Assistant Accountant Jobs in Egham
War Child is partnering exclusively with Robertson Bell to recruit a Senior Finance Manager on a permanent, full time basis. War Child is the only specialist charity for children affected by conflict. For more than two decades, they’ve been driven by a single goal – ensuring a safe future for every child living through war.
War Child is now seeking a dynamic and dedicated Senior Finance Manager who will oversee the month-end, financial control, budgeting, and forecasting processes. You will report to the Director of Finance and IT and have the opportunity to deputise and develop strategic finance skills. If you share the values of this brilliant charity and believe that children's lives should not be torn apart by war, we want to hear from you.
The key responsibilities will be:
- Support decision making by providing budget holders and stakeholders with timely, accurate and meaningful financial management information.
- Lead on the monthly financial and management accounts process, ensuring that month-end submissions are completed on time, budget holders and the leadership team receive timely financial information and the balance sheet is reconciled.
- Lead on the quarterly reforecast process and annual budget process, providing timelines to key stakeholders, ensuring that templates are ready, and consolidating forecasts and budgets upon submission from budget holders to report to the Leadership team.
- Lead on process improvement initiatives outlined as per the wider finance team plan. This will include month end processes and income coding.
- Provide effective treasury management for the organisation, with accurate monitoring and forecasting of cash balances and advising on our payment profile of cash to the War Child Alliance.
- Provide line management and guidance to the finance officer and ensure their monthly tasks are completed accurately and on time. Provide guidance and support to the Finance Assistant as required.
- Strengthen the financial capabilities of managers, and influence decision making in compliance with financial policies and best practice.
- Support the Director of Finance & IT on the annual statutory audit process for the consolidated group, liaising with the statutory auditors from planning to completion including preparation of the annual consolidated statutory accounts.
The organisation:
Thirty years ago, children in conflict zones had no access to professional psychological support - no charity was set up to address this need. That all changed in 1993, when filmmakers David Wilson, Bill Leeson, and social entrepreneur Willemijn Verloop travelled to the former Yugoslavia and saw first-hand how war, much like in Ukraine today, was impacting innocent children. In response to how much indifference there to this back in the UK, War Child was born. War Child works to protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict and go to the hardest to reach places to support them. War Child is guided by the following values: accountability, bold, supportive of each other and transparent.
Essential requirements:
- Fully Qualified Accountant (ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS or comparable other)
- Experience of overseeing a small finance team, financial systems and processes
- Experience in ensuring sound financial management across an organisation through the development and maintenance of strong financial systems, control, and accountability;
- Expertise in both strategic and annual business planning through to monitoring and reporting against core business aims
- Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills
- High levels of energy and personal resilience
- A result oriented and problem-solving approach to work and challenges and an ability to involve others whilst also making decisions in a timely manner
Please note charity experience is highly desirable but not essential.
War Childs head office is based in Kentish Town and this role will require two days a week in the office. The Senior Finance Manager will be offered flexible working arrangements, enhanced annual leave and sick leave, reimbursement of professional fees any many other generous benefits.
The closing date for applications is 23rd March 2025. Applications will be under constant review before the closing date so please submit your application to our retained search agent Robertson Bell. Apply now to be considered!
We are driven by a single goal – ensuring a safe future for every child affected by war.
A little bit about the role
Please note this role will be closing at 9am on Tuesday 25 March.
Frontline has achieved significant growth and impact in our first 11 years, and we are looking for a qualified and experienced finance leader to head up Frontline’s finance and compliance function and ensure we are well positioned to continue to grow and drive change for children and families. We’re in a strong position, have a clear strategy, stable finances and strong internal processes but we remain ambitious.
This is an exciting opportunity with a breadth of responsibility and will require collaborative working with the senior leadership team (SLT) and Board of Trustees. With a ~£25m budget and ~146 employees we need robust systems, clear financial strategy and expert financial leadership to support the organisation to achieve our mission. Reporting to the director of culture and operations, you will lead on ensuring Frontline has an outstanding and proactive finance and compliance function, with robust systems and high-performing people.
You will lead the finance and compliance team, covering the areas of finance, legal, governance, IT and compliance (including data protection). The role provides an opportunity to work closely with senior leadership and key stakeholders to set and deliver on strategic goals, and you will be responsible for setting clear direction for the finance and compliance team.
The finance and compliance team sits within the culture and operations directorate (see structure chart), which supports Frontline’s teams to achieve our mission by delivering operational efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. The head of finance and compliance is a senior position with a wide remit of responsibility, so we need a highly driven individual to provide critical support to the entire organisation.
Some key responsibilities include:
- Finance – Lead the organisation’s financial strategy, planning and budgeting processes, advise senior leadership and trustees on financial consequences and manage the Finance Manager to sustain a high-performing team culture
- Legal, governance, IT and compliance– Manage the Legal and Compliance Manager to effectively respond to requests for advice, manage/support the IT and Facilities Officer to establish the systems and processes to meet regulatory requirements as well as effectively respond to requests for advice.
- Leadership – Play a proactive role as a member of the Leadership Group (Frontline’s Heads/Directors and champion high performance and model our culture of Freedom and Responsibility
Full list of role responsibilities can be found in the job pack.
A little bit about you
You will be responsible for providing sound financial oversight, ensuring regulatory compliance, and leading a high-performing team. A qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA or equivalent) with significant experience in financial management, you should have a strong understanding of charity finance, risk management, and governance.
This role requires exceptional leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to communicate complex financial information effectively to non-specialists. If you are a proactive and detail-oriented professional eager to contribute to a mission-driven organisation, we encourage you to apply.
We have a fast-moving culture within the team and organisation, so we’re looking for someone who is who is well organised, details-focused and can use their initiative to do what works. You will have excellent communication skills, be able to build relationships with people and be willing to learn. There are lots of opportunities for growth and development in this role – and for the right candidate to make the role their own.
If you feel you have the skills to make a real impact and contribute to creating lasting social change for children and families, we would love to hear from you.
Important information
We have increased the diversity of Frontline’s workforce in the last 12 months, but we need to do more to have greater racialised minority representation in our senior roles. We know the value racialised minority voices bring and therefore, we are strongly encouraging applicants from these backgrounds to apply. We are also a disability confident employer and welcome applicants with disabilities.
We recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) such as ‘ChatGPT’ etc can be useful for applicants e.g. to shorten an initial draft, so we do not attempt to have an absolute ban on AI in applications. However we would caution applicants not to rely too much on AI in drafting answers to application questions. We want to hear your authentic voice arising out of your experience, and we will be looking for answers that use examples and experiences that are specific to you. You are more likely to be able to produce that kind of content yourself than an AI will.
We reserve the right to close this role ahead of the deadline once we reach a suitable number of applications, so please apply as soon as you can!
You will need to have current right-to-work in the UK prior to application and for at least the first six months (for permanent positions) or for the full duration of the contract (for fixed-term positions). Visa sponsorship is not guaranteed.
To make life better for children at risk of harm, by improving the services that support them.




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