(Senior) Grants And Finance Officer

Homebased within UK (with national and potentially international travel)

Line Manager: Senior Finance Manager

Key relationships:  Director of Programmes, Head of Impact and Project Managers, Director of Fundraising

Salary:  £30,000 - £35,000 pa F/T (part time considered with a minimum of a 3 day week).

My client is a fantastic international non-governmental organisation that works in low and middle-income countries to implement environmental and economic development programmes, focusing on support to nascent green businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs.  The work improves the livelihoods of some of the poorest and most marginalised, promotes circular economy innovation and contributes to a cleaner and healthier future for all.

The organisation promotes and shares locally appropriate, evidence based and inclusive practices, supporting and empowering others to take positive action.  They partner with public, private and community-based organisations in countries where practices are harming the environment, economy and society. 

The organisation is less than 10 years old and has enjoyed unprecedented growth (it has grown by 400% in income terms since 2020).  It is a dynamic organisation with an international team who work in a supportive and collegial environment.  For the right candidate there is ample opportunity to progress and for personal development.

Purpose of the role:

The purpose of this role is to support the organisation’s implementation of its global programme ensuring that project accounting is effective and efficient and that internal and external reporting is detailed and accurate.

Specific Tasks:

Lead on financial aspects of grant proposals, particularly on budgeting and ensuring the budgets recover staff and indirect costs appropriately.

Provide monthly financial grant reports, with supporting transactions lists, from the accounting system.

Support Project Managers with queries on allocation of expenditure to budget lines and other financial queries.

Proactively support grant budget holders in their financial management of grants, including reforecasting and support the project managers in making changes to expenditure, including submitting a revised budget to the donor where necessary.

Lead on financial grant reporting to donors including consolidating partner expenditure for grants, where necessary.

With support from Senior Finance Manager, lead on grant financial audits.

Calculate and process recharges for staff and indirect costs to grants, noting the requirement to recover costs as fully as possible.

Ensure that grant income is received when due and follow up payments from donors as necessary.

Ensure that grant expenditure is in line with both internal and donor compliance requirements and supporting evidence of this is stored as needed and appropriate.  This includes supporting the use of timesheets where agreed.

Keep the central forecast updated with changes in grant budgets and new grants. Similarly support the annual budgeting process for grant income, expenditure and recharges.

Check supporting documentation from partners and follow up any resulting issues.

Support the statutory annual accounts and audit processes with grant finance related issues.

Undertake limited other tasks within the Finance team as required including general administration and liaison with IT service providers, as required.

Person Specification:

Some experience in preparing financial grant reports on large institutional grants (UK Government and/or EU or other similar)

Understanding of grant compliance requirements and working within these.

Business-partnering attitude to support the budget holder and the wider organisation in ensuring the most effective use of the funds.

Experience of supporting the creation of project budgets in grant proposals.

Self-motivated and comfortable to find solutions to technical and administrative problems.

Very good to excellent knowledge of Excel.

Good knowledge and experience of using MS Office applications.

Financially literate with an ability to understand budgetary implications

Good English communication skills

Desirable

• Experience of working with UK and/ or EU government funded Grants and their compliance requirements, or other complex grants.

• Experience of working with overseas partners, in particular carrying out due diligence.

• Part qualified or qualified in a professional accounting qualification.