Account payable officer jobs in Leeds

Bring clarity, confidence and control to finance that powers social change.

Are you an experienced charity finance professional who enjoys turning numbers into clear, useful insight? Do you want your work to support an organisation empowering young women to thrive?

You Make It (YMI) is looking for an experienced Freelance Finance Manager to oversee our finance function and ensure strong financial management, reporting and controls across the organisation.

Working closely with our Founder CEO, Treasurer and team, you will play a vital role in maintaining YMI’s financial health, strengthening accountability and ensuring we remain funder-ready as we continue delivering life-changing programmes for young women.

This is an ongoing freelance role (approximately 15 hours per month), designed to sit alongside your other clients or commitments.

About You Make It

You Make It (YMI) is an award-winning East London charity, established in 2011. We empower unemployed / under-employed young working-class, racialised women to succeed in the social, cultural and economic life of London. 

We do this by brokering access to people, knowledge, networks and experiences that inspire confidence, focus and ambition. Our team, partners and supporters are united by a commitment to creating long-term, meaningful change.

Key Details

• Contract: Ongoing freelance (~15 hours per month)

• Day Rate: £250–£350 (inclusive of VAT and expenses), depending on experience and VAT status

• Location: Home-based with occasional London meetings

• Start Date: ASAP

• Reporting to: Founder CEO

• Financial Year End: 31 March

Why Work With Us?

Purpose-Driven Work: Your expertise directly supports life-changing opportunities for young women.

Trusted Autonomy: Work independently while being valued as a strategic partner.

Flexible Working: Primarily remote, with occasional London meetings.

Values-Led Culture: Integrity, equity, kindness and collaboration shape how we work.

How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We hope to appoint by 16 March 2026, or sooner.

Role summary

Are you a forward-thinking finance professional who wants to use your skills to change lives? Are you highly motivated, organised with an eye for detail? Do you enjoy responsibility and working with figures, solving problems and completing tasks to a high standard? 

Help empower a global community by leading finance at Shift.ms and its trading subsidiary, realworld ms. We’re looking for a highly organised and self motivated Finance Manager to support its growth ambitions. Reporting directly to the CEO and Head of Operations, you’ll turn figures into insights, helping us solve problems and shape the long-term strategy that allows us to support more MSers than ever before.

Why Shift.ms?
Shift.ms, the social network for people with MS (MSers), launched in 2009. Founded by MSers, for MSers, the charity supports many thousands of recently diagnosed people across the world as they make sense of MS. Shift.ms has an engaged, global community of over 80,000 members, driven by people with MS. From diagnosis, MSers join to connect with others, get the support they need, and together, learn to proactively manage their MS. 

realworld ms was founded in 2024, realworld ms operates as the industry-facing subsidiary of Shift.ms. realworld ms enables MS stakeholders to draw on real-world evidence to develop products, treatments and services that meet today’s MSer needs.

What we expect from you

Working alongside the Head of Operations, CEO and department heads, your responsibilities will cover Shift.ms and its wholly owned subsidiary, realworld ms ltd, as follows:

Financial management

• Be the primary point of contact for our Treasurer, Accountant and External Auditor;

• Review and constantly improve processes and internal controls for finance;

• Lead the development of annual budgets and shorter/longer term forecasts as needed;

• Manage accounting, budget and cash flow,  and working with the CEO, develop cost reduction strategies as needed;

• Prepare monthly management accounts incorporating variance analysis of budgets vs. actuals and headline narrative;

• Manage monthly payroll with an external payroll provider;

• Draft consolidated statutory accounts for audit and lead the coordination of year-end audit;

• Prepare quarterly VAT returns for the Group and be the main point of contact for HMRC;

• Make recommendations for corporate gift aid donations based on performance and future forecasts for the subsidiary;

• Present finance updates in-person at quarterly board meetings normally held in London;

• Manage and lead FinCom meetings, typically held quarterly;

• Attend the trustee annual away weekend.

Bookkeeping 

• Lead the financial operations of the charity including recording transactions onto the finance system (Quickbooks), managing cashflow, invoicing, accounts payable/receivable, processing of purchase invoices and supplier payments;

• Complete month end reconciliations as part of the preparation of monthly management accounts;

• Track, calculate and process intercompany recharges to ensure costs sit within the correct entity;

• Track and ensure correct treatment and reporting of restricted/unrestricted funds;

• Process employee, volunteer & trustee expense claims;

• Manage the relationship with an external payroll bureau, liaising with them to ensure payroll is processed accurately and paid on time;

• Support employee onboarding including obtaining details for payroll and pre employment checks.

Other 

• Collaborate with senior stakeholders on projects and reporting; 

• Track income receipts and projections for weekly income generation calls with heads of department;

• Process gift aid claims;

• Process incentive payments for realworld ms participants;

• Renew insurances.

Qualifications, skills and abilities (E= Essential D = Desirable)

• Be part or fully qualified with a professional accounting qualification ACCA, CIMA or ACA, with at least 2-3 years post qualification experience. (E)

• Employment history in a charity/3rd sector role (D)

• Good understanding of charity reporting requirements and Charity SORP (E) especially the technical application of income recognition requirements for the charity and its subsidiary

• Experience of VAT reporting (E) including an understanding of VAT recovery with respect to business and non business for charities, place of supply (overseas transactions)

• Experience in developing organisational budgets/forecasts (D)

• Good analytical and communication skills (E)

• Strong organisational, time management, and prioritisation skills (E)

• Excellent attention to detail (E)

• Excel and google sheets to at least intermediate standard. (E) 

• Experience of accounting software packages (E) (Experience with Quickbooks (D))

• Comfortable operating in a change environment (D)

• Awareness of confidentiality and the need to comply by the UK GDPR (E)

We're an equal opportunity employer. We’re looking for the best candidate based on the value they can add. Our culture is hugely important to us and we welcome applicants of all race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status. We encourage all candidates who believe they have the required qualifications and experience to apply. 

Other information

Hours: 22.5 hours a week

Location: Remote position based in the UK. Monthly travel to Leeds is required.

Salary: £40,000-45,000 dependent on relevant expertise

Annual Leave: 25 days per annum (leave entitlement is pro rated for days worked), plus public holidays and 3 days between Christmas and New Year.

Employee benefits: Generous life assurance and pension schemes, committed learning and development budget for each staff member, flexible working.

The role closes on midday on Monday 30 March but we will be conducting rolling interviews.