Think Ahead Graduate Programme Jobs in Kings Cross, Greater London
The Task Ahead: Finance Manager
As The Difference moves from its early start-up phase into the delivery of our 2025-30 strategy, our programmes and sector-influencing work are expanding to reach more schools and to deepen our impact. Alongside this growth, our team - and the operational function which supports them - is also growing.
As Finance Manager, you will be a key member of the Finance & Operations team. You will hold end-to-end responsibility for the finance function, from reconciliations to budgeting. You will decide where and how our existing processes could be improved, as well as developing new systems that will underpin our work as a larger and more established charity. You will be supported by the Director of People, Finance & Operations, as well as our external auditors.
The Difference is still a small and growing charity. This means that our work is fast-paced, our roles are broad, and there is a culture of being reactive and flexible, as the needs of the organisation evolve. If this sounds exciting rather than daunting, then this could be the role and team for you!
Areas of Responsibility
The Difference is looking for a Finance Manager to lead our finance function in the following ways:
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Oversee our internal bookkeeping, payment, and accounting processes, and improve these systems ongoingly.
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Lead on budgeting and forecasting across the organisation, supporting teams to predict income and expenditure and make sound financial decisions.
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Lead on the production of management accounting information, including internal monthly management accounts, quarterly reports for Trustees, and financial reports for investors.
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Lead on The Difference’s audit process, with external auditors.
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Work with the Development & Impact Manager to update fundraising pipelines, and ensure the availability of high quality income projections for Trustees.
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Support accurate budgeting and reporting for grant funding, including tracking spend of restricted funds.
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Support business planning by working with teams to model potential future work - e.g. costs of expansion of an existing programme; modelling potential new programmes.
Person Specification
Essential – We are looking for the following skills, aptitude and experience; though you may be stronger in some areas than others:
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Values – Your experience evidences shared values with The Difference (see below) and a personal commitment to our mission to improve life outcomes for vulnerable people.
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Finance experience, operational and strategic – Experience across all areas of finance, from accurate invoicing, payments and record-keeping, through to setting and managing budgets, financial modelling and forecasting, and working with external accountants or auditors.
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Finance process development – Experience of developing finance systems; the ability to recognise how processes could be continuously improved, and enact this improvement.
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Leadership of self and others – Confident in identifying skills or information gaps within your team, and drawing on the expertise of others to address these gaps. Able to show how you've continually grown your own skills and those of your team members so that together you can efficiently cover workload and plan ahead.
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Proactive problem-solving – Ability to thrive in a fast-paced start-up environment and to problem-solve: from rolling sleeves up and diving into detail to working collaboratively to build capacity.
Desired – You are more likely to be successful in your application if you have one or more of the following additional experiences:
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Accounting qualification and experience - Some form of accounting qualification and post-qualification experience.
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Early-stage charity/social enterprise experience – You may have specific experience growing charities or businesses for social good at the early or start-up phase.
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Experience of charity finances – You may have worked for or supported other charities, and have experience of working with philanthropic grants, charity accounting, and governance.
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Insight into schools – You may have experience working in the education sector, whether that’s through working for a business or charities that partnered with schools, or through working in a school yourself.
Why Work for The Difference?
Schooling isn’t working for the children who need it most. Every week in England 109 children – equivalent to three full classrooms – are permanently excluded. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Since the pandemic, school suspensions have risen significantly, as has persistent absenteeism. 1 in 5 children are missing more than 10% of their time in school. Children who are excluded or persistently absent are much more likely to already be experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage. They are more likely to live in poverty, have additional learning needs, suffer mental health challenges, or experience a lack of safety outside school. Certain ethnicities are also disproportionately affected, notably Gypsy Roma Traveller and black Caribbean children.
Exclusion and high rates of absence can have a dramatic effect on life chances. These young people are more likely to drop out of education or employment, become vulnerable to long-term mental ill health, or be at risk of criminal exploitation. The Difference believes that children and young people deserve better and that the education system has to change.
Our Organisation
The Difference is a young education charity, founded to change the story on lost learning. By 2030, we want rates of exclusion and absence to be falling nationally and for schools to be better equipped to support all children, including those who may be vulnerable. The Difference was born out of a year of research into school exclusions with think-tank IPPR. This research identified a lack of inclusion expertise in schools and proposed a new leadership development programme to fill this gap. In 2018, Difference founder Kiran hired the team who took this idea from concept to reality, beginning work with our first schools.
The Difference is now a 22-strong team delivering multiple school leadership programmes, alongside a growing research and policy arm. The team is supported by our Youth Advisory Board, made up of young people who have experienced exclusion and who provide their expertise and insights on how school inclusion work should be done. This work is needed more than ever. Effects of COVID-19, coupled with the spiralling cost of living, have substantially increased levels of vulnerability. Schools serving excluded pupils face under-funding. The Difference has had excellent early impact but there is work ahead to capture this, share learning with schools and policy-makers, and grow our capacity to lower exclusions across England.
Our Values
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High Expectations - We are ambitious for excellence from young people, colleagues and ourselves. We don’t believe in writing off someone’s potential because of their identity or experience of crisis.
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Strong Relationships - We prioritise genuine relationships over transactional interactions, and know that this requires deliberate relational practice. We see colleagues and partners as people first and their roles second; and know this greater trust allows us to take more risks, gain more feedback and have greater impact.
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Internalised Locus of Control - We work hard to reframe difficult situations to discover what we have within our power in terms of solutions. We take it upon ourselves to walk towards challenges and can take a high level of ownership and agency in our work/
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Pragmatism - We believe leadership means recognising current limitations and striving for improvements within and beyond them. We develop consensus and chart new ways forward, challenging false and extreme positions like “zero exclusions” or “no excuses”.
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Scientific approach - We take a diagnostic approach to unpicking causes of problems. We are loud and proud of our failures, recognising failing fast and often is key to finding the best solutions. We test solutions and are willing to use data and feedback to make adjustments and choose new directions.
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Not Squeamish about Structural Inequality - We believe patterns of inequality can and should be disrupted. We strive to be clear-eyed about these inequalities, and both the individual practice and system-changes required to address them. We push ourselves to overcome awkwardness in talking about this; and begin by acknowledging our own biases and blind spots.
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Asset-based - We work hard to avoid deficit thinking and aim to start with what’s strong, not what’s wrong. We are careful not to frame our colleagues and stakeholders - particularly young people and families – as victims but instead to recognise their agency.
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Wise selves - To both enjoy work and do their best, we want to make decisions and work with others in our “wise” - or regulated - selves. We also want to bring our compassionate self to those we work with, externally and internally, to support one another through challenging times.
How To Apply
To apply, please complete all sections of the application form by midnight on Sunday 19th May.
First round interviews will be held during the week beginning 27th May, over video call. Please indicate if you would not be available to attend an interview during this week.
If successful in this stage, second round interviews (including a task to be completed the same day) will take place on the week beginning 3rd June, at our office in Bethnal Green.
We are committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from under-represented groups in the charity sector such as people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people with experience in the care system, non-graduates and first-in-family graduates.
As part of our commitment to fairer recruitment, all applications will be assessed with names and any protected characteristics redacted.
Recommended Reading
If you’d like to understand more about The Difference and what we are trying to achieve, we would recommend the following:
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The research which underpins our organisation.
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Our latest Impact Report, sharing our work in 2023
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Cohort Programme Coordinator
- Salary: £29,755 – £31,540 dependent on experience
- Contract Type: Permanent
- Hours: Full Time (typically 9:30am-5:30pm but with flexibility)
- Location: We’re based in Elephant & Castle in central London, but this role is fully hybrid so we work remotely, though team members must be willing to travel to London periodically
- Responsible To: Co-Head of Programmes
- Application Deadline: 10am 28th May 2024
- Interview Dates: 1st interview 5th-7th June 2024, 2nd interview 17th June
Our Commitment to Equity
We believe everyone has potential. We are committed to increasing equity among business owners, and we want to do the same for our team. Research shows that some underrepresented groups tend to only apply for roles if they meet every single requirement. At Hatch we are interested in your future potential just as much as your past experience. So if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t tick every box on the job description, we’d love it if you went ahead and applied anyway.
And if this role isn’t quite ticking all your boxes but you like the idea of working at Hatch, please add your details to our careers mailing list to be the first to hear about new opportunities in future.
We want to ensure that our team represents a wide cross-section of society, and we know that means we have to make an effort to understand and accommodate different people’s needs. If you would require any reasonable adjustments to be made to support you to apply, interview or join the Hatch team please contact us.
Role Purpose
Picture this: You pick up the phone to speak to an entrepreneur that you worked with on a Hatch programme last year. Since you last caught up with them, their business has gone from strength to strength, accessing new funding and customers, and increasing their impact.
They tell you that the support you and the Hatch team provided – running weekly workshops, connecting them with a supportive community of other entrepreneurs, providing them with tailored support from industry experts, and introducing them to a mentor – was critical to their successes. The knowledge, skills, network and confidence that they accessed through Hatch changed the course of their business.
You know that the work you did as a Programme Coordinator – supporting a Programme Manager to design and deliver programmes of support, managing the day-to-day administration of programmes, and acting as the main point of contact for entrepreneur questions and requests – has empowered hundreds of underrepresented founders to imagine, launch and grow sustainable and impactful businesses.
If this is the kind of job you would enjoy, you should join the Hatch team as a Programme Coordinator.
Communicating with founders
- Acting as the main point of contact for entrepreneurs on a cohort, ensuring they all have the information they need to get the most out of programmes
- Communicating with founders individually and as a cohort including via phone, email, zoom
- Leading on administrative matters, including calendar invitations, permissions, photographs, and communications
Programme delivery and support
- Ensuring that workshops, events, and sessions run smoothly and deliver a great experience for everyone involved
- Providing technological support with tools including Zoom breakout rooms, Circle etc.
- Producing materials to support founders’ learning, including PDFs, slides, and spreadsheets
- Supporting the programme manager with the recruitment of founders which sometimes includes; Interviewing, shortlisting, and selection during recruitment cycles.
Working with external freelancers and volunteers
- Briefing and training skilled volunteers, experts and facilitators to ensure high-quality delivery of support sessions
- Coordinating 1:1 support for founders with skilled volunteers/experts on the programmes
- Ensuring the right contracts with founders, facilitators and expert speakers are in place
- Helping maintain our database of expert speakers, freelancers and volunteers
- Identifying and onboarding new freelancers and volunteers by networking, researching, and attending external events
- Keeping track of and processing invoices from freelancers
Monitoring and evaluation
- Gathering feedback from entrepreneurs and sharing insights and areas of improvement
- Interviewing founders and creating case studies from their written and verbal feedback
- Collaborating with the Marketing and Communications team to share stories from our founders on our social channels
Systems and Administration
- Maintaining KPI tracking system to record event attendees, feedback and learning outcomes through our work management system Monday
- Suggesting and creating improvements to systems as needed
Other
- Representing Hatch externally at speaking opportunities (optional)
- Other duties that may be required from time to time as part of a small, dynamic team
Person Specification
- Excellent time-management and organisational skills
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Proactive problem-solving skills
- Ability to work independently and identify potentially more effective ways of working
- A passion for supporting underrepresented founders to start and grow businesses that will have a positive impact on the world
- You have the flexibility to work some evenings and weekends to host or attend events and workshops
Benefits
We care about our people and giving them the things they need to succeed, and we are passionate about Hatch being a great place to work.
We are a hybrid working organisation, and our head office in Elephant and Castle is available for anyone to work from as much or as little as they’d like. We provide all team members with a laptop for ease of use wherever you choose to work. Although we offer the flexibility to work from home, there are times when it is useful for us to get together in person for certain meetings and team days.
Our benefits include:
- Flexible working – work from home or in the office and at the times that work best for you
- 37 fully flexible holiday days (including the 8 UK bank holidays) in 2024
- 4 days per year paid time off to volunteer
- 4 wellbeing days per year
- Enhanced parental leave
- Enhanced sick pay leave
- Paid time off for dedicated learning and development opportunities
- Team Days/get togethers 3 times a year
- Access to Hatch programmes and events free of charge
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Employee pension scheme
- Salary Sacrifice Scheme
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Eye care scheme
- Interest free loans to purchase season tickets for travel to work
To Apply
Please note we are only able to accept applications from candidates who have the right to work in the UK.
In order to apply for this role, we ask all candidates to provide a CV, a cover letter and a response to the following bullet points:
- What excites you about Hatch as an organisation and about this role in particular?
- What do you think makes for a good learning experience for an entrepreneur?
- What would you do in this role that would really make an impact?
- Where did you first hear about this opportunity?
We are only accepting applications via the portal which is accessible on our website. Please note – we will not consider any applications unless they include a CV, cover letter and response to the points above, and/or if they have not been submitted through our application portal.
If you have any questions or need any help with your application, please drop us a line (recruiters will be politely turned away).
If you apply, we will process your personal data for recruitment purposes only and in accordance with our Data Privacy Policy.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
About the Coalition for Global Prosperity
The Coalition for Global Prosperity (CGP) brings together political, military, business and faith leaders who believe that an effective development budget, alongside an active diplomatic and defence strategy, keeps Britain at the forefront of saving lives, alleviating poverty and bringing freedom, security and prosperity to those who need it most.
At a time when the UK's role in the world is being redefined, Britain is at its best when it acts as a global leader in development as well as in defence and diplomacy. With a smart and effective aid budget, which leverages British expertise, the UK can transform lives.
CGP brings together a wide coalition of aid supporters, with backgrounds from across the military, faith, business and political communities. We organise public and private events to explore the UK's role as a global leader. We regularly host influential figures and thought leaders to speak at our events, previously we have hosted David Attenborough, Julia Gillard, Theresa May, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, Bill Gates and David Cameron as speakers.
Overview / purpose of the role
We’re looking for a Finance & Operations Assistant who is interested in developing a career in bookkeeping and/or accountancy within the nonprofit sector. No previous experience is required, just lots of passion and a motivation to pursue a long-term career in charity finance. The successful candidate will undertake training with the AAT (funded by us) towards a bookkeeping qualification alongside working as our Finance & Operations Assistant, you will be given some time to study during your working hours for this qualification.
The Finance & Operations Assistant is a central resource within CGP, working with colleagues in the Operations Team, and across the organisation to provide financial and operational support to all areas of our work. They will work closely with the Head of Operations & Evaluation to process invoices, expenses and conduct weekly payment runs, ensuring that all financial policies and procedures are carefully adhered to. They will also support colleagues to follow our financial policies and processes and act as the first point of contact for any questions on these procedures. Additionally, they will provide general administrative and operational support to colleagues as outlined in the below job description.
We do not require the successful candidate to have any particular/specific formal qualifications, you may have just finished education or be looking for a change in career, what you will need is excellent attention to detail and a strong interest in developing a finance career with us.
Reporting to: Head of Operations & Evaluation
Responsibilities
Finance
● Managing our accounts payable inbox, monitoring all incoming invoices and following up with team members on any missing information if required
● Processing and coding invoices in Xero accounting software ahead of weekly payment runs
● Checking that correct coding and approval procedures are followed for staff expenses in Soldo
● Conducting weekly payment runs via our online banking system
● Coordinating our monthly payroll processes (working with external providers)
● Working with the Head of Operations & Evaluation and Director of Finance to support the development of funding proposals
● Working with the Head of Operations & Evaluation and Director of Finance to support financial reporting on grants for external donors
● Supporting the Head of Operations & Evaluation and Director of Finance with general financial administration, record keeping and tracking budgets
● Provide training on expense and invoicing processes to new members of staff and generally acting as the first point of contact for all staff on any finance procedure questions (full training will be provided)
● Supporting the Senior Management Team (SMT) and our Director of Finance to develop the annual organisational budget and report against it quarterly
● Providing budgeting support as required for colleagues internally
Office Management & General Operational Support
● Acting as the key point of contact between CGP & our coworking office space (organising memberships, meeting room bookings, invoices, printing credits, equipment, internal events etc.)
● Organising post, stationery supplies and managing stocks of office equipment
● Maintain/organise our filing and cloud storage systems logically and efficiently, in a data protection compliant manner.
● Ad hoc IT support as required, including online troubleshooting and logging support requests with service providers when necessary.
● General administrative support to the CEO and Head of Operations & Evaluation
Human Resources
● Support with recruitment processes within CGP, including assisting members of the team to schedule and coordinate job interviews, contact candidates and file incoming applications.
● Working with the Head of Operations & Evaluation to organise internal events like team away days and staff team building activities.
Person specification
The right candidate is less likely to be defined by their qualifications and prior experience, but will be someone who meets the below criteria, and is ready to learn. They will have an aptitude for maths and finance, excellent attention to detail and a meticulous, methodical approach to work and troubleshooting.
We are looking for someone who:
● Has an interest in developing a career in the nonprofit finance sector and willing to commit to undertaking financial training
● Is broadly supportive of UK Aid
● Is an independent worker, self-starter who can take responsibility for projects through to completion
● Has excellent IT skills, proficient with MS Office programmes (particularly Excel) and Google Workspace, and the ability to learn to use new software as required (for example, Xero, Soldo and Salesforce)
● Has great people skills, and the ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders
To Apply:
Send a CV and cover letter outlining you’re interest in the role to the work email address specified on our website.
We review applications on a rolling basis, if interested please apply as soon as possible.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.