Finance Manager

Finance Manager Job Description

Brent Mencap has been passionate about a healthier and fairer Brent since 1979. We’ve developed and run successful housing, employment, health, advice, wellbeing and self-advocacy services. During austerity and Covid we diversified, successfully taking on NHS work with people with long-term health conditions. We provide social prescribing support and health and wellbeing coaching to patients for Brent GPs. In 2024-25 we helped over 18000 people. We’re a leading partner on the Brent Health Educators Programme.

Our income has substantially  increased from £382k in 19/20 to £1.71 million in 23-24. We’ve had to adapt quickly, developing and retaining a much larger staff group, using our data better and improving our marketing.

Brent Mencap offers fantastic free creative and wellbeing activities for people with a learning disability, autism and long-term health conditions. These have flourished since Covid. People love yoga, poetry, singing, gardening, Breathe and Move, self-advocacy, campaigning, awareness raising, CREATE art activities for young people, external trips and parties. Small grants, donations and our reserves fund this while we get longer term funding. Our self-advocates want us to focus on paid employment, youth services and making Brent Council use accessible information properly.

Our current finance manager has been pivotal to Brent Mencap’s recent growth, adapting to paying more people, dealing with complicated invoices, making sure we get paid promptly, being as diligent about a project budget worth 5k as our overall budget and supportive with staff  wage queries. While there is lots of data input, reconciling, processing purchase orders, the role involves real involvement in project development, monitoring with other managers and face-to-face involvement with users and staff. It’s never boring and definitely not for the faint hearted!!

As Finance Manager for Brent Mencap, you will have a key leadership position. You will be responsible for the strategic and operational oversight of our finances, ensuring compliance with all statutory requirements while ensuring our services are sustainable through sound financial planning. You will work closely with the Executive Director and Trustee Board to provide accurate insights and projections that support long-term growth and resilience.

You will play a pivotal role in reviewing and maintaining our robust finance and administrative system and procedures, managing risks and ensuring our charity finances can support delivery of our mission. You will also contribute to the development of funding applications, tenders, and financial strategies. You will play a key role in supporting funding applications, demonstrating impact through financial reporting, and building processes that enable future growth.

This post is:

•       subject to Enhanced DBS Disclosure

•       subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975. It will be necessary for a disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and barring Service for details of any previous criminal convictions.

•       Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK

•       Please note our office base is on the first floor of a Victorian building

To be shortlisted,

·         Candidates must fully complete our application form, and show clearly how their previous experience and knowledge meets all aspects of the person specification with examples given of actual actions/experience relating to the person specification. Please go to our website to complete the application by 9.00am on 28th August. We do not accept CVs

Interview details

·         A 2-part Interview with senior staff will take place at Brent Mencap on Monday 8th or 15th  September 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be given a paper-based scenario to complete and print at Brent Mencap before the interview

·         We anticipate the interviews will take 2.0 hours with a 15-minute break  between scenario and actual interview.