Finance & HR Officer
Type of role: Full time, permanent
Annual Salary: £28,000 to £31,000 (depending on location and relevant experience)
Holidays: 25 days per year and up to 5 discretionary efficiency days
Location: London, Victoria or Manchester Ancoats
Working Hours & Pattern: 37,5 hours per week. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (flexible)
Start date: As soon as practicable
Welcome to Ada!
We are the National College for Digital Skills, established in 2016 as the first new Further Education College in England since 1993. Our mission is: to educate and empower the next generation of diverse digital talent, and our values of Rigour, Resilience, Creativity, Curiosity and Collaboration sit at the heart of what we do and how we go about our work. We seek to harness tech as a positive tool for social mobility and improve the gender and ethnic diversity of the tech workforce.
We are a small, specialist college with c.500 students and apprentices on roll at present but with plans now well underway to grow to 850+ learners by December 2025 across our two fantastic new city centre hub campuses in London (Pimlico) and Manchester (Ancoats).
We stand apart from other Colleges due to:
- The quality of teaching, learning and assessment of computer science and related subjects
- Our fantastic progression outcomes for our learners
- The breadth and depth of our industry partnerships
- Our focus on outreach and learner diversity, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds
- Our high support, high expectations culture for staff and learners
We received ‘Good’, with Outstanding features, in our first Ofsted inspection in October 2018 and again in March 2023.
Job Purpose
The post holder will work cross-functionally to provide front-line administrative and transactional systems support to the People team and the Finance team. Within the HR/People elements of the role, the focus will be on day-to-day systems and process queries, recruitment, HR system support to Ada’s staff, compliance and general HR administration. This will require the post holder to have strong communication skills, strong attention to detail, and have the ability to manage and prioritise their workload.
To be successful in the role the post holder will:
- Have excellent organisation skills with the ability to structure processes and set up efficient systems to support Ada’s continued growth;
- Be consistent and accurate and have a keen eye for detail;
- Have experience in and be committed to following careful procedures to protect the sensitive personal data involved in this role;
- Have excellent numerical skills and good knowledge of Excel;
- Learn quickly, be adaptable, flexible and able to work in the ever-changing context of a growing organisation;
- Be able to take the initiative and demonstrate a creative problem-solving approach;
- Have well-developed interpersonal skills, working well independently and as part of a small team, and collaborating well with colleagues in person and remotely.
Role Responsibilities:
Finance Support: 60%
Support the Assistant Finance Manager in updating the Purchase Ledger:
- Ensure that purchase requisitions are received and processed on the accounting system in a timely manner,
- Ensure that all expenditure is recorded against the relevant nominal code and cost account, and that the correct VAT code is used,
- Ensure all suppliers’ invoices are attached to purchase requisitions on ApprovalMax
- Prepare mid and end of the month BACS payment run and ensure that suppliers are paid within payment terms,
- Receive and check all statements from suppliers,
- Investigate and action any issues that arise with regards to creditors,
- Regular review and maintenance of the outstanding purchase order and goods received notes report,
Support the Assistant Finance Manager in updating the Sales ledger:
- Ensure that all income is recorded against the relevant nominal code and cost account and that the correct VAT code is used,
- Ensure that all requests for sales invoices are processed and sent to debtors promptly,
- Ensure that all requests for sales invoices are monitored and chased so that the prompt payment is received
Petty Cash:
- Ensure that the disbursement of the funds, keeping records of those disbursements and requesting replenishment of the fund is done accordingly to the Petty Cash Policy;
- Ensure that the reconciliation of the business petty cash transactions is done on the bi-weekly basis in the Xero finance system.
Other finance duties:
- Support Assistant Finance Manager in preparation of the pay runs;
- Monitoring finance account inbox and dealing with staff, students and supplier queries to ensure they are quickly and properly resolved;
- Support staff in following the financial policies and procedures, such as: filling out charge card tracker, purchase orders, setting up new supplier;
- Support the Finance team in setting up a Fixed Asset Register and making sure it is kept up to date on a regular basis;
- Support the Finance Team with any other queries that may arise.
HR Support:
Recruitment
- To work with the HR Manager to draft adverts for posts being advertised, ensuring that they are well-written and engaging.
- To obtain quotes for advertising on various job boards and recruitment media channels in a timely and accurate fashion ensuring the best possible exposure for vacancies
- To coordinate interview/selection logistics including room bookings, diary management, scheduling and preparation of relevant materials and sending invites to candidates
- To support the HR Manager with the administration processes around onboarding and offboarding of staff including consultants, mentors, volunteers and governors.
Inbox Management & Staff queries
- To manage the recruitment inbox, responding to candidate and hiring manager queries in a timely manner
- To work with the HR Manager to manage the HR inbox, responding to staff enquiries in a timely manner recognising that some correspondence will be highly confidential and/or sensitive in nature.
Systems & Compliance
- To be the main point of contact for all HR system queries and to action all first-level system transactions, escalating more complex transactions to the Head of People & Talent or the HR Manager.
- To send out reference requests for all shortlisted candidates, chasing responses and passing on to the relevant line manager
- To maintain spreadsheets and trackers to ensure all relevant HR information is collected and collated (eg vacancies, DBS and other pre-employment checks, probationary periods, performance management, exit interviews.)
- To create and maintain electronic copies of personnel files
- To support with the updating of the Single Central Record for all staff, volunteers, consultants, agency workers and governors
- Under the direction of the Head of People, issue relevant letters to staff in relation to Employee Relations (ER) matters ensuring that timelines are strictly followed, meetings arranged, notes/minutes taken and all paperwork, including checklists, is fully completed.
- To support the People team with all HR policies, processes and projects as required.
General Administration
- To provide accurate data for Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in monthly data returns,
- Liaising with CIVICA support team to seek advice on better use of MIS (REMS),
- Acquire data from primary and secondary sources and update database system REMS,
- Keeping up to date with the latest ESFA funding rules and regulations.
Additional duties:
- Undertake confidential shredding and filling,
- Coordination Support for the Finance or People/HR elements of staff on-site events
Person Specification
- Previous Officer/Administrator experience and used to working with limited supervision ideally in a Human Resources field.
- Ability to undertake administrative tasks and development of effective office systems and procedures
- Ability to use information technology for,word processing, spreadsheets and databases and excellent typing skills
- Ability to pick up new applications and software quickly
- Ability to work under pressure in a constantly changing and demanding environment
- Excellent written communication skills
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Excellent organisational and time management skills
- A good understanding of equal opportunities issues as they affect our stakeholders
- Strong stakeholder management, working with individuals across an organisation
- Aligned with the values of the College in their approach to their work.
- Perform duties with the highest level of confidentiality and have a strong sense of integrity
Other Requirements:
- Passion for working with young people and adults to help improve their life chances
- A commitment to on-going personal development
- A willingness to work flexibly and where necessary outside of normal working hours
- Suitable to work with young people and vulnerable adults in accordance with Government guidelines for safeguarding.
Variation to this Job Description
This is a description of the job as it is at present, and is current at date of issue. The duties and responsibilities described above are not exhaustive and additional assignments, duties or responsibilities may be required of this position. The job description will be reviewed and updated as necessary to ensure that appropriate revisions are incorporated, and that it relates to the job to be performed.
Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students and young people and we expect all staff to share this commitment. Any job offer will be conditional on various, appropriate, pre-employment checks including a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check and Barred List Check, having the legal right to work in the UK and having satisfactory overseas criminal records checks, if deemed necessary, and supportive references.
Equal opportunities
Ada. National College for Digital Skills recognises that equality of opportunity and the recognition and promotion of diversity are integral to its strengths. The following principles apply in respect of the College’s commitment to equality and diversity:
- To provide and promote equality of opportunity in all areas of its work and activity;
- To recognise and develop the diversity of skills and talent within its current and potential community;
- To ensure that all employees and prospective employees of the College are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential without receiving any unjustified discrimination or unfavourable treatment on grounds such as age, disability, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender reassignment, trans status, socio-economic status or any other irrelevant distinction;
- To provide and promote a positive working, learning, and social environment which is free from prejudice, discrimination and any forms of harassment, bullying or victimisation;
- To promote good relations between individuals from different groups.
Applicants with disabilities
Ada. National College for Digital Skills is keen to increase the number of disabled people it employs. We therefore encourage applications from individuals with a disability who are able to carry out the duties of the post. If you have special needs in relation to your application please write to us.
How to apply for the role
Please submit your CV and a supporting cover letter outlining your interest in the role and the relevant experience you have in the subject field please write “Application for Finance and HR Officer” followed by your name.
Closing date for applications: Friday 20 September 2024 at 11.00
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.