Finance Manager

Role:             Finance Manager

Salary:         £38.000

Location:        Work remotely 

Status:    Full time (35 hours per week) permanent. 

Part time will be considered 4 days per week minimum

Reports to:        Executive Director

            Treasurer

Start date:                ASAP

Closing Date for Applications: Sunday the 9th of February

Online finance test: Friday the 14th of February

Online interviews: Thursday the 20th of February

About Children Change Colombia

Children Change Colombia is a UK registered charity with 33 years' experience in defending children's rights in Colombia. Today we are the UK's largest charity working exclusively in Colombia. We work with children whose rights to a safe, happy childhood, and a fulfilling future, are threatened by poverty, inequality and violence. We work with the children most at risk, to keep them safe and defend their rights in the long term, to tackle neglected issues that few others address and to strengthen children's organisations.

Through local partnerships, we currently work on three neglected issues:

• Sexual and gender-based violence 

• Access to education

• Forced recruitment into armed groups and reintegration into society

We believe that, with knowledge of their rights and the confidence to assert them, children can transform their own lives, their communities and Colombia itself.

We are a small and lively organisation and you will quickly become an essential part of our friendly team, involved in all areas of discussion and supporting the many areas of our work. Since 2020, we have tripled the number of beneficiaries and doubled our number of projects, geographical areas of work, and annual income —all while keeping administrative costs low.

In 2024 alone, our programs positively impacted the lives of 4,320 children and 1,920 adults in Colombia, plus 126 children from London, and their families. We also conducted three workshops with our local partners - online and in person - as part of our capacity-building programme. In 2024 we supported 7 local grassroots organisations with 11 different projects.

Purpose of the role:

• To keep the Executive Director and Trustees informed on the charity’s financial status through the production of management accounts and other financial reports 

• To introduce and supervise the implementation of systems, procedures and controls to ensure the smooth running of the charity’s finances and maximise accountability.

• To ensure that Children Change Colombia complies with its statutory obligations – specifically those relating to Charity Commission, Companie House and Inland Revenue.

• To work closely with the Executive Director to help run CCC.

Key Financial responsibilities

UK Finance:

• Prepare annual consolidated statutory accounts, guaranteeing compliance with SORP requirements, liaising with external examiners, consolidating with Colombian accounts.

• Prepare monthly management accounts, regular analytical reports on budget performance and cash flow forecasts for Executive Director (ED), Trustees and Treasurer at Finance Committee meetings, highlighting any specific areas of concern.

• Attend Finance Committee and Board meetings.

• Check and authorise bank payments and transfers in the UK office.

• Data input into Quickbooks of all accounting transactions, monthly reconciliation of 10 UK bank accounts, plus all balance sheet accounts. Keep the chart of accounts up-to-date, create new income or expenditure accounts and restricted funds when necessary, and ensure these correspond correctly with live projects.

• Run the monthly payroll & pension process.

• Maintain procedures and financial controls, ensuring their compliance with Charity Commission and Companies House guidelines and guaranteeing their application by Fundraising and Project Management teams.

• Coordinate production of the annual income and expenditure budgets (full budget and unrestricted budget). Enter these onto Quickbooks, to allow Actuals v Budget reports to be run from Quickbooks. Also create a mid-year re-forecast.

• Process grant transfers to the Colombia Office, to ensure project funds and Colombian operating costs are cash flowed in a timely manner.

• Oversee financial reporting for statutory and large funding sources.

• Prepare and submit Gift-Aid returns. Enter Gift Aid declarations onto the database.

• Update Finance Manuals for the London office and the Colombia Office annually.

• Provide guidance and financial information as requested by all.

• Liaise with Programmes regarding our partners & their accounts i.e. their financial health.

• Assist with funding applications, project budgets & financial reporting to funders.

• Download and code monthly fundraising reports for all online income platforms (including CAF, Donorbox, JustGiving, Benevity, Stewardship, Facebook) and Payroll Giving platforms (including Charitable Giving, Charities Trust). Code into Quickbooks.

• Process all cheques received into the office by scanning, coding and depositing into the bank; and compile a list of donors to be thanked.

• Maintain the list of Major Donors.

• Maintain the Newsletter income analysis document.

• Annually recalculate the Reserves traffic light values for monitoring unrestricted reserves.

• Monitor Treasury management under the approval of the Treasurer, manage savings accounts, open new savings accounts when needed, ensure funds are held within the Financial Services Compensation Scheme safety levels.

Colombia Finance

• In collaboration with JGS (our Colombian accounting firm) process and approve all Colombian payments to partners, suppliers, core staff and project staff.

• Ensure supporting documents are provided for all Colombian expenditure and file on the drive accordingly.

• Enter all Colombian financial transactions onto Quickbooks using the correct exchange rates, and ensure details match those recorded by JGS in Siigo Nube.

• Monitor expenditure in Colombia against the Colombia office budget and project budgets.

• Reconcile 2 Colombian Bank accounts and 1 Colombian credit card on a monthly basis.

• Consolidate Colombian annual accounts into CCC’s UK consolidated annual accounts.

• Check the  Fundraising Grants Tracker monthly to ensure the project funds match the information recorded on Quickbooks.

• Lead a monthly meeting to ensure all staff  are aligned with the latest project details.

Key Governance responsibilities:

• Keep Charity Commission and Companies House records updated and ensure that annual accounts and annual returns are submitted on time.

• Inform Charity Commission and Companies House of any changes to constitution or Trustee membership. 

• Ensure CCC complies with Inland Revenue requirements and the Colombia equivalent.

• Ensure CCC’s insurance policies are renewed and reviewed annually on time. And that all projects are correctly covered by liability insurance.

• Ensure CCC remains up to date in meeting its obligations set by the Pensions Regulator.

• Support maintaining the financial aspects of the Risk Register.

• Renew the annual Microsoft Office and Antivirus subscriptions, providing links to all relevant staff.

• Monitor the info@childrenchangecolombia account, forward emails to relevant staff.

• Write Finance Committee minutes after each meeting.

Key HR responsibilities:

• Ensure staff understand their choices regarding pension deductions.

• Calculate entitlements and set up the annual leave chart annually.

• Calculate annual salaries based on pay rises or changes approved by the Finance Committee.

• Send expense claim & DBS information to new Interns, and pay their monthly expenses.

• Support updating HR policies.

• Run DBS checks for all staff, Trustees and volunteers, making sure these are renewed every 3 years, and keeping records of these.

Person Specification:

Essential

• A professional accounting qualification and- or finance experience

• Experience working in the Charity Sector ideally International Development

• A sound understanding of the need to differentiate between unrestricted and restricted funds

• Proven experience of using computerised accounting systems

• Experienced leading on the budgeting and forecasting process

• Experience of working in a cross-cultural environment

• Good IT skills, including proficiency in MS Word and Excel

• Accuracy and attention to detail, as well as the ability to maintain a management and strategic overview of the finance function

• Great interpersonal and communication skills

• Empathy with the aims and objectives of our organisation

• Ability to use QuickBooks or similar accounting software

Desirable

• Basic Spanish - spoken and written. We can offer Spanish lessons.

• Ability to use Civi CRM Database

Application Process

To apply please send your CV (2 pages max) and a short cover letter (1 page max) to Executive Director, Angela Carreno. In the cover letter please state clearly why you want this role and the skills and experience you possess relevant to this post and how you meet the person specification.

We will acknowledge all applications, but to minimise administrative costs we cannot provide feedback if you are not preselected for an interview.

Children Change Colombia is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. We particularly encourage applications from people with diverse Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), as well as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates and people with disabilities. Diversity is not just a legal requirement for us, but the value found in our differences adds enormously to our work and enriches our lives.