Senior Financial Accountant - Restricted Income

Senior Financial Accountant - Restricted Income
Reference: OCT20254404
Location: Flexible in UK
Contract: 12 months, fixed term
Hours: Full-Time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £47,313.00 - £50,309.00 Per Annum
Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave

Are you a qualified accountant looking to make meaningful impact? This is an exciting opportunity to join the RSPB’s dynamic Finance team and contribute to one of the UK’s most influential conservation charity. With an annual income exceeding £170m and over 1.15 million members, the RSPB combines charitable impact with a substantial commercial operation - offering you both challenge and opportunity.

This role plays a pivotal part in embedding the Overhead Cost Recovery (OCR) internal recharge mechanism into our financial operations. The OCR initiative is designed to improve how we cost projects and recover overheads, aiming to deliver a net financial benefit of approximately £1million annually. By supporting this initiative, you will help drive financial sustainability, improve cost transparency, and enable better decision making across the organisation.

As a Senior Financial Accountant - Restricted Income, you will be a key member of the Financial Planning & Reporting team. Your responsibilities will include:

• Implementing the OCR mechanism: - set-up coding structures and integrate overhead recovery into financial systems and reporting templates.
• Project-level financial management: - Execute debits/credits, track overhead recovery, and monitor funding gaps using a standard 15% OCR rate.
• Stakeholder engagement: - Collaborate with Project Managers and Fundraisers to assess and communicate OCR funding status.
• Financial Planning and modelling: - Prepare and present budgetary analysis, support strategic decision-making, and contribute to long term financial planning.
• FCR tool ownership: - Maintain and update the Full Cost Recovery Projects costing tool and associated guidance, ensuring effective training and usage. 

This role offers the opportunity to influence financial strategy and improve operational efficiency across a complex and diverse organisation.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

Qualification:

• Professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACCA, CIMA or equivalent). 

Skills:

• Strong analytical and financial modelling skills.
• Ability to communicate financial information clearly to both finance and non-finance audiences.
• Advanced excel skills.

Knowledge:

• Solid understanding of financial management and processes and double-entry accounting.
• Familiarity with financial management standards and charity sector regulations.

Experience:

• Proven management accounting experience.
• Track record of delivering projects that improve profitability or efficiency.
• Experience preparing reports for external stakeholders (e.g. HMRC, Charity Commission)

Desirable Attributes:

• Experience with accounting software within a medium sized organisation.
• Experience of liaising with auditors, trustees, and regulatory bodies

Additional information:

• This role is remote, but occasional travel to RSPB HQ in Sandy and other UK locations may be required. Overnight stays may be necessary.
• This is a 12-months fixed-term full-time role for 37.5 hours per week.
• The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.
• You will be expected to support our Environmental Policy and promote sustainability in your work.
• Volunteers are integral to the RSPB’s mission - staff are encouraged to support and collaborate with them.

Closing date: 23:59, Sunday, 2nd November 2025
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 10 November, 2025.  
Please note that we will be actively recruiting for this role and reserve the right to close this vacancy should sufficient applications be received.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. 

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

As part of this application you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete a short form with cover letter. Please use the cover letter section to explain how you meet the criteria set above. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

No agencies please.