Chief Finance Officer

JOB TITLE: Chief Finance Officer

CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, full-time

SALARY RANGE: £38,000 – £42,000

REPORTS TO: Chief Operating Officer

LOCATION: The office is located in Westbury, Wiltshire. The expectation is to be office-based, but working from home is possible by agreement.

BENEFITS: Pension 5%, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

TO START: Preferably 1st November 2024

Purpose of Role:

1. AS CFO, you will lead and continually improve and be held accountable for the Trust’s financial performance.
2. At an exciting time of change and development at Counties, you will be a pivotal member of the Executive team, providing strategic leadership in developing and managing Finance.
3. You will contribute to the implementation and delivery of the Trust’s strategy to secure long term financial health and growth, with specific fund-raising oversight, enabling us to achieve our vision and mission.
4. You will be capable of developing and growing your responsibilities with the organisation, and adding value to the executive operational team in relation to organisational support (such as technology, office administration, governance).

 How to apply:

Please send your CV and covering letter to [email protected] – applications without a covering letter will not be considered.

 Main Duties and Responsibilities:

1. All aspects of the finance function, preparing reports and other financial information, ensuring all appropriate financial processes and procedures, and cash management controls are in place, and overseeing assistant and administration support.
2. Developing financial and other reports to help Executive team to effectively plan, manage and drive the organisation forwards.
3. Identify, maintain and monitor the risks that the charity is subject to.
4. Actively manage financial risks and ensure that they are mitigated as far as possible by implementing and managing adequate and effective financial controls across the organisation.
5. Input into strategic leadership and planning to ensure strategic decisions are fully evaluated from a financial perspective, reported on, and that strategic objectives are met.
6. Ensuring regular and ad hoc internal and external reporting is relevant and developed (incorporating agreed KPI’s) and reported in a timely and effective manner.
7. Working with the Executive team as appropriate, ensuring funding applications are researched, prepared and submitted to Trusts and other grant awarding bodies as agreed.
8. With the Executive team, ensuring that good relations are maintained with external funding organisations through appropriate communications and other means as appropriate.
9. A key part of the Executive team, deputising for the Chief Operating Officer as appropriate, and working alongside other members of the Executive.
10. Attend quarterly Trustee meetings, Finance Committee meetings and other meetings as appropriate, ensuring adequate financial information is provided as appropriate in advance.

 Strategic Leadership and Management

1. To lead the Finance team with one direct line manager, and to represent the finance function on the Executive team, and strategic initiatives.
2. Work collaboratively with others on the Executive team, the Finance Committee to contribute to strategic leadership of Counties, including shaping and ensuring delivery of our 3-year strategy and innovation initiatives.
3. Deputise for the Chief Operating Officer, internally and externally, as required.
4. Strategically lead on Counties’ finance-related policies, processes and systems development and internal control, and ensuring compliance.
5. Develop and maintain effective relationships with practitioners and stakeholders in your particular area of business.
6. Act as an ambassador for Counties at all times.

 Planning and Strategy

1. Work closely with the CEO, COO and the Executive team to plan and implement a robust financial strategy for Counties.
2. Lead on the development of finance policy for Counties, ensuring that financial information is securely held and in compliance with legal requirements
3. Ensure that Trustees are fully informed on all matters of finance through the attendance at the Finance committee and Trustee meetings
4. Lead on the development of multi-year budgets and funding requirements
5. Establish cross-organisational processes to establish and monitor KPI’s for the Executive team to manage operations and strategic activities. Work closely with colleagues to ensure adherence to these agreed KPI’s.
6. Working closely with the Executive team to ensure the delivery of regular forecasts and projections.
7. Lead business planning by working with the Executive team to model potential future activities, including providing financial evaluation into strategic discussions and plans.

 Accounting and reporting

1. Ensure financial accounts information and systems are accurately providing relevant information to the organisation. Oversee and manage bank account, bank reconciliations and other accounting reconciliations as appropriate. Oversee all QuickBooks accounting, data input, processes and system.
2. Prepare information and reports for the Trustee’s, Executive team, CEO, and COO as required, including the development of new reports.
3. Ensure the delivery of management accounts on a monthly basis, including cash flow forecast and projections.
4. Lead the coordination, development and production of the Annual Report and Accounts with Counties auditors.
5. Oversight of annual process for statutory accounts preparation, audit and sign off, including setting timeline and reporting to external stakeholders as appropriate. Review audit systems and improve efficiency of audit processes.
6. Review primary cost-related and income systems to ensure that all are appropriate to Counties now and into the future. Consider alternatives and make proposals to the Executive team concerning future systems.
7. Provide oversight of management of cash flow, ensuring available liquidity for day to day working capital requirements.
8. Maintain compliance with statutory obligations to include Companies House, Charity Commission and HM Revenue & Customs.
9. Oversight of the budget management process, ensuring appropriate level of support and challenge is provided to budget managers, ensuring that funds are deployed efficiently and effectively to maximise agreed impact, and that any significant variance is identified quickly to enable timely action.

 Risk management

1. Lead on maintaining and monitoring the organisational risk register in conjunction with the CEO, COO and Executive team.
2. Provide advice on project or organisational risk management
3. Oversee all financial elements of all agreements entered into by Counties.
4. Identify potential risks and mitigations across finance, governance, GDPR, IT and others, ensuring that risks are managed.
5. Working with the COO to ensure GDPR compliance across the organisation, IT and Cyber security, management of work locations, health and safety is appropriately managed, and appropriate insurance coverage is in place.

 Fundraising

1. Research and develop plans for fund raising amongst more Trusts and grant making organisations, including the identification of KPI targets of number of applications and £ targeted funds to be raised.
2. Ensure applications for funds are appropriately completed, ensuring input from Executive team as appropriate.
3. Establish plans to build and maintain contact and relationships with key donors, funding organisations and all stakeholders.
4. With the Executive team, develop regular donation and funding reports.
5. Ensure all donations and gifts are appropriately followed up and managed.
6. Support the CEO and COO in planning, information and developing relationships with key funding organisations

 Governance

1. Work with the CEO and COO to ensure that governance arrangements are fit-for-purpose, compliant with best practice, including Charity Commission and Companies House guidance. Record minutes of Trustee and Committee meetings and ensure these are approved in a timely manner.

 Other duties

1. Ensure incoming evangelism grant applications to Counties are appropriately considered (with the Executive team as appropriate), reviewed, and communications provided (both internally and externally), and followed up as appropriate. Any grants given then appropriately monitored.
2. Carry out other tasks and responsibilities as determined from time to time by the CEO and/or COO.
3. Attend Counties conferences, as appropriate.