Volunteer accountant jobs in watford, hertfordshire

The purpose of the Bookkeeper position at Latin American House is to ensure accurate and timely financial administration, supporting the efficient management and smooth operation of the organisation’s financial activities. This includes processing invoices, tracking payments and expenses, managing financial documentation, and ensuring compliance with both internal policies and external regulations.

The Bookkeeper plays a crucial role in maintaining accurate financial records, assisting with financial reporting, audit preparation, and supporting senior management in overseeing budgets, payroll, and compliance.

By providing essential administrative support, the Bookkeeper upholds the integrity, efficiency, and transparency of LAH's financial processes, contributing to the overall success, sustainability, and governance of the organisation.

Main duties and responsibilities:

1. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date financial records by:
● Accurately recording all financial transactions, including income, expenses, invoices, payments, and receipts, ensuring they are categorised correctly in the financial system
● Regularly reconciling bank accounts, credit card statements, and other financial documents to ensure accuracy and identify discrepancies
● Maintaining and organising all financial documentation, including invoices, receipts, contracts, and financial reports, in accordance with internal policies and regulatory requirements
● Ensuring that all financial data is entered into the accounting system in a timely manner and accurately, and keeping records updated as necessary, reflecting any changes or corrections

2. Supporting organisational income and expenditure processes efficiently by:
● Monitoring and tracking income and expenses across various budgets, ensuring all transactions are in alignment with allocated funds and any restrictions on specific funds
● Processing self-generated income from all LAH activities (e.g., Space rental, hall hire, Saturday School, etc.) by preparing related invoices, ensuring accurate record-keeping, and diligently tracking payment status
● Recording and processing utility bills, ensuring proper allocation of recharges where applicable
● Preparing payments on the CAF Bank platform for approval by authorised signatories

3. Assisting organisational financial compliance by:
● Preparing financial records for audits and financial reporting as required, ensuring compliance with tax laws, charity regulations, and other applicable legal standards
● Maintaining and updating the LAH’s inventory by accurately recording purchases, disposals, and changes in assets, such as IT equipment and furniture
● Assisting with payroll enrollment administration for new starters, ensuring accurate processing and compliance with relevant payroll procedures
● Collaborating with senior management to ensure adherence to LAH’s Financial Policy and internal financial procedures
● Supporting the development and implementation of enhanced financial systems and internal controls to improve efficiency and compliance

4. Other accountabilities:
● Attending team meetings and one-to-ones as required 
● Participating in relevant training or professional development to maintain and
improve financial administration skills 
● Carrying out any other bookkeeping-related duties appropriate to the post, as
agreed with your line manager

SOS Children’s Villages UK is part of a global federation, which exists to ensure that each child and young person grows up with the healthy relationships they need to become their strongest selves. We are the world’s largest non-governmental organisation focused on supporting children and young people who don’t have, or who are at risk of losing, parental care.

We are now looking for a capable Finance Officer to to support the effective running of our financial operations and ensure the accuracy and integrity of our financial processes.

• Managing the purchase and sales ledgers, including processing supplier invoices, preparing payment runs, raising sales invoices, and applying VAT as required

• Carrying out daily income and bank reconciliations, posting income to our CRM system (Salesforce), and monitoring Direct Debit payments

• Processing staff expenses and business credit card transactions, ensuring all costs are accurately allocated

• Supporting month-end tasks, including income reconciliations, credit notes, journal postings, and submitting Gift Aid claims to HMRC

• Preparing regular internal and external financial reports, including sponsorship and earmarked donation summaries for the International Office

• Assisting with the annual external audit and maintaining clear process documentation.

If you have strong numerical skills, excellent attention detail, and are looking for a pivotal finance role within a friendly, flexible, and supportive team, then this could be for you!

To Apply

Please read the full Candidate Pack attached which contains the entire job description and person specification, and submit a copy of your CV and a covering letter.

The deadline for applications is Friday 08 August 2025, 11.59pm UK time. 

Please note: 

• The post-holder must be UK-based and able to work on a permanent full-time contract. We are unable to provide employment sponsorship if required and unfortunately cannot progress applications without the required right to live and work in the UK on a permanent contract.

• No agencies please - We are managing this recruitment in-house and are not seeking assistance from agencies at this time. We have existing preferred agencies should the need arise.

The vacancy

We are seeking to appoint one lay member to sit on our GOC Council.

About the GOC

We are the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Our purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct.  For more information about us please visit our website:optical. org.

About the Council

The role of Council is to lead on the GOC’s mission to protect the public by upholding high standards in eye care services.  The Council is composed of six lay members (including the Chair) and six registrant members (i.e. registered optometrists and dispensing opticians).  At least one member of the Council must work wholly or mainly in each of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  One Council member acts as a Senior Council Member whose role is to carry out the Chair’s appraisal as well as provide a sounding board for the Chair and serve as an intermediary for Council members, Executive and stakeholders as necessary. 

The successful candidate will contribute to Council by exercising oversight, ensuring effective corporate governance, and making high-level policy decisions. They will be able to operate strategically and impartially; listen, communicate, and influence effectively; exercise judgment; and inspire confidence and support amongst our stakeholders. 

Remuneration and time commitment

Council members are remunerated in accordance with our member fees policy (£13,962 per annum plus reasonable travel and subsistence expenses).  The member fee includes time for reading and preparation.

The appointed member will be expected to commit approximately 2-3 days per month.  Meetings will usually take place via MS Teams but may on occasion be held at the GOC Offices at Level 29, One Canada Square, London, E14 5AA. There are occasional online catch-up meetings - these are currently scheduled on a Tuesday evening every 6-8 weeks, from 5.30pm – 6.30pm.

How to apply:

Please email the the following to appointment@optical. org

· your CV outlining your employment history, any relevant voluntary work, public service or other experience; together with any relevant professional, academic or vocational qualifications;

· the application form, stating how your experience matches the criteria for the vacancy you are applying for; and

· complete the EDI monitoring form linked in the candidate pack (this is an online form and does not need to be included in the email with your CV and application form).

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  midnight on Sunday 10 August 2025.

Online interviews will be held on between Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 October 2025.

If you have any questions, please email them to appointment@optical. org and we will aim to respond to you within 48 hours. 

We welcome applications from individuals who are disabled and from diverse ethnic backgrounds as these are currently under-represented on our council and committees.

We strive to be as diverse as the public we protect and welcome applications from everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity and geographical locations outside of London.

Role: Finance & CRM Administrator

Reporting to: Financial Controller, with a dotted line to the Directors/Fundraising team

Purpose of job: To work with the Finance and Fundraising teams to provide excellent finance, CRM & other systems administration. This will support income generation, research, data capture and information security throughout the Museum. Responsibilities include maintaining financial records, managing and maintaining a CRM database of contacts, supporting other digital systems, and some general administrative duties including IT support.

Working pattern: 35 hours per week, usually worked from 10 – 6pm. Flexible/hybrid working offered for up 40% of hours to be worked from home.

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £28,000-£30,000pa depending on experience

Who we are looking for

Are you fascinated by data with an excellent grasp on finance, IT and digital systems? Are you interested in the role financial, CRM & other digital systems play in how arts organisations and cultural projects are managed? Are you looking to take the next step in your arts finance, administration or fundraising career?

The Foundling Museum is transforming how digital systems underpin the foundations of this small but mighty Museum and charity. The position of Finance & CRM Administrator sits at the heart of this continued transition, following the successful implementation and migration to Shopify, Xero & Beacon CRM which began in 2023.

This new role is essential to the success of the Finance & Fundraising teams, in providing effective finance and CRM administration support. The Finance and CRM Administrator will support income generation activities including fundraising and venue hire, as well as playing a vital role in keeping the Museum’s accounting systems working effectively.

This includes processing all types of financial transactions on Xero and maintaining records on Beacon. You will work as a key part of both teams supporting the Museum’s strategy through the provision of high quality financial & other data, and the maintenance of the underlying systems.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly organised individual with strong financial skills, an attention to detail, and a flair for collaborative working and information management. You will be looking to expand your skillset and make a tangible impact on our work,

through the effective use & development of the main systems underpining our financial strategy & income generation.

Key objectives

· Supporting the Finance team with accurate & timely processing & reconciling of all types of Museum transactions & ledgers including sales, purchases, banking & cash.

· Continue ongoing migration of supporter and customer data to Beacon CRM, working with all teams

· Support all staff with SharePoint migration project ensuring effective record management

· Continue seeking opportunities to improve the use of our digital systems to increase organisational efficiencies & income generation

Key responsibilities

Finance

· Raise sales invoices

· Process credit card transactions

· Credit control & reconciliation of the sales ledger

· Financial management of shop takings

· Process bank & cash transactions

· Bank reconciliations

· Produce financial reports & other ad hoc duties as required by the Financial Controller

· Gift Aid Claims support

· Training in and promoting use of XERO to staff

CRM Administration

· Maintain and update Beacon with all fundraising transactions including applications, prospects, & funding receipts

· Process donations, pledges and ticket payments from individuals, organisations, trusts and foundations

· Day-to-day administration of the Museum’s Friends & other membership schemes

· Maintain up-to-date and accurate records of contacts ensuring that strict confidentiality and GDPR legislation and guidance is adhered to

· Monitor data quality by regularly creating and executing processes to cleanse and standardise data in the CRM

· Lead on development of improving existing CRM systems within Beacon CRM

· Assist in data capture and gathering to support fundraising compliance & applications

· Training in and promoting use of CRM to staff including building reports.

Admin support

· Basic IT support working with outsourced IT contractors and the Operations team

· Manage the ordering of office items

· Facilitate the use, internal awareness and confidence with digital systems, creating and managing logins

· Supporting the Director’s Office Project Manager with governance & meetings

Other

· To perform any other tasks as reasonably requested by the Directors, Financial

Controller and Fundraising team

Person specification

Essential

· Excellent financial, administration & analytical skills

· Experience of financial systems such as Xero, Sage or QuickBooks

· Good understanding and experience of Excel

· Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively in writing, over the phone, and face-to-face with the Museum’s different stakeholders

· Solid experience working with not-for-profit databases, such as Beacon CRM

· The ability to also work independently and take initiative within a small team

· Proven, excellent organisational skills, with close attention to detail, the ability to multi-task and prioritise responsibilities

· Excellent IT skills including in depth knowledge of financial systems, CRM, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and other cloud based digital systems

· An enjoyment of and willingness to engage with a wide variety of people and organisations

· Able to act with discretion and maintain professional confidentiality at all times

· Appreciation of and support for the aims, values and ethos of The Foundling Museum

Desirable

· An interest in and engagement with the work and ethos of the Museum

· An interest in and engagement with the arts, heritage and/or music

· Experience of working in a finance or fundraising environment

Benefits

· 25 days annual leave per year (pro rata) + bank holidays (pro rata)+ Birthday leave + Volunteering leave

· You will be eligible to join a group contributory pension scheme (3 months after your start date)

· Discount from the Foundling Museum Shop and local partner businesses

· Access to season ticket , rental deposit and cycle to work scheme loans (3 months from your start date)

· Free and discounted access to partner museums and galleries

· Free access to our fully funded Employee Assistance Programme for wellbeing – WISDOM

· Training support from our on line learning platform

Interview timetable :

Closing date: 5pm 17 Aug 2025

First interview date: Week commencing 25 August 2025 (NB interview will include a job related task)

Second interview date for shortlisted candidates: Week commencing 8 September 2025

How to apply:

To apply please use the link to our application portal where you will be asked to upload our standard application form.

The form will ask you for: details of relevant achievements in recent posts, as well as any relevant education and professional qualifications that are appropriate to the post; Details of your notice period and names of 2 referees, together with the capacity in which they have known you, and an indication of when in the process they can be contacted (please note we will not contact your referees without your express permission); Telephone numbers, which will be used with discretion.

Please also tell us what makes you a good fit for the role, for example,giving evidence of your ability to match the criteria outlined in the Person Specification.

PLEASE NOTE: the application portal will request a CV. This is not necessary and can be ignored. Where it requests a CV please only upload the completed Application form, and the optional Equal Opportunities form.

Please get in touch with us if you have any access requirements, for example if you would prefer to send your application via video.

About the Foundling Museum

‘A seaman, a composer and a painter, and the moving story of the charity they started 270 years ago. It is a recipe of art and care, which still looks after kids today. Coram, Handel, Hogarth, what’s not to love?’ - Grayson Perry CBE, Foundling Museum Trustee

The Foundling Museum tells the compelling story of Thomas Coram’s Hospital for foundlings, the UK’s first ever children’s charity, now named Coram, and its first public art gallery, now the Foundling Museum.

Inspired by three great 18th-century activists - Thomas Coram, William Hogarth and George Frideric Handel - our mission is to inspire change and transform lives through the power of the arts. We believe in creative action that brings past and present together, to stimulate imaginations and enrich lives.

Examples of our work include:

· Art projects which explore how our historic story of care still resonates today by addressing stigma and supporting mental health. We do this by working in a connected way, establishing collaborations with local health and community partners.

· ‘Tracing Our Tales’, our flagship training programme for care-experienced young people which was named Learning Programme of the Year at the 2022 Museums and Heritage Awards. Supported by our Learning Team, trainees learn art or creative writing skills in weekly sessions led by dynamic artists and poets, to build a creative portfolio.

· Exhibitions, collections and displays, ranging from tiny, touching identifying tokens left by mothers with their babies, to composer George Frideric Handel’s will. Around the Museum, you’ll find works of art by contemporary artists like Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Tracey Emin and Michael Craig-Martin, as well as 18th-century artists William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.