Head of Finance and Operations

Job description

• Gross Annual Salary: £45,000 full-time pro rata (post offered at 0.6 FTE i.e. £27,000 with the potential to rise to 1 FTE). In addition, IEEP UK matches pension contributions up to 6% of gross salary.
• Hours: 0.6 FTE (21 hours / 3 days per week), with potential to expand.
• Location: Remote working - IEEP UK currently has no permanent office space. Therefore, in line with the whole IEEP UK team, the post will be home-based, with regular travel to London, other parts of the UK, Brussels and other parts of Europe as required.
• Position type: Permanent contract
• Annual Leave: 18.5 days Annual Leave based on 0.6FTE (comprises of 14 days Basic Annual Leave + FTE proportion of public holidays) rising annually to a top limit of 23 days
• Closing date: 10am, Monday 9 December 2024
• Contact email: [email protected]
• Equal opportunities: IEEP UK is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive employer, including recruiting for diversity.
• Right to Work: Entitlement to work in the UK. IEEP UK is not able to assist with applications for work permits and cannot employ people living or working outside of the UK.
• Other benefits: You are also entitled to an additional £1,000 benefit (subject to tax) that can be used for private health and/or gym subscription.

About IEEP UK

The Institute for European Environmental Policy UK[1] (IEEP UK) is a UK registered charity and a not-for-profit sustainability think tank, with over 40 years of experience, based in the UK. As part of the broader IEEP family across Europe, we are dedicated to working with government, civil society, academia and a range of other stakeholders, including European, United Nations and other international bodies, civil society, academia, scientific institutes and business and industry to produce evidence-based research for impact-driven environmental policy solutions. Our work covers both short-term and long-term strategic environmental issues in the UK and its constituent nations as well as their interaction with policy in Europe and globally. Over the years IEEP has developed new concepts that have made their way into mainstream environmental thinking, underpinning many aspects of this policy area today, including work on the precautionary principle, environmental impact assessments, emissions trading schemes and public money for public goods.

This is an exciting time for IEEP UK. Under the leadership of the chair of trustees, Malini Mehra, IEEP UK has developed a new strategy up to 2027, striving to grow from a currently small staff, becoming more visible and claiming a leading role in providing innovative research and policy relevant intelligence. As part of this, Ben Reynolds joined in the role of Executive Director in October 2023.

Overall role and responsibilities

We are seeking to employ an experienced finance and operations professional to play a central role in our UK team as we grow. We are looking for a candidate with excellent financial and operations skills and experience, who will thrive working in a small and dynamic team.

The successful candidate will join a cohesive, impact-oriented and supportive team that is committed to the professional development of all of its staff, and where the opportunities for learning and for making a difference are high. This is a new role, with a high potential to have a big impact on the organisation by establishing new ways of working.

The responsibilities of this role will include:

Financial Management

• Be responsible for and run the organisation’s bookkeeping and financial management processes including invoices, expenses and bank payments.
• Produce and manage the organisational cash flow, project cash flows and management accounts.
• Be responsible for and run payroll monthly.
• Compile and submit VAT returns quarterly.
• Support the Executive Director with managing the charity and project budgets and financial reporting to the board and funders.
• Work with the organisation’s Accountant and trustees to support the production of Annual Accounts and Independent Examination.

Administration

• Oversee the day-to-day administration of the charity to promote smooth business operations, including the efficiency of organisational systems.
• Ensure that appropriate insurance cover is maintained, and manage any claims as they arise.
• Support the Executive Director with board meetings and other board matters.
• Support Executive Director and trustees in ensuring Charity Commission and Companies House information is up to date.
• Support the maintenance of our contacts database.

HR

• Manage recruitment and induction of new staff and volunteers.
• Create, implement and review all policies and procedures for the organisation, ensuring we are up to date with statutory requirements, and good practice is incorporated where practical.
• Manage HR procedures including contracts and leave for staff.

The role will also include:

• Support in organising events online and in person.
• Assisting in responses to general enquiries to the organisation.
• Potential line management of junior staff and interns as appropriate.
• Contribute actively to the implementation of Institute-wide decisions and strategy.
• Organise weekly team meetings, and occasional in-person team meetings.
• Supporting and promoting diversity and equality of opportunity in the organisation.

Personal Specification

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate many of the following skills and attributes:

Essential:

• A relevant professional accountancy qualification (AAT, CIMA, ACA, ACCA) with some experience of working independently or with minimal supervision, preferably in the charity sector.
• At least 3 years’ relevant professional experience in a similar administrative, financial or management role.
• Experience of using accounting software and managing the financial administration of an organisation including paying and issuing invoices, reconciling bank accounts, and running payroll.
• Experience and confidence in producing and managing an organisational cashflow, budgets and management accounts.
• Experience of preparing and submitting VAT returns.
• Experience of creating and reviewing HR policies and procedures.
• Excellent communication skills
• As part of a small team you will also need the ability to turn your hand to a variety of tasks.
• Entitlement to work in the UK (IEEP UK is not able to assist with applications for work permits).

Desirable:

• Background, interest and experience in environmental policy, and the UK’s relationship with the EU and the rest of Europe.
• Experience and aptitude in using MS Teams, Zoom, Miro or other online meeting, webinar and facilitation tools, as a participant and as an organiser.
• Experience of producing project budgets and reporting to funders.
• Skills in digital communications and social networking.
• Experience of charity administration.
• Experience of communicating with a range of stakeholders including trustees.
• A knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion best practice.
• Availability to commence work promptly following the recruitment process.

We would expect our ideal candidate to be able to work both independently and as part of a team; to be highly organised with strong administrative, time management and planning skills; to have an excellent level of attention to detail; to have a commitment to broadening diversity and increasing access in the workplace.

Application Process

Application deadline: 10AM, Monday 9 December 2024

Interviews: Week beginning 16 December 2024

Our ideal candidate would be able to start in February/March 2025.

IEEP UK is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes offers from candidates of diverse backgrounds and relevant experience, respecting best practices in the recruitment process.

IEEP UK is recruiting for this role as part of our Ethnicity Confident and Disability Confident schemes. Applicants who meet all the essential criteria, and who let us know voluntarily (via our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form above) that you would like to be considered in this way, will have an enhanced chance of gaining a first-stage interview. 

Our Privacy Statement explains how IEEP handles and uses personal data we collect about our applicants.

For further information on IEEP UK, please visit our website at ieep.uk.

[1] IEEP UK is our trading name – the organisation is registered as IEEP London