciling advances to field offices and on-site reconciliation, invoicing clients, updating, and maintaining project budgets, developing project forecasts, and leading on client financial reporting requirements.

Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel are essential. The individual must possess strong communication and collaboration skills – a team player that readily supports other organizational members and project team(s).

Strong attention to detail is required. Alinea prides itself on being an adaptive and learning environment, and we foster and encourage job-embedded growth and learning.

The Role

The key responsibilities and deliverables of the Financial Lead are as follows:

UK entity financial accounting and reporting

• Supervise all UK financial accounting and reporting.
• Supervise annual audit arrangements.

Invoicing

• Prepare invoices across all Alinea UK projects, for all realized expenditures and employee time worked.

Project budgets

• Maintain project budgets, working closely with relevant Project Director(s), Manager(s) and Coordinator(s). This involves updating forecasts (in collaboration with the project team), updating the budget for actual costs (based on the invoices each month), preparing annual budgets for the projects and preparing financial reports in accordance with the project contract.
• Project budgets are maintained in MS Excel and can be complex with multi-dimensional reporting (i.e., by Contract Clause, Activity, Year), therefore strong Excel skills and attention to detail are required.
• Work closely with Project Manager(s) and Project Coordinator(s) to ensure that forecasts are updated regularly, and that budget consistently and reliably reflects the project’s actual costs to date and most accurate forecasts.

Preparation of ad hoc budgets and financial reports

• Prepare ad hoc financial budgets or reports as required, including scenarios or analyses. Assist other team members with the preparation and/or audit of financial reports.

Auditing expense reports and Project financial audits

• Audit project-related invoices and expense reports and approve them for payment.
• Assist with project audits as required. The Finance Lead will be responsible for providing any required assistance to the auditors while they are in the Alinea office, including retrieving documentation required.

Pricing

• Work with the Alinea UK BD team to develop commercial proposals for new business opportunities. This will involve developing pricing strategies, benchmarking rates, projecting costs, and populating client commercial pro forma.

Field office financial reconciliation (“site reconciliation”)

• On a monthly basis, receive and audit the package of financial documents from Alinea UK projects. Using MS Excel, ledgers are audited against hard copies of documents and organized into standard reporting format for invoicing.

Support to other team and organization members.

• Support the UK Director and other team members as needed.

Required Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will be recently qualified (ICAEW etc.) and looking for a first step towards a career path as a Finance Director.
• At least three years’ experience of corporate financial management within an audit or finance manager role.
• High-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• Experience in professional services delivery an asset.
• Experience with a major accounting firm an asset.