Senior communication officer jobs in home based

We are seeking a part-time Finance Manager for Energy Sparks, a charity working towards a sustainable future in which the school community is at the heart of measurable action to tackle climate change. Energy Sparks equips children and young people with the knowledge, skills, and tools to take practical action in their school and wider community to reduce carbon emissions. We enable school leaders, staff and communities to better understand and reduce their school’s energy consumption and introduce wider measures to reduce their carbon footprint. 

This is an exciting, new role in our growing team and provides a great opportunity to apply your financial accounting and management skills to help our charity flourish. As the only finance employee within a small organisation, this role will be a blend of weekly bookkeeping tasks alongside the preparation of management accounts and strategic oversight of Energy Sparks’ finances. The successful postholder will embrace the varied responsibilities. 

• Salary: £40,000-£42,000 pro rata dependent on experience

• Role initially offered 0.2 FTE. This can be worked 7.5 hours per week across the year or 8.75 hours per week term time only, with the opportunity for future growth, subject to income. Hours can be worked flexibly from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

• Home working with occasional team meetings in Bath (typically 1 visit per year, although for local employees there may be the opportunity to meet more often)

• Post holder must already have the legal right to work in the UK. 

Application deadline: 11:59pm Thursday 24th July 2025

To start September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

About us

Energy Sparks is an online energy management tool and energy education programme specifically designed to help schools reduce their electricity and gas usage through the analysis of smart meter data. Energy Sparks helps pupils and the wider school community to reduce their school’s carbon emissions, and make a real contribution to addressing the 'climate emergency'. Energy Sparks started in 2017 in Bath, and is now working with over 1000 schools across the UK. 

Current annual income is £500,000 to £600,000 with expected growth in the 2025/2026 financial year. To date, the responsibilities in this job description have been delivered by the CEO. All staff work remotely with the core staff team based in the Bath area.

Key Responsibilities

Note: Energy Sparks currently uses the Xero accounting package to deliver most of the tasks below. 

1. Financial Reporting 

• Prepare monthly/quarterly management accounts, ensuring accurate reporting of income and expenditure.

• Provide financial reports to the CEO and Board of Trustees 

• Track restricted vs unrestricted funds and ensure proper allocation and reporting.

• Prepare the annual financial statements (in line with charity SORP).

2. Transaction recording and bank and payment reconciliation 

• Reconcile bank accounts weekly, including card payments

• Match incoming payments to invoices or grants

• Authorise and categorise supplier invoices

• Maintain accurate coding of income and spend to specific funders or grants (restricted/unrestricted funds), including apportioning staff salaries with manual journals

3. Accounts Payable and Receivable

• Process supplier payments

• Monitor supplier invoice due dates and ensure timely payment

• Issue sales invoices to schools, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and other partners

• Monitor accounts receivable and flag and chase overdue invoices with schools, MATs or partners.

• Monitor Energy Sparks account renewals and work with the wider team to issue renewal notifications.

4. Payroll 

• Check and post monthly payroll on Xero

• Post HMRC payments (PAYE/NIC)

• Process and post pension contributions

5. VAT

• Record input VAT on supplier payments including reverse charge VAT

• Correctly charge VAT on sales invoices

• Prepare quarterly VAT returns including accurate business/non-business apportionment for input VAT recovery

6. Record-Keeping

• Maintain digital records of receipts, invoices, and approvals

• Ensure proper documentation for charity finance compliance

7. Internal Controls & Risk Management

• Comply with Energy Sparks’ internal financial controls and policies to manage risk.

• Monitor cash flow and reserves and recommend adjustments for financial sustainability.

8. Strategic Financial Leadership

• Provide strategic financial insights to help inform decisions about growth and expansion.

• Assist with long-term planning, forecasting, and cost analysis for sustainability.

• Support organisational change, ensuring financial stability and compliance as the charity grows.

• Suggest improvements to financial processes, including optimising our use of accounting software to increase efficiency.

This will be a varied role within a small staff team and an ability to embrace a diversity of tasks is essential. There are currently no line management responsibilities for this post.
 

Person Specification

Experience & Knowledge

1. Significant experience in a senior finance role, ideally in the charity sector.

2. Strong knowledge of charity financial compliance, SORP, and statutory reporting

3. Experience of fund management and management accounts

4. Experience of preparing VAT returns and business/non-business apportionment 

5. Proficiency in Xero or similar accounting software, including manual journals

6. Confident running a Payroll function using Xero or other accounting software

7. Skilled in financial planning, reporting, and budgeting

8. Advanced use of Excel and Google Sheets.

9. Experience preparing for audits and liaising with external auditors/independent examiners

10. Strong communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with staff, funders, trustees, schools, Multi-Academy Trusts and suppliers. Happy to pick up the phone and chase schools or MATs for invoice payments!

11. A self-starter mentality with the ability to work independently as well as within a team.

12. Excellent organisation, efficiency, and attention to detail.

13. Strong problem-solving abilities and a solution-focused approach.

Nice to have

1. Strong interest in sustainability

Benefits

1. £40,000 to £42,000 pro rata dependent on experience 

2. 12% employer pension contribution

3. 38 days paid annual leave pro rata including bank holidays

4. 0.2 FTE. This can be worked 7.5 hours per week across the year or 8.75 hours per week term time only, with the opportunity for future growth subject to income. Hours can be worked flexibly from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

5. The opportunity to make a difference in reducing carbon emissions and helping young people to live sustainable lives.

Application deadline: 11:59pm Thursday 24th July 2025

To be considered for this role, all applicants must currently have the right to work in the UK.

Energy Sparks is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications regardless of race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Learning & Development Manager (LDM) – Cymru Wales, West Midlands & South West 

Home - Based but within commutable distance to Wales, West Midlands & South West

If you’re passionate about helping further the mission of Methodist churches, circuits and districts, then we would like to hear from you. As an experienced professional with a proven track record in learning and development, and management, you will be part of a Learning Network (LN), within the Ministries and Learning team and part of the Connexional Team of The Methodist Church.

The LN comprises 30+ staff working as part of a single team operating across the Methodist Church in Britain. The team is strategically and collaboratively managed by Learning and Development Managers (LDMs), each having responsibility for a number of Learning and Development Officers (LDO) working within a geographical area. We are seeking to recruit an LDM for the Cymru Wales, West Midlands and South West area. There is a requirement to live within this geography that includes the Methodist districts: Wales Synod Cymru, West Midlands (following the merger of the current Birmingham District and the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District on 1st September 2025), Southampton, Channel Islands, Bristol, and South West Peninsular.

Responsibilities of the Learning Development Manager include:

• strategic shared leadership of the LN
• leading and managing the LDOs, balancing the needs and expectations of lay and ordained
• developing, implementing and reviewing, alongside other LDMs and the Director of Ministry Learning, the strategic work plan of the LN
• building and maintaining good relationships across the Connexional Team and with individuals and communities across the church and beyond
• encouraging the sharing of individual gifts and experiences across a number of teams and stakeholders
• travel (including overnight stays), weekend and evening work

We are looking for someone who has:

• proven experience of coordinating and managing a dispersed team of staff and volunteers
• significant experience and is passionate about learning and development
• a strong commitment to collaborative and partnership working
• a proven track record of meeting deadlines within a complex and varied workload

Knowledge of the Welsh language would be a valuable asset to this role

Our Culture, Values and Benefits

Thank you for considering joining our inclusive and welcoming team that strives for excellence and values employee wellbeing.

We value and support all those who join our team through a positive work-life balance augmented by generous annual leave (plus an extra 3 days over Christmas/New Year), TOIL, flexi-leave and an on-site Wellbeing Adviser service. We offer a generous occupational pension scheme, where the Methodist Church will pay double the employee contribution up to a maximum of 16% employer contribution.

The Methodist Church is an inclusive and supportive employer. We are actively committed to encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds. We welcome applications from people of Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic groups.

For ministers in Full Connexion the standard terms of service apply.

Closing date: 23:59 on 21/07/2025

Interviews to take place on: 08/08/2025 in London in person.

N.B. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

We are a small but mighty team, with huge ambitions to transform more lives of those who live with an intellectual disability, through the power of sport.

If you are just looking for a job, then we are probably not for you. However, if you are an experienced finance and business operations professional able to demonstrate strategic and operational ability around financial planning and processes as well as delivering cost effective, efficient and fit-for-purpose business services, then we would like to hear from you.  Charity finance experience and experience in a similarly broad role covering other areas of business operations including IT, risk management, data protection & data management and health & safety is a must.

We continue to be focused on our vision to create an inclusive world for all, driven by the power of sport, through which people with intellectual disabilities live active, healthy and fulfilling lives. We are a small, but growing, team with huge ambitions, and applicants must be comfortable operating in an environment where working under your own initiative is expected and encouraged.

We are looking for people who are passionate about Special Olympics and are completely aligned with our values. We are authentic. We act with honesty, integrity and respect. We are creative and innovative. We love to embrace difference and doing things differently. We are brave, courageous, resilient and determined. We listen and are led by the voice of our athletes. We are always kind. We are Inclusion in Action.

We are continuing to build a high-performing team who care for each other and care about our cause. Our athletes are incredibly inspirational, courageous and insightful people, and they deserve a team who are equally committed and passionate about our mission.

This is a permanent, home-based role. There will be the requirement to attend internal and external meetings or events which will involve travel away from home and working outside of normal hours.     

The role is both strategic and operational in nature and represents a fantastic chance to join an amazing charity at an exciting time of growth.

For job role specifics please see the Job Description.

What We Can Offer 

· Competitive salary circa £33,000 (£55K FTE) per annum depending on experience. 

· 15 days holiday on appointment plus pro rata bank holidays and one extra day for your Birthday. 

· Stakeholder Pension Scheme from appointment. 

· Time off in Lieu (TOIL) for out of hours work. 

· Flexible working. 

· Health Cash Plan

How to Apply

To apply, please send a covering letter (maximum 2 pages) explaining why you wish to work for Special Olympics GB. It is important that all prospective employees understand our mission and are driven by our cause. Please be specific about how your skills and experience will help you undertake this role and how they match the requirements of the Job Description and Person Specification. Generic letters and agency approaches will not be considered. Please also include your CV.

First stage interviews will be held week commencing 28th July 2025.

Safer Recruitment 

Special Olympics Great Britain is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The suitability of all prospective employees or volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process. The successful candidate will be required to complete regular safeguarding training and undertake a DBS/PVG check relevant to the requirements of the role. For this role that will involve a Basic Disclosure. 

Equal Opportunities

Special Olympics GB is committed to equality and diversity and encourages all sections of the community, particularly those living with a disability, who meet the job requirements to apply.

Other

The job holder will need to provide evidence of their ability to live and work in the UK and will be required to undertake a basic DBS check.

We will only contact those who have been selected for interview.

We request no contact from agencies.

Do you want to make a difference to the lives of students and equip them to put their faith into action?

SCM is looking for a recent graduate to spend a year working with us to help us to continue to build on the work of our successful Faith in Action project. 

Run in partnership with Project Bonhoeffer, a small charitable trust, the project began in 2012 with a vision that Christian students in Britain would have a greater awareness and understanding of Bonhoeffer’s radical approach to faith and discipleship, and its implications for Christian living in the modern world. 

The project has helped to run over a dozen campaigns from Food Poverty to Peace, and had an immeasurable impact on thousands of students through blogs, resources, and relationships. All of this is bringing to light many ‘Bonhoeffers’ of today negotiating the implications on Christian living in the world.

In 2021 we developed the Faith in Action project as a graduate scheme by employing two graduates to work on the project; one to lead on theology bringing a depth of learning and theological refection, and the other to be a campaigns lead, taking us always back out into the world to make a difference.

The project has been very successful, and now we are looking to grow it for further. We are looking for a passionate graduate to join the project for the 2025-26 academic year.

In this role, you will be a theologian to make other theologians, and will provide the framework for students to be able to reflect theologically on their life and modern Christian Living. You will be responsible for growing the breadth of SCM’s Faith in Action resources, and discovering new ways of connecting with the current membership via the trends of social media or engaging in face-to-face reflections. An activist to make other activists, you will coordinate social action for SCM, engaging the membership in social justice projects that maximise our impact in society and the world.

You will work to build relationships between SCM communities and members to equip students with the skills they need to become faith-filled agents of social and political change and lead them in theological reflection to discern their involvement in local and national campaigns. You will also work to develop relationships with other Christian social justice and campaigning organisations to create opportunities for students to put their faith into action. In all of this, you will be supported by our small but perfectly-formed team, who will share your values and fully understand your aims in this project.

The role will require some travel within Britain, as well as semi-regular visits to the office in Birmingham, which may also include an overnight stay. All reasonable expenses for travel and accommodation will be reimbursed. Some evening and weekend work may be required for which time off in lieu will be given.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and LGBTQ+ individuals who are currently underrepresented in the organisation. Due to the nature of this role and the responsibilities of the successful post-holder, a genuine occupational requirement to be a committed Christian is in place for this role in accordance with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

Please use the forms provided; CVs will not be accepted. Applications should be submitted electronically in Word format by email to the address provided in the application pack.

Student Christian Movement is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1125640, and in Scotland number SC048506