Finance and Grant Controller
Contract: Permanent, Full Time, 35 hours per week.
Location: London, United Kingdom
UK hybrid working – a minimum of 40 % of working time is spent face‑to‑face (London office, external meetings or travel).
60/40 hybrid working at WaterAid means roughly three days wherever you work best and two days together in person.
Salary: £48,867- £51,439 per year with excellent benefits
Change starts with water. Change starts with you.
Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.
About WaterAid:
We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.
About the team:
The Finance and Grant Controller role is part of the central finance team and sits within the Management Accounting function which provides our country programmes and the region offices with professional and technical finance leadership for WaterAid UK’s international work. The role will work closely with the Project Delivery Lead and the Monitoring and Learning Coordinator for the Multi-country Urban Water Project.
About the role:
The Finance and Grant Controller will manage all financial aspects of WaterAid’s Multi-country Urban Water Project, ensuring rigorous financial oversight, compliance with donor requirements, and alignment with organisational financial policies. This is a bold initiative aiming to raise $40 million and reach two million people with clean water in urban areas across six anchor countries: Colombia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.
In this role, you will:
1. Financial Monitoring and Reporting
- Prepare and review all financial reports in line with specific contract requirements and deadlines
- Monitor project budgets, tracking actual expenditures against budget allocations and flagging variances to the project team
- Monitor movement in exchange rates and local currency budget variations
2. Budget and Forecasting Development & Grant Support
- Assist program staff in preparing detailed budgets in each country project
- Deliver regular reforecasts, ensuring realistic timing of spend
- Conduct cost allocations and ensure appropriate coding of expenses
3. Compliance and Controls
- Review contracts and grant agreements to identify financial requirements, restrictions, and deliverables
- Ensure financial activities comply with contractual terms, organisational policies, and legal and regulatory requirements, including guiding eligible costs, procurement, and financial compliance to programme teams
- Support related audits, ensuring all necessary documentation is available and compliant
4. Finance Business Partner
- Collaborate closely with programme lead, providing consolidated financial reporting, financial insights and supporting decision-making.
- Coordinate timely reporting to cross-federation leadership teams from multiple country programmes
- Advise on reallocation of budget if required to meet programme delivery targets
Requirements
To be successful, you will need:
Technical Qualifications and Skills
- Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA)
- Experience in the use of SUN, or a similar multi-dimensional accounting system.
- Experience in managing programme or project finance funded by institutional donors ( e.g. USAID, FCDO or other reputable organisation)
- Excellent Microsoft Excel skill
- Working knowledge of Business Intelligence tools such as Power BI
- Knowledge and experience of donor fund management in an international context
- Experience of financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting of projects
- Ability to analyse financial data and provide insightful narrative for range of audiences
- Finance Business Partnering experience with senior stakeholders
Desirable skills
- Proven ability to work effectively with staff at different levels and from different cultural backgrounds including experience of coaching or training
- Knowledge of development issues and the sector, preferably gained in an International Development Organisation
- Knowledge of French or Portuguese will be an advantage
Closing date: Applications close 12:00 PM UK time on 11th August 2025.
How to apply: Click Apply to complete the pre-screening questions and upload your CV and cover letter.
Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in my application?
At WaterAid, we strongly advise against using AI technology at any stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that provides every applicant with an equal opportunity to succeed. We value hearing about your unique experiences and perspectives in your application, and, if shortlisted, during the interview as well.
Pre‑employment screening
To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre-employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy. All UK based roles require a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Benefits
- 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
- Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
- Employer pension contribution up to 10 %
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- Season ticket loan
- Free annual eye tests
- ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
- Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
- Sabbaticals
- One paid volunteer day each year
Our Global Commitment:
Our people promise
We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.
Equal Opportunities
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.
Safeguarding
We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).
Together, we’ll change the world through water.
Join us and be part of the change !
Registered Charity
More than 1000
Our vision is a world where everyone, everywhere has sustainable and safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
Thank you!
Location: A short walk from Russell Square station
Pay: £50k - £55k
Duration: 6 months
The growing international membership organisation is looking for a Project Accountant to join its existing finance team. Reporting to the Associate Director of Finance, you will ensure that the finance team delivers an effective and timely service.
The organisation is going through system migration and your working knowledge of Business Central will be essential.
Working as a Project Accountant your day-to-day duties will include;
-Fund accounting – Including restricted and designated funds accounting
- Statutory reporting and statutory accounting
- Donor reporting and reconciliation with finance system
- Experience in using Business Contral System (exposure to Project Accounting Module would be desirable)
- Business Partnering with budget holders on projects
This is a diverse and busy team and your effective communication and strong business partnering skills will be essential in the team meeting its targets and goals.
To apply for the position for [email protected]
We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help with making the application process work for you.
Thank you!
Are you a skilled and compassionate Report Writer ready to make an immediate impact?
Our UK & International Partnerships team at Tearfund plays a vital role in securing and sustaining significant funding from key investors, trusts, churches, and businesses to increase our impact with those in greatest need. We are a Christian organisation partnering with the local church to see lives transformed and people freed from poverty.
As a Report Writer, you will be crucial in equipping our UK & International Partnerships Team with accurate, donor-friendly project information. This fixed-term 12-month contract requires someone who can "hit the ground running." Your main responsibilities will include producing high-quality, engaging reports in Google Docs that clearly demonstrate the impact of donor giving and ensuring the accuracy and integrity of all project data received from country teams.
We are looking for a candidate with:
- Proven experience in writing compelling, donor-friendly reports (narrative and financial) for diverse audiences such as high-net-worth individuals, foundations, corporate partners, and churches.
- Demonstrable ability to meet tight deadlines and manage multiple projects under pressure.
- Experience working effectively with financial data in a reporting context.
- Exceptional written communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex project information into clear, concise, inspiring, and accurate content for a diverse, faith-based audience.
- Strong analytical skills, adept at interpreting and synthesising information from various programmatic and financial sources.
- Meticulous attention to detail and accuracy, ensuring data integrity and reflecting good stewardship of donor funds.
- Proficiency with Google Workspace, particularly Google Docs.
Direct experience within the non-profit sector, particularly in international development or aid, understanding of fundraising principles, experience in copywriting, video editing skills, and familiarity with using AI tools to enhance writing are desirable.
Hybrid Working: This role is based in Teddington, operating a hybrid working model with an agreed amount of time spent in the office and working remotely from your home in the UK.
Contract type: This is a 1 year fixed term, full time contract. The salary for this Grade 4 position is £37,160 per annum.
All applicants must be committed to Tearfund's Christian beliefs. The recruitment process will include specific checks related to safeguarding. In addition, personal identification information will be submitted against a Watchlist database to check against criminal convictions as a counter-terror measure.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.