Finance Officer in Swansea

Reports To: Finance Manager and Head of Operations

Salary: £30,600 per annum (pro-rata)

Location: Swansea (Office Based Role)

Hours: 30 hours per week (over 5 days Mon-Fri)

Contract: Permanent

Staff Reporting to Job Holder: None

Employed by: Barod Project

Introduction: VERVE brings together an Alliance of Barod Project, Kaleidoscope Project, Adferiad Recovery, The Wallich and key commissioning partners. These are four respected organisations with more than a century of combined experience delivering substance use services across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot (SNPT). Each partner contributes specialist expertise, deep local knowledge, and a proven commitment to high-quality, person-centred support. Together, this Alliance forms a deliberate, strategic partnership designed to meet the ambitions of the Alliance Mandate and contribute to system-wide transformation. This collaboration is built on our shared belief that the complexity of need within substance use services requires a unified, integrated response. By bringing together our collective strengths and specialist knowledge, we are creating a service that is more effective, more responsive, and better equipped to deliver improved outcomes for the communities we serve.

Vision and Values: Our vision is ambitious and rooted in collective responsibility and shared decision-making. This vision will be embedded across partners and stakeholders to nurture strong professional relationships and foster a ‘people-first’ culture, where staff feel empowered to deliver compassionate, innovative, and high-quality support. VERVE promotes an inclusive, values-driven culture centred on dignity, fairness, and co-production. We empower people using our services and support our workforce to thrive. We are committed to creating a diverse and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported, and where our services reflect the communities that we serve.

Role Summary: This key appointment within the new Alliance will play a pivotal role in ensuring prudent financial management is maintained for the service. The role will be embedded within the new service and will be the ‘conduit’ between partner organisations, Alliance Leadership Team (ALT) and Commissioners. In general, the Finance Officer will be responsible for budget management, preparation of financial reports for ALT, monitoring and collation of partner expenditure, submission of monthly claims and arranging subsequent reimbursement. Financial reports and information will be regularly produced and circulated to all partners, to ensure that all partners are fully aware of the ongoing financial position of the Alliance and to identify any over/under spends and/or any ‘pressure points’.

Role-Specific Responsibilities:

• Overall responsibility for budget setting and financial management for the service.
• Ensuring that any budget allocations are made on a unanimous ‘best for people using services’ basis.
• Responsibility for preparing Management Information and regular financial reports for the Alliance Leadership Team (ALT).
• Keep the ALT updated around budget monitoring, including expenditure to date, variances against budgets and any forecasted over/underspends.
• Preparation of budget forecasts and any other ad hoc financial information required by the ALT.
• Work with the ALT on financial planning and accountability to the Commissioners for delivering within the resources available.
• Ensuring that the annual funding is fully allocated and utilised within each financial year.
• Ensuring that the funding formula and funding allocations are adhered to.
• Ensuring that partners submit their claims for reimbursement of costs in the agreed format by the cut-off date.
• Ensuring that claims are based on actual expenditure and only include eligible costs that partners have actually and reasonably incurred in providing the service.
• Ensuring that ringfenced allocations are spent, as a minimum.
• Responsibility for the collation of all information received from partners and preparation of a consolidated claim in readiness for submission.
• Ensuring that monthly consolidated claims are submitted to the Commissioners by the submission deadline in the agreed format.
• Manage any queries received from Commissioners in relation to claims and request any additional information from partners, as and when requested.
• Manage reimbursement of claims to partners on receipt of funds from Commissioners.
• Manage any queries received from Commissioners in relation to periodic audit of funding and request additional information from partners, where necessary.
• Ensure that all partners keep all financial records relating to the service for a minimum period of 6 years.
• Responsibility for the preparation of regular financial reports and information for ALT and partners to ensure that all partners are fully aware of the ongoing financial position of the service and to identify any risks, over/under spends and any ‘pressure points’.
• Responsibility for working with the Alliance Management Team (AMT) to prepare any proposals to amend budgets (including rationale and financials) for consideration by the ALT.
• Ensuring that these proposals are service focused, ‘best for people using services’ and are data and demand led.
• Preparation of options papers for a number of potential factors, including, but not limited to Overspends/Underspends, New and/or Additional Funding and Changes in demand/priorities.
• Responsibility for meeting regularly with partners Provider Participants both individually and collectively to discuss the financial position of the service and agree any actions, if necessary.
• Undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required.

Essential Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum Level 3 AAT or equivalent.
• Relevant experience gained in a similar role.
• A good understanding of accounting processes.
• Excellent IT Skills especially with Microsoft Excel, Word, Office 365 and accounting software packages.
• A good understanding of the importance of timely reporting and preparation of accurate financial information.
• Previous experience of working in a Finance role.
• Previous experience of preparing Management Information and regular financial reports, including variance analysis.
• Previous experience of budget management and monitoring.
• Previous experience and a demonstrable understanding of transaction listings and ability to analyse this information and raise queries where necessary.
• A good understanding of the requirements of Data Protection, GDPR etc. and ensure that data is handled correctly.
• Ability to work effectively with people regardless of their ethnic, cultural, social backgrounds, their gender, age, religious belief, disability, and sexual orientation.
• Flexibility to occasionally work varying working pattern according to work demands.
• Full driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience:

• Studying towards ACCA or equivalent.
• Previous experience of working in the Charity sector.
• Previous experience of partnership working with commissioners and multi-partner working arrangements.
• Welsh language skills (spoken and/or written).

Skills, Competencies and Attributes:

• Demonstrable experience of good time management and meeting deadlines.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a role requiring professionalism.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and develop and maintain relationships with colleagues (both internal and external), commissioners strategic partners and any other external parties or organisations.
• Excellent written, numerical and verbal communication skills - reporting writing and presentation skills.
• A proactive approach with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Demonstrable experience of managing tasks and deadlines and ability to resolve conflicting priorities.
• Able to demonstrate effective planning and methodical systems of working.
• Demonstrable attention to detail and accuracy and good problem-solving abilities.
• Able to demonstrate being self-directed, resourceful, and creative, with the ability to develop new templates, models, processes and systems.
• Able to manage own time and work autonomously and work on own initiative with drive and enthusiasm.