Grants Accountant
Better Cotton is seeking a Grants Accountant to support project teams with the financial management and administration of grants received from donors. You will be responsible for preparing financial reports for donors for grant-funded projects and will work closely with project teams to ensure those projects are delivered within budget and in accordance with the donors’ requirements.
The position sits within the Finance team and is supervised by the Grants Accounting Manager (based in London).
This challenging role offers excellent opportunities for personal and professional development, together with a competitive benefits package.
Responsibilities
Grants compliance
· Ensure compliance with donors’ financial requirements, rules and regulations, and internal
and external deadlines.
· Prepare accurate, timely financial reports as per donors’ requirements.
· Provide training, guidance and direction to Better Cotton staff and project partners to ensure compliance with those requirements.
· Work closely with the project teams to ensure that required procurement processes are followed.
· Coordinate project audits, liaise with auditors and project team, collate audit documentation, and respond to auditors’ queries.
· Follow-up on audit recommendations and corrective actions.
Financial management and accounting
· Monitor project expenditure in collaboration with project managers, addressing variances and mitigating actions.
· Maintain accurate accounts and allocation of expenditure, ensuring adequate supporting documents for all grant-funded expenditure.
· Prepare funding requests to donors and monitor grant income.
· Provide support and guidance to budget holders on monitoring the project budget and forecasting.
· Undertake project financial close out (including reconciliations).
· Allocate staff costs to grant-funded projects based on timesheets.
· Monitor, maintain and administer the timesheets application and data in SalesForce and FinancialForce (Certinia).
· Support with quarterly accounting for grants (e.g. recognising income, reviewing balance sheet codes).
General
· Support grant proposals, including budget development and financial review.
· Support with budgeting and forecasting for the organisational budget preparation and monitoring cycles.
· Provide support with year end processes and statutory audits.
· Undertake all other duties that may be determined by the line manager and that are compatible with the job description.
Profile
The selected candidate will have the following skills, knowledge, and experience:
Essential
· Recognised qualification in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration
· Excellent command of Excel and literacy in other Microsoft 365 apps (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
· Bookkeeping and Accounting: experience in a finance support function
· Experience working with an ERP or accounting package
· Experience in financial reporting to donors
· Experience in preparing financial reports for budget holders and managers
· Experience in grants financial management and compliance with contracts (in particular with donors’ contracts)
· Excellent time management and ability to meet deadlines, with strong organisational skills
· Close attention to detail and accuracy, with strong analytical skills
· Fluency in English, both written and spoken, with attentive listening abilities and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely
· Flexibility, initiative, ability to work autonomously
· Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, with a service-oriented attitude
Desirable
· Experience working with international organisations
· Experience of working in both not-for-profit and profit-making organisations
· Aptitude for manipulating data with computer systems
· Advanced computer and IT skills
· Experience with using FinancialForce (Certinia)
· Ability to work in a multicultural environment with respect for diversity
· Interest in and commitment to sustainability
What we offer
· Competitive salary
· Hybrid working – One to two days/week in the Central London offices
· The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year
· Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time
· Continuous learning and development
· Pension scheme
· 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 days off over Christmas
· Enhanced parental benefits
· A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued
· The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.
Working arrangements
The position is full time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm, and operates a hybrid working model.
Travel may be required to visit other Better Cotton offices (up to 5%).
Applications
Interested applicants with the required attributes are asked to send, in English, a detailed CV (2 pages maximum) and a brief cover letter (1 page maximum) to Better Cotton
Application deadline: 12 August 2024
Our hiring process
· Screening call – One week after application deadline
· Interview and test – Two weeks after application deadline
About Better Cotton
Better Cotton is the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme. Our 200+ colleagues of 37+ nationalities are united by a shared passion and commitment to achieving the Better Cotton mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through our network of field-level partners a quarter of the world’s cotton is now grown under the Better Cotton Standard. We have united the industry’s stakeholders behind our efforts, from ginners and spinners to brand owners, civil society organisations and governments.
Everyone who cares about cotton and its sustainable future can now be part of something better.
About our Values
The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:
· Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible)
· As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic)
· Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic)
· Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic)
· Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)
Being you @ Better Cotton
Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.
We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.