Advocacy and information officer jobs in kettering, northamptonshire

The Association for Cultural Enterprises (AfCE) supports over 500 member organisations across the UK and internationally, helping the cultural sector generate earned income through commercial activity. As an Arts Council England-funded organisation, AfCE delivers sector-leading training, benchmarking, data-led insights, events, and advocacy to drive financial resilience in arts, heritage, and culture.

AfCE runs a year-round programme of live training events around the UK and Europe, as well as its signature annual Cultural Enterprises Conference and Trade Show. We have ambitions to grow attendance at these events, as well as growing our membership.

The Association is a charitable organisation, which also has a trading company, Cultural Enterprises (Trading) Limited (CET).

We are looking for a new Finance Manager to join a small, friendly, and ambitious team, to review the day-to-day processes and policies and identify opportunities to improve reporting  and make operational efficiencies. The Association is growing, so now is an exciting time to join our team and work with our members across the cultural sector.

Job Summary

The purpose of this role is to provide sound financial management for the Association and CET through:

• Statutory financial reporting in line with Charity SORP/UK GAAP, including annual returns to Companies House and the Charity Commission

• Management accounting, reporting and analysis to funders, management, staff, and Trustees/Directors

• Preparation and maintenance of budgets, forecasts and plans, including cashflows and project budgets

• Supervision and control of day-to-day accounting transactions, including oversight of the finance aspects of the Apprentice role

• Oversight and implementation of robust financial systems, policies, and procedures

• Responsible for financial queries, working with the Apprentice as first point of contact for external contacts
   

Main Duties

• Supervise day-to-day accounting operations and ensure accurate financial record keeping, including coding, allocations, reconciliations, and tax accounting

• Oversee invoice generation and debt recovery processes

• Process payments and staff expenses for authorisation

• Produce regular management accounts on an accruals basis, providing interpretation and advice to the Executive Team, Finance & Risk Committee, Trustees/Directors, and funders

• Lead on budget preparation and forecasting, including project-specific budgets; monitor and reforecast as needed

• Prepare statutory accounts in compliance with charity SORP and liaise with external auditors and the Treasurer

• Manage contracts with financial services providers, including bookkeepers, auditors, banks, and investment managers

• Attend AfCE and CET Board meetings

• Fulfil company secretarial duties, including:

  • Filing confirmation statements and annual accounts for ACE and CET with Companies House and Charity Commission

  • Filing changes in Trustees/Directors

• Complete Arts Council England (ACE) returns, including provision of financial information for quarterly payment processes when required

• Negotiate and implement insurance policies including:

  • General insurance

  • Cyber security

  • Life assurance

  • Staff sickness policy

  • Trustees’ liability

  • Conference insurance

• Oversee monthly payroll, including statutory payments to HMRC and pension providers, and liaise with bookkeepers for payroll updates or changes

• Review VAT returns for accuracy before submission to HMRC
   

Note on External Bookkeepers
External bookkeepers currently provide support limited to payroll and VAT processing.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

• Self-disciplined, organised, proactive and self-motivating

• Logical and methodical approach to finance and administration

• Trustworthy, honest, reliable and conscientious

• Confident, professional, and personable, able to communicate easily within a small team and with external stakeholders
   

Professional Competencies

Essential

• Professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, or CIMA

• Strong knowledge of charity SORP and charity finance regulations, including VAT and Gift Aid

• Experience with Xero or equivalent cloud-based accounting systems

• Strong reporting skills

• Team player with excellent interpersonal skills

• High level of accuracy and attention to detail

• Experience producing management accounts and supporting senior leadership and boards

• Ability to interpret financial data for non-financial colleagues
   

Desirable

• Experience working in a small charity or business

• Understanding of the cultural or charitable sector

• Experience of remote working
   

Benefits

• Unlimited holiday policy

• 5% employer pension contribution

• Life insurance

• Flexible working arrangements by agreement with the CEO

We are an inclusive, equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of experience, merit and organisational need.

We’re looking for a Carer Assessment Service Manager to lead our countywide team in delivering statutory and preventative assessments in line with the Care Act 2014. You’ll provide leadership and day-to-day support to your team, oversee assessment allocations, and manage referrals through our internal CRM and West Sussex County Council’s systems.

You’ll also deliver staff supervisions, attend management and partner meetings, contribute to training, and support service development projects. A key part of the role involves quality assurance, trend analysis, report writing for senior leaders and commissioners, and managing assessment processes and budgets. You’ll stay up to date with Care Act legislation, ensure staff are trained accordingly, and take part in the duty manager rota to provide out-of-hours support and safeguard service continuity.

The role is mainly remote / homeworking with the expectation that you may need to travel on occasion to in-person meetings and training across the county. This role would therefore suit those located in, or close to, West Sussex.

Job Role

• Lead the specialist, countywide Carer Assessment team to deliver best value, high quality statutory and preventative carer assessments and ensure that outcomes are compliant with the Care Act 2014.
• Work with Heads of Service to grow and develop services including identifying gaps, managing risks and demand, proactively seeking opportunities, increasing the digital offer and supporting funding bids to respond to changing needs.
• Develop, deliver and monitor the Carer Assessment Team delivery plan, aligning to CSWS’s strategy ensuring all KPIs are met and a high-quality service is provided to carers.
• Be a proactive member of the Operational Managers Team to develop services, promoting collaboration with your teams, build internal relationships and encourage team to share good practice and work collaboratively with the wider staff group.

Employee Benefits

• Healthcare and Employee Assistance Programme with perks and discounts.
• Holidays 33 days increasing to 35 days after completion of two years and 36 days after 5 years of service (Inclusive of Bank Holidays).
• Flexible hours available to help work around your commitments.
• Remote/Hybrid working with occasional visits to our offices or venues in West Sussex.
• Team of kind and caring colleagues.

Before you keep reading

Please do not see everything in this job advert as a "Must Have", but rather a guiding list of what we are looking for. We know no candidate will be the perfect match for all we have mentioned in this advert, so do not be afraid to apply if you feel you are close to the brief but not "Spot On". For example, some of our wonderful Carer Wellbeing Workers come from a non-social care background and they do amazingly well!

Our Culture and Diversity

At Carers Support, we are building an inclusive workplace where everyone can do their best work and be proud to belong.

We believe that talent is distributed to all of us in equal measure and our differences are a strength not a weakness. We recruit for potential, not perfection. At Carers Support West Sussex, we value everyone's unique history. Our doors are open to individuals of all races, religions or beliefs, abilities, ages, nationalities or citizenships, ethnic origins, marital, domestic or civil partnership statuses, sexes, sexual orientations, family structures, and gender identities. 

The carers we support come from such different walks of life that we are particularly interested in attracting candidates from similarly diverse backgrounds, including Asian, Arab, Black, Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups, White Other (e.g. Eastern European, Gypsy, Roma) and any other Ethnic minorities. 

Values we are looking for in Candidate

We are focused, putting carers at the heart of everything we do.

We act together, working with and for carers, the communities they live in and the people that can make a difference to them.

We are leaders, working with each other to find potential and opportunities across all communities, enabling carers to be identified and involved.

We are committed to behaviours that support:

Quality – the highest practical level we can reach in outcomes, learning and behaviour

Inclusivity – respecting people, cultures, and organisations

Caring – improving quality of life and influencing behaviour change

Integrity – operating with honesty and reliability

Loyalty – long-term committed partnerships and co-operation

Innovation – driving our service development and our will to succeed

If you are still unsure if our organisation is a good fit, have a look at our Good Place to Work page and the results of our recent engagement survey. We can't wait to hear from you! 

Interview Date: 7 July 2025.

Disclaimers

Please note we reserve the right to close this role prior to the stated end date, should we receive a sufficient number of applications. Please apply as soon as possible to be considered.

We are bold, we are brave and we’re not afraid to work differently. At All We Can, your working days will be filled with purpose and meaning as we work in partnership with local communities towards a more just world. Your work will play an important part in the wider ambition of the organisation. In this team, we value trust and accountability, inclusive decision-making, anti-racism and care. We also care for each other and create a sense of purpose-driven community.

When you join us, you will be: 

1. Leading the Churches Team to ensure the effective delivery of the fundraising strategy in an environment aligned with All We Can’s culture and team leadership principle.
2. Delivering speaking engagements at churches and at larger events.
3. Engaging with Methodist Church in Britain’s leadership and key stakeholders to inspire long-term commitment and support.
4. Analysing fundraising performance and making data-driven decisions to improve it.
5. Contributing to the leadership of the organisation through Quarterly Business Reviews and collaborating with colleagues to enhance the work of the organisation.  

To deliver the role successfully, you will need:

1. Proven fundraising experience, particularly in church, faith-based fundraising, including donor acquisition and regular giving programs, donor stewardship, and income growth strategies.
2. Experience of managing fundraising budgets
3. Understanding of All We Can’s unique partnership approach
4. Exceptional relationship management skills, with the ability to engage and inspire church leaders and congregations.
5. Experience leading and developing a team, with strong coaching and mentoring abilities and ability to set clear goals, drive performance, and foster a collaborative team culture.
6. Ability to analyse fundraising performance, using data insights to refine campaigns and maximise return on investment.
7. Deep practical understanding and relationships with the Methodist Church.

For full list of accountabilities and requirements, and the recruitment process, please see the application pack.

All We Can is an international development and relief organisation, founded by the Methodist Church in the 1930s, working to see every person’s potential fulfilled 

Why should you work with us?

• We pioneer locally-led partnership-based international development model
• Everyone’s welcome! At All We Can, everyone’s welcome irrespective of age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We’re committed to building inclusive and caring culture. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit people who reflect diverse communities. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that everyone’s treated fairly and consistently at every stage of your employment, and we are open to consider reasonable adjustments for disabled people.
• We’ll help you grow and develop

Important note about completing your application – please read 

When submitting the application, you will be asked to submit your CV and answer four competency-based questions. There’s no specified length for the answers and we ask you to use your judgment to balance between giving us as much information as needed and being succinct. The scoring is primarily based on the answers to the competency-based questions, so please ensure that you showcase your skills and experiences fully through those answers. We’ll not be able to score answers which say ‘Please see the CV’ or similar. 

We look forward to receiving applications from people from variety of backgrounds and with different experiences. If you would like to find out more about the role or organisation, we encourage you to get in touch - if you wish to do so, 

Use of AI is monitored and if you have used it in your application, we ask that you declare in any case, but especially if you use it as a reasonable adjustment.

This is National Lottery funded role in a growing charity representing children and young people affected by the neuropsychiatric conditions PANS and PANDAS. 

The purpose of this role is to work closely with our established Youth Board to ensure that the voices of young people affected by PANS and PANDAS are heard, valued, and reflected in our work.

The successful applicant will support the Youth Board in identifying, developing, and delivering one or more youth-led projects that align with their priorities and lived experiences. 

See the job description and the recruitment pack attached for more informaton.