Parish Finance Support Officer

Parish Finance Support Officer

Reports to: Diocesan Financial Controller

Department: Finance

Location: London SE1

Salary: £36,000 DOB

Contract Type: Permanent, Fulltime 35 hours per week/ Part time considered

Purpose of the Role

The Parish Finance Support Officer (PFSO) will be responsible for communicating and collaborating with the Parishes on their financial needs and issues, and ensuring that they are met by the central team where appropriate, or giving a steer on what responsibility properly resides at the Parish level. The PFSO will also provide feedback and suggestions to finance teams on how to improve their services and performance. the PFSO will have a broad knowledge of all aspects of finance, as well as strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills. The finance team is small and supportive, and all members are expected to contribute flexibly across a variety of tasks as needed.

Key Responsibilities

(Please note this list is not exhaustive)

• Serve as the first point of contact for parish employees and clergy on all finance-related queries and issues.
• To develop a clear understanding of the financial goals, challenges, and opportunities within each parish.
• Collaborate with finance team to coordinate and deliver financial services solutions to parishes.
• Monitor and report on the financial performance and compliance of parishes.
• To identify and resolve any financial issues or conflicts that may arise between the Curia and the Parishes
• Provide clear, training and guidance to parish staff on financial systems, policies, and procedures.
• Solicit and incorporate feedback from the Parishes on how to enhance the quality and efficiency of the finance team
• Maintain the finance support ticketing system, ensuring timely resolution of requests and producing regular reports
• Create and share training multimedia, and maintain up-to-date, user-friendly guidance materials to support effective use of our accounting systems and processes Gather and relay feedback from parishes to inform service improvements across the finance function.
• Assist the Financial Controller with audit preparation and documentation as required.
• Support the wider finance team with general administrative and financial tasks when needed.

Person Specification

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience in a finance-related role, ideally within the third sector or a decentralised organisational structure
• Solid understanding of financial processes and systems.
• Strong IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate financial information clearly to non specialists.
• Professional and confident telephone manner.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive working relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail.
• A collaborative team player, willing to support colleagues and take on varied tasks as needed.

Additional Information

• Occasional travel to parishes may be required.
• This role is hybrid

Please click on the apply button to progress with your application.