Finance Assistant

REDRESS is looking to appoint an exceptional finance assistant to support the financial operations of the charity. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious candidate with a commitment to human rights who is eager to learn and grow their career.

REDRESS has a diverse team from different backgrounds and with different experiences, including those with lived experience of torture. Under our Equality Policy, we welcome applications from people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, and disabled people, who are currently under-represented. We will use positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified.

Who we are

REDRESS is an international human rights organisation based in London and The Hague that pursues legal claims on behalf of survivors of torture in the UK and around the world to obtain justice and reparation for violations against their human rights. We empower survivors to access justice through human rights cases against governments, civil cases against individuals, and cases where we advocate for law enforcement bodies to prosecute perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Our approach is strategic, so that as well as representing an individual we target the policy reasons that enabled the torture to take place, by building a campaign that uses advocacy, community engagement, and communications to influence change.

REDRESS has undertaken a process of growth and modernisation over the last few years. You can find information about the organisation in the latest Trustees Annual Report. We are strengthening our processes to improve staff development, further enhance our diversity, build our survivor-centred approach, and ensure people with lived experience are part of REDRESS. 

The Team

The Finance Assistant will work within the finance team to provide operational support for the activities of REDRESS, including management of project related finance, and the core finances of the charity.

Position Profile

Based in London, the Finance Assistant will work primarily on maintaining the financial records of projects. You will work with the finance team, project staff and international partners on ensuring the finances of the project meet with Redress and donor financial requirements. You will also support the general financial administration of REDRESS.

The main responsibilities of the role are:

·       Payments: Respond to payment requests using national and international bank transfers as appropriate. 

·       Financial Reports: Assist in the preparation of interim and final multi-currency financial reports to funders. 

·       Partner Organisations Support: Support and monitor international partner organisations by reviewing their reporting and checking transactions. 

·       Project Funding: Provide regular insight into project fund balances. 

·       Cashflow: Maintain cashflow management controls in relation to salaries and allocations. 

·       Bookkeeping: Perform day-to-day book-keeping using QuickBooks Online, including transaction processing and reconciliation of accounts. 

·       Expenses: Process expenses claims and expenditure requests.  

·       Statutory Accounts: Assist the Head of Finance in preparing the statutory accounts.   

·       Invoices: Raise and process invoices.

·       Suppliers: Liaise with suppliers in relation to financial matters.

·       Accounting: Provide in-depth support in management of the Netherlands accounts.

·       Teamwork/Collaboration. To work collaboratively with REDRESS team members and external stakeholders always exercising professional integrity.   

The position is also expected to carry out such further duties as may reasonably be required from time to time by REDRESS.

Person Specification

This is an entry level position, and so we will consider candidates at the beginning of their career, with some relevant experience.

Essential Competencies

The successful candidate will need to have the following essential competencies:

·       A university degree relevant to the role or qualification in finance or at least two years’ relevant experience.

·       Relevant experience through internships, volunteer roles, work experience, educational work placements, or other practical experience.

·       Demonstrated proficiency in Excel and accounting database programmes. 

·       Fluency in written and oral English. 

Desirable Competencies

A strong candidate will also have other desirable competencies:

·       At least two years' relevant work experience. 

·       A qualification in accounting or finance. 

·       Skills in a language other than English, in particular French, Arabic or Spanish. 

Personal Attributes

To work for Redress, the candidate should have the following personal attributes: 

·       Happy to work collaboratively as part of a small and energetic team with a wide range of personalities. 

·       Highly efficient and organised, with an ability to multi-task, show initiative, solve problems, and take a hands-on role when necessary.

·       Able to think and work strategically, creatively, and under pressure.  

·       Able to understand and support the aims, objectives and values of REDRESS and reflect them in all aspects of work. 

·       Able to work with survivors of human rights abuse with a range of specific needs. 

Terms

Reporting. The position is part of the Finance team and will report to the Head of Finance.

Hours. This is a full-time position at 35 hours a week. Evening and weekend work may be required from time to time.

Location. The position is based at the REDRESS office in London.

Flexible Working. REDRESS is an “in-person” organisation and we value team work, but we have a flexible working policy which allows for working from home. This role is currently required to be in the office at least three days a week.

Salary. REDRESS has fixed salary scales, with annual cost of living increases, and the possibility of step increases with strong performance. This is an entry level assistant position, and the salary is £31,681 which is A1 on our salary structure.

Duration. The contract is for a fixed-term of 12 months, but is expected to be extended, subject to funding.

Start date. The position would start in April 2025.

Probation. There is a six-month probationary period. 

Pension. REDRESS offers a pension contribution of 10% of salary.

Holiday.  There are 25 days of holiday per year, in addition to UK public holidays. The office is also closed between Christmas and New Year.  

Status. The candidate must have the right to live and work in the UK. Unfortunately, we cannot sponsor a UK immigration process for this role.

Interview process. We expect to do two rounds of interviews. We may ask candidates to complete a brief written test as part of the process but will provide information on that nearer the time.

·       First round Interviews will take place on a rolling basis and will be on-line.

·       Final round interview will take place on 12 March 2025 and will be in-person at our office in London.

How to Apply

Please upload to our recruitment portal a single PDF file with: 

·       A cover letter of no more than one page explaining (a) why you would like to work for REDRESS, (b) how you fulfil the personal specification for the role, and (c) how you will contribute to the diversity of REDRESS.

·       Your CV or resume.

Please also complete the anonymous Diversity Monitoring Form. We use the information from the form to tell us about the diversity of the applicant pool for each of the positions that we advertise. We keep the conclusions of the analysis for our records, and the underlying data is destroyed three months after the recruitment closes.

Deadline:  6 March 2025