Finance support manager jobs in walkden, greater manchester

About Open Cages

Open Cages is a UK-registered charity fighting animal suffering. We are part of an international organisation, Anima International. To achieve our goal we use scientific evidence, careful reasoning, and draw upon decades of collective experience. Just in the last few years, we have successfully helped improve the lives of hundreds of millions of farmed animals in the UK.

We are impact-oriented and use a wide array of tools to make the world a better place. Our current toolkit includes:

• Investigations which reveal the reality hidden behind the walls of factory farms
• Negotiations with companies to encourage them to eliminate cruel practices from their policies
• Advocacy to secure legal milestones for animals

At Open Cages we won’t stop until we end animal suffering. We would like to invite you to join us and help us achieve this goal.

What do you gain by working at Open Cages?

• Meaningful work – you will help build a world free from animal suffering
• Time – you will be able to focus full-time on helping animals
• High degree of flexibility – the work is almost totally remote and you will organise your working hours and workflow yourself
• Trust – we expect you to make mistakes as a given and learn from them
• Autonomy – you will experience freedom and independence in your decision-making
• Transparency – you will have access to the work and decisions of others
• Honest work culture – you will know what your colleagues are doing and what they really think
• Knowledge – you will learn and receive support from people who have been fighting for animals for many years
• Opportunity to grow – you will learn every day and be encouraged to experiment beyond your skill set
• Ability to influence the organisation – we encourage our people to openly speak their mind and thus you will be able to impact what kind of organisation we are
• A laugh – animal advocacy can be dark at times, we think that having a fun atmosphere is key to balance this
• Transparently set compensation – Our salaries are not negotiable and are based on a transparent algorithm that is the same for each role

Following a 3-month probation period, you will transition to a fixed-term contract. Upon successful completion of this term, you will be offered a permanent employment contract. A minimum salary of £39,695.24 gross (our salary base for people resident in the UK) will apply from the beginning of the probationary period. The salary base may change due to your previous experience related to the position, or your experience in animal advocacy (+3% for each year). In addition, the salary increases with your seniority in Open Cages according to the following model:

+ 7% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the first 5 years of work

+ 5% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 3% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 2% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next years of work

About your role

We are a small and ambitious early-stage organisation with two full-time team members. Our current objective: to help the 1 billion chickens raised annually in the UK. By joining us as our first employee focussed on operations, you will help lay the foundations of the organisation as it prepares for rapid scaling, not only increasing our impact for animals now but by also helping to shape the organisation we want to become. If you have an engineering mindset, like to organise things (ideally in spreadsheets), and navigate through novel problems, it’s time to use your strengths for animals. Whilst it may sound challenging, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of making a historic change for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Someone has to pick up that challenge, and we hope it will be You.

To help the billions of animals trapped on factory farms, we need an organisation that is expertly designed and not weighed down by inefficiencies. In this role your first task will be to help us manage, monitor and speed up our internal processes such as accounting, finances, payments, staff operations, donor management and event planning.

We can accommodate to you

Due to the broad scope of our work, there is no simple description of the perfect employee. There may also be certain areas where you are stronger than others, and we are open to fitting the role around you. We are looking for a generalist rather than a specialist. However, you do need to have some particular strengths such as conscientiousness and an analytical mind. Ideally, some day, you will be able to lead a team of your own and transfer your knowledge to them.

No previous experience is required for this role. While experience will be valued (and reflected in the salary), we welcome applications from both seasoned professionals and passionate newcomers who align with our organisational culture.

What do we require from you?

• Strong belief in the mission of our organisation. Working for us should not be thought of as a ‘career step’. We want people who are motivated by our mission above all.

• Flexible availability. We think of ourselves as a small startup. The fate of the organisation rests on a handful of highly motivated advocates who want to do something ambitious with their lives. We want to maintain the intensity of our current operating culture, so you should expect to work the occasional weekends and late evenings.

• Not being an asshole. We expect you to treat others with respect, decency and compassion – even the occasional adversaries.

• A preference for hard work. Activism is our passion and one of the main motivations in life. To fit our culture, you have to be a person that is proactive and enjoys work.

• Growth mindset. Nobody knows how to fix the world, so we need you to keep learning. We constantly strive to be better at our activism, but also as people.

• Strong interest in a high-feedback culture. We have a culture of honest and direct communication. We talk openly about our strengths and weaknesses on a daily basis because we want to be the best. You will know what your colleagues really think of you and be encouraged to speak your mind.

• Ability to reason and communicate your thinking, especially in written form. In order to thrive in our organisation you must be able to think carefully, try to back up your ideas with reasonable evidence, and above all be open to being proven wrong and changing your mind.

• Fluency in English. You will be working in a UK-based organisation which will require constant communication with English speakers.

• Ability to work in the UK. This offer is open to candidates who are either currently UK-based, or are willing to move to the UK for the job. We are happy to do whatever we can to help you in relocating, depending on your needs and our ability. If you have any questions about what we can help with, don’t hesitate to write to us!

You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian. While all of our events provide only plant-based meals, we are open to anyone who wants to fight for a world that is free from animal suffering. We won’t turn down any help.

What will you do?

• Build culture – you will help build and reinforce our culture, so we never lose what makes up the strength of Open Cages.

• Embrace reality – you will make it your mission to understand the world as it is rather than as you would like it to be.

• Manage activists – you will manage and work with teams of both employed and voluntary activists.

• Experience frustration – you will feel frustrated about things you could do better or things that are not working in the organisation or your team, and use this frustration as an opportunity to refine and elevate our organisation.

• Question ideas – you will question common knowledge, especially your own ideas, so that our results are always as good as they can be.

• Optimise your performance – you will continuously deepen your knowledge – both about particular areas of animal advocacy and about how the world works – and enjoy this process.

• Prioritise action – you will act even when there is not sufficient data.

• Abandon projects – you will change your objectives when it makes sense, no matter the time already invested.

• Respect and trust others – you will be there for others and trust their intentions. You will support them when they succeed and when they fail.

• Seek information independently – you will be responsible for acting very independently which will require you to obtain and verify data.

• Make mistakes – you will embrace your mistakes without being ashamed with the desire to learn from them.

• Oversee employment – you will oversee payroll, staff contracts, and employment matters and payments.

• Manage and optimise finances – you will be in charge of our income and expenses. This will include making sure that we have efficient and accurate accounting, and that we have enough income to achieve our goals.

• Help ensure legal governance – you will help submit our annual accounts to the charity commission and ensure compliance with all legal duties, such as making tax payments.

• Manage supporters – you will handle communication with our supporter base and manage donors, primarily through email.

• Improve team coordination – you will worry about how to make the team more effective and help us work better together by improving structure, tools, and internal processes.

• Build and improve tools – you will spot inefficiencies and opportunities in our processes – such as our newsletter and payments software – and improve them, for example by building automation tools.

• Plan events – you will handle logistics and planning for internal and external events such as recruitments, training, and team building activities.

• Obsess over speed – your job will not be to simply manage internal operations, but to reduce the organisation’s time spent on them so that it becomes faster and more efficient.

Do you think this role is too challenging and you're not fit for it?

You may be thinking that this role would be interesting for you, but you won’t make the cut. 

We encourage you not to worry and fill out the application nonetheless, especially if you meet our requirements (even on a basic level) and you think this position could bring you a lot of joy. Leave the judgment about your competence to us. You may even learn something useful along the way.

We prepared support materials to help you through the application process. We'll also be hosting informational webinars about this role and our recruitment process – click ‘Redirect to recruiter’ to see the website for more details.

We’re recruiting a Youth Development Officer to work as part of a team to deliver The King’s Trust Team Programme in Wigan.

At Groundwork we believe that every young person should have the chance to embrace exciting opportunities. We help 16 to 25-year-olds who are unemployed or struggling to transform their lives. Many of the young people we help are in, or leaving, care. They may be facing issues such as homelessness, suffering with their mental health or have been in trouble with the police.

Our programmes give young people the practical and financial support they need to stabilise their lives. We help them develop key skills while boosting their confidence and motivation to enable them to reach their full potential.

Transform Lives: – Working as part of our team you’ll empower disadvantaged young people, helping them to create some stability in their lives, develop key skills and build their confidence.
Support communities: – You’ll be collaborating with partner agencies and community organisations to make a significant contribution to the local community.

The King’s Trust Team Programme recruits and runs regular 12-week personal development programmes for young people aged 16-25 for the chance to gain new skills, earn a qualification and meet like-minded people. Here at Groundwork we have been delivering The King’s Trust Team Programme in Wigan and Leigh for 25 years and the key aspects of the programme are:

>Taking on group community project, making a positive difference to the local community.
>Taking part in an action-packed residential trip
>Two weeks’ work experience
>Develop your English and Maths skills
>Developing interview and CV skills to ensure confidence is sky-high when participants are ready to take the next step.

This role requires a clear Enhanced DBS check.

How To Apply
For the full job description and person specification and details on how to apply, please visit our website. 

PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT APPLY

Our client are an independent charity based in East Lancashire and member of a national network. They provide free, confidential and impartial advice to everyone to help solve their problems and improve their lives – from consumer issues to problems at work and from benefit applications to debt relief and homelessness.

The charity's goal is to give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward - whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

Chief Executive Officer
£60-65,000 per annum
Hybrid with a minimum of 3 days in the office
East Lancashire based in one of the 4 offices: Pendle, Rossendale, Burnley or Hyndburn

Our client are an ambitious charity providing essential services within their community, and this is an exciting time to join the organisation as their new Chief Executive. The scope of their work and demand for their services has grown considerably, answering the needs they have seen within their community.

After recently merging local branches, the new CEO will play a vital role in supporting staff and shaping the future, providing vision and strategic direction for the charity.

Working closely with the Board, you’ll be leading the development of the charity's services in line with need whilst also increasing their profile, acting as an ambassador for the organisation and cultivating positive relationships across a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure the profile and impact of the charity and its services. Effectively engaging staff, volunteers and external stakeholders, while continuing to secure new funding streams will be key to your success. You will be a natural advocate and champion for equality, diversity and inclusion for our clients, staff and volunteers.

The successful candidate will bring:

• Proven senior leadership experience and a passion for leading and enabling teams to thrive and develop.
• Experience of running and improving high-quality, value and volume client-facing services at a senior level in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Excellent financial and business acumen with a track record of successful business development, income generation and income diversification.
• Comprehensive strategic business planning experience and ability to deliver on key targets both strategically and operationally.
• Strong relationship-building, networking and influencing of external stakeholders.

If you have the ability, drive and experience to manage this highly valued organisation, and have the strategic leadership skills to take it to the next stage, we would love to hear from you.

Our client values diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination wherever they see it. They are committed to diversifying the background of our workforce and welcome applications regardless of sex, gender, race, age, sexuality, belief or disability.

For further information, please view the Application Pack below. To apply for this role, please click 'Redirect to Recruiter'.

Deadline for applications: 4th May
Preliminary Interview with Prospectus: w/c 12th May
Panel Interviews with the Charity: 1st stage – Thursday 29th May

These dates may be subject to change and applicants will be advised in advance should this happen.

Team: Individual Giving

Location: Homebased with occasional travel for meetings

Work pattern: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Salary: Up to £42,750.72 per annum

Contract: Fixed term for 6 months

We are the UK’s largest cat welfare charity. All over the country, our passionate employees, volunteers and supporters are using their kindness and expertise to make life better for millions of cats and the people who care for them.

Will you join us and make life better for cats?

Responsibilities of our Senior Individual Giving Officer (Acquisition):

• This role is crucial in delivering the charity’s Individual Giving programme, working across multiple communication channels to grow sustainable income for Cats Protection by recruiting new supporters across a range of products.
• This includes everything from making TV ads, working with Face-to-Face fundraisers, running our digital campaigns and much more– all of which feature cats at the heart, of course. You will need to work with both internal departments and external agencies to ensure projects are delivered on schedule and within budget.

About the Individual Giving Team:

• We sit within the Marketing & Income Generation directorate
• Our team is responsible for the recruitment and retention of individual supporters to generate over £22 million each year and provide leads for the other teams in the directorate
• We currently have a team of 13 working across Acquisition and Retention on our Appeals and Raffles, Membership, Sponsorship, Lottery and regular giving programs using Mail, Face to Face, DRTV, email, Digital, Social and other paid media

What we’re looking for in our Senior Individual Giving Officer (Acquisition):

• Extensive experience in an Individual Giving or similar role, ideally working with agencies in the third sector
• Experience in leading the organisation of projects/activities or schedules
• Experience in budget management, ideally with multiple income and expenditure items
• Proven track record of achieving income against agreed financial targets, and measuring against KPIs
• Experience of at least some broad-based fundraising, such as Direct Mail, DRTV, telephone, digital or face-to-face fundraising

What we can offer you:

• range of health benefits
• 26 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with length of service
• Salary Finance, which empowers you to take control of your financial wellbeing
• and much more, which you can learn about 

Interested? Here’s how to apply:

Application closing date: 4th May 2025

Virtual interview date: Week commencing 19th May 2025

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment. Please note, applications received after the closing date may not be responded to.

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable.  You may be just the right candidate. 

If successful, your recruitment journey will include:

1. Anonymised application form

2. Virtual interview via Microsoft Teams

Please note, the process may change slightly dependent on application numbers. We will inform you of any relevant changes.

Please email [email protected] if you require any adjustments to be made for you to complete your application or to participate in the recruitment journey