Financial Assistant

Job Title: Finance Assistant

Contract: Full-time, permanent

Location: Hybrid: London (EC1y) / homeworking

Salary: £34,350 - £37,400 pa - negotiable, depending on experience

Closing date: Monday 8th September - 11:59pm

Round 1 interview (virtual): w/c 22nd September

Round 2 interview (in-person): w/c 29th September

About Better Society Capital:

Better Society Capital (BSC) is the UK's leading social impact-led investor. Our mission is to grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK. Since 2011, we have helped the social impact investment market grow twelve-fold to over £10 billion. This capital has financed social purpose organisations tackling everything from homelessness to mental health and fuel poverty. BSC is about to implement its next five-year strategy in 2026, which will offer new opportunities.

The Opportunity:

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with some accounting or auditing work experience to join our team as a Finance Assistant.

Due to the nature of the work, this role would suit candidates who have completed their AAT Level 3 or 4 who are about to start their ACCA journey or who have already passed their ACCA Applied Knowledge exams (or equivalent e.g. AAT Level 4, ACA Certificate Level).

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'll 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 3^rd 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
• Study for & pass accounting exams whilst working full-time
• Absence cover for other team members
• Any other adhoc finance task as required.

Qualifications & Experience:

Essential

• 2 - 3 years' experience in an accounting or audit role
• Two A-Levels grades A-E & 3 GCSE grades 9-4 / A-C (in five separate subjects including English & Maths)

Desirable

• AAT Level 3 or 4 or have already passed their ACCA Applied Knowledge exams (or equivalent).
• Excel experience

Skills Abilities & Attributes:

• Problem solving skills
• Ability to work on your own initiative but also work well as part of a team
• Good time management skills, ability to prioritise work & study as appropriate
• Great attention to detail
• Good communication skills
• A willingness to contribute ideas on processes
• A passion for social impact
• 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 Better Society Capital core values:

Ø 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.

Ø 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

Ø Openness - We listen, learn, experiment and collaborate. And we are adaptive and flexible in responding to what we learn.

Ø 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 anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Closing Date: 23:59 - Monday 8th September

Please apply via Applied which is designed to minimise unconscious bias in recruitment. You will be asked some work-based questions which are reviewed anonymously by the hiring panel. Please note, while you will upload your CV, it will not be viewed by panel members at this stage, so we ask that you give full consideration to each answer.

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

Interviews

                 Round 1 interviews will be held w/c 22nd September

                 Round 2 interviews will be held w/c 29th September

As we are Disability Confident Committed, 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 you have a disability or other access needs and require any support to assist you through the recruitment process, please get in touch.

Location: We are a UK-based business with an office in the Old Street area of London, accessible via 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 need to have the existing 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, or 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.