Finance Officer

Location: Hybrid - London, EC1Y and home working

The opportunity

We are looking for an enthusiastic graduate with some accounting work experience to join our team as a Finance Officer.

We foster a collaborative, inclusive working environment with a culture of continuous learning, and where everyone is encouraged to bring their own creative ideas. Throughout your time with us, you will gain experience in finance within the social impact investment sector whilst completing the ACCA accounting qualification.

This is a unique opportunity to join BSC as a key member of the Finance team, offering day-to-day financial processes and the opportunity to learn and progress as you study for exams.

The position will support corporate accounting across our two corporate entities (BSC and SBSI). The position will initially focus on supporting key finance processes including monthly reconciliations, management of transactions within the BSC and SBSI treasury portfolios, monthly management accounts, providing oversight to an apprentice, investment accounting, preparing and monitoring departmental budgets, assisting with audit and year-end financial statements. It will also include some responsibility for the half yearly valuation of investments.

What you will do

• Support the month end accounting process, including monthly balance sheet reconciliations, cost analysis, postings and preparation of management accounts
• Income and expenses analysis for senior management, National Statistics, etc
• Support the annual cost budgeting process for 15 cost centres
• Act as back up for various transactional team processes including accounts payable, credit card processing, employee expenses, bank postings
• Act as back up for investment drawdown process including monitoring the mailbox, arranging drawdown checklists, payments and posting accounting entries
• Transactional support for the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust (SBSI) and preparation of relevant reporting files for the 3rd party Administrators
• Assist with half yearly valuation processes including review of fund manager reporting and audited accounts from BSC's investments and ensure fund income and expenditure and valuation gains/losses are accurately recorded in BSC's accounting system. Liaison with fund managers as required
• Assist in providing information to auditors to ensure accurate and timely completion of the year end process
• Assist in preparing / updating finance procedures
• Undertake project work to support the development of BSC and the finance function
• Absence cover for other team members
• Any other ad hoc finance task as required

Qualifications & Experience

• Graduate with 2:1 or above
• Prior experience in an accounting role
• Three A-Levels or equivalent
• Five GCSE grades A -C / 9-4 including B/6 in English & Maths or equivalent
• Excel experience

Skills, Abilities and Attributes

• Ability to work on your own initiative but also work well as part of a team
• Great attention to detail
• A willingness to contribute ideas on processes
• An interest in social impact and/or evidence of voluntary involvement with charities
• Able to work outside of standard working hours on occasion to meet deadlines
• Strong service mindset, consistently focused on understanding needs, delivering high quality support, and creating positive experiences for stakeholders
• 'Tech savvy', quick to learn new tools and adapt to evolving technologies

Embody Big Society Capital core values:

• Purposeful -We are passionate and energetic in our work to bring about our long-term vision of a thriving social investment market that enables positive social impact.
• Pioneering Spirit - We give our team the autonomy and flexibility to be entrepreneurial and creative. We have the courage to push boundaries and a restless drive for change
• Openness - We listen, learn, experiment and collaborate. And we are adaptive and flexible in responding to what we learn.
• Rigorous - We take a rigorous approach in all we do. We expect the highest standards and continually strive for excellence
• Respectful - We are genuine in both our approach and aspiration. We value each member of our team and our partners for what they bring.

Don't meet every requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from racialised communities are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway as you may be the right candidate for other roles.

How to Apply & Interviews

Closing Date: Sunday 10th August at 23:59pm.

Please apply via Applied which is a platform designed to minimise unconscious bias in recruitment. You will be asked some work-based questions which are reviewed anonymously by the hiring panel. You will be asked to upload your CV but it will not be viewed by panel members at this stage so please give full consideration to your answers.

NB: We screen for answers generated by Chat GPT. To get a 5 star score, we ask that your answers are authentic and reflect your own knowledge, skills and motivations.

Interviews

Round 1 interviews (virtual) will be held w/c 18th August

Round 2 interviews (in-person) will be held w/c 25th August

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an initial telephone interview for all candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the job. We are defining a disability in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, as a person who has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. You will be asked in your Applied application whether this applies to you. If we receive an exceptionally high volume of applicants, we may not be able to facilitate interviews for everyone.

If you have a disability or other access needs and require any support to assist you through the recruitment process, please get in touch with Krystle De Guzman(Talent Acquisition & Development Officer) at

You can find out more about our recruitment approach here

Location: We are a UK-based business in London, accessible to a number of public transport links. Colleagues typically spend 40% - 60% of their working hours in the office, and the remainder from home. However, the exact requirements for this role can be discussed at interview. We hope that this working pattern encourages Better Society Capital employees to achieve a healthy balance between work and personal life, as we adapt to the needs of our diverse workforce.

Right to work: candidates must have the right to work in the UK

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Better Society Capital is committed to being a diverse organisation that is truly representative of the communities we serve. We therefore welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those under-represented in the social impact investment sector (e.g. people from LGBTQIA+; racialised; disabled; under-served communities).

We are an equal opportunities employer with an inclusive environment where all employees can contribute to their fullest potential. We want every colleague to be able to deliver their work with dignity, equality, comfort and independence. Our office is fully accessible with step-free access and an open-plan set up. We are open to accommodation requests regarding assistive technologies, accessibility tools, flexible working or any other reasonable adjustments that will make working or visiting here more accessible for you.