Finance and Operations Officer

Job title: Finance and Operations Officer

Manager: Head of Finance

Location:  London

Salary: Starting salary £30,500 (Salary band: £30,500 to £33,500 inclusive of London weighting)

Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Overall purpose

As the Finance and Operations Officer, you will play a key role in making sure the charity’s expenditure is well managed, accurately recorded, properly authorised and fully auditable. The post holder will have day-to-day ownership of purchase ledger processing, supplier payments, staff and client expenses, payment runs and expenditure controls. They will ensure that all expenditure is coded correctly, supported by appropriate documentation, treated correctly for VAT and recorded in line with internal policies, accounting requirements and funder restrictions.

The postholder will work closely with the Head of Finance and colleagues across the organisation to make expenditure processes clear, efficient and well controlled. This includes supporting staff to understand purchasing, expenses, authorisation and supplier processes, and helping teams to manage spending in line with budgets, funding restrictions and organisational procedures. The role also includes practical operational support, helping to make sure colleagues have the equipment, technology set-up, office resources, basic systems access and clear guidance they need to do their jobs effectively and safely. This will include creating and maintaining guidance that helps the organisation run smoothly, such as office guidance, health and safety information and equipment policies.

You will also be expected to contribute to and uphold our outstanding culture by living and demonstrating our values of being mission-led, welcoming, entrepreneurial and collaborative.

Key responsibilities 

Finance responsibilities — expenditure focus (65%)

·       Process purchase invoices, staff expenses and client payments accurately and promptly, ensuring all expenditure has the correct approval, coding, VAT treatment and supporting documentation.

·       Maintain day-to-day ownership of the purchase ledger, ensuring supplier accounts are accurate, up to date and reconciled where needed.

·       Ensure staff and client expenses are captured and recorded accurately, comply with the relevant expense policy and are paid in a timely manner.

·       Prepare supplier, staff and client payment runs ready for approval and payment by the finance team.

·       Verify supplier details and changes to bank details in line with finance controls, escalating any concerns or unusual activity.

·       Support checks on expenditure completeness, including identifying missing invoices, outstanding approvals, unprocessed expenses and unmatched payments.

·       Support month-end expenditure processes, including reviewing expenditure coding, posting accruals and prepayments, and helping to ensure the monthly income and expenditure position is accurate by agreed deadlines.

·       Allocate shared costs across cost centres and projects, ensuring expenditure is coded accurately and consistently

·       Reconcile expenditure-related control accounts and third-party platforms where relevant, ensuring differences are investigated and resolved promptly.

·       Ensure fundraising platform fees are recorded properly alongside income from those platforms.

·       Work with budget holders to resolve expenditure queries and improve the quality of coding, descriptions and supporting information.

·       Work with the Head of Finance to help colleagues understand purchasing, expenses, authorisation, supplier set-up and other expenditure processes.

·       Undertake expenditure control activities, including checking supplier set-up, verifying supplier detail changes, reviewing payment evidence and supporting compliance with delegated authorities.

·       Provide support for income processing where needed, particularly where this links to restricted fund expenditure, funder evidence or month-end processes.

·       Support year-end audit by preparing expenditure evidence, responding to sample requests and ensuring finance records are complete and easy to trace.

·       Support ad hoc finance projects, including improvements to expenditure processes, system changes and policy or procedure updates.

·       Maintain and regularly update the organisation’s asset register, mobile phone inventory and user allocation records.

·       Identify and implement improvements to finance and operational processes to strengthen controls, improve efficiency and enhance user experience.

·       Work collaboratively with operational teams to review outstanding financial items, resolve queries and improve compliance with finance procedures.

Operational responsibilities (35%)

·       Act as the secondary administrator for Vodafone services, maintaining user records, managing SIM allocations, coordinating account changes, resolving supplier queries, and reviewing monthly charges.

·       Coordinate the procurement, allocation and recovery of company equipment, including laptops, headphones, mobile phones, monitors and other IT assets, ensuring records and costs are accurate.

·       Monitor contracts, usage and costs linked to operational platforms, telecommunications and office services, highlighting issues or opportunities for savings.

·       Support onboarding and offboarding by ensuring equipment, access requirements and related records are in place, returned or updated promptly.

·       Ensure operational records, policies and procedures linked to expenditure, assets and procurement remain accurate and up to date.

·       Create and maintain practical guidance, policies and procedures that help the organisation run smoothly, including office guidance, health and safety information and equipment policies.