Client Finance Manager in Knowsley

Reports to: Finance Director

Responsible for: Finance Officer & Accounts Service Finance Assistant

Location: Whiston

Job type: Permanent, Full Time (37.5h, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

The Accounts Service Manager will lead and develop the organisation’s external Accounts Service, ensuring it delivers high-quality, value-added services to miners’ welfare charities and related trading companies. This role is responsible for shaping the future direction of CISWO’s Accounts Service, working alongside the Finance Director, establishing clear objectives, KPIs, and operational processes, while maintaining and enhancing existing service excellence. This role will also drive the development of advisory support, working alongside the organisation’s Community Welfare Development and Grants teams, and take a lead in promoting the accounts service to welfare charities, thereby growing and increasing the client base for the accounts service.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for a portfolio of clients, building and maintaining strong, trusted working relationships.
• Oversee and, where appropriate, undertake the preparation and review of statutory accounts, management accounts, VAT returns, corporation tax returns and payroll, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Provide high-quality financial advice and guidance to clients, including budgeting, forecasting, financial planning and interpretation of financial information to support informed decision-making.
• Support clients with the preparation of business plans, financial projections and long-term financial strategies, contributing to their sustainability and growth.
• Provide training for local charity trustees and officers to encourage and build good financial governance.
• Attend in-person client meetings to present financial information clearly, provide practical advice and respond to client needs.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of CISWO Accounts Service offer, ensuring it aligns with the wider organisational strategy and enhances support to the welfare community.
• Actively promote and market CISWO Accounts Service and advisory services to grow the client base, improve service profitability and increase overall impact.
• Provide financial support to the organisation’s grants service, including the preparation of budgets and forecasts for funding applications.
• Manage and develop a small team, allocating work effectively, reviewing outputs, and ensuring a high-quality, customer-focused service is consistently delivered.
• Review team work to ensure adherence to statutory obligations, internal controls, and agreed quality standards.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives, including the development of standardised templates, automation, toolkits and processes to improve efficiency, consistency and service quality.
• Monitor service delivery and workload, managing priorities to ensure client commitments and deadlines are met.
• Prepare and present regular reports to the Directorate on service performance, workload, financial outcomes and client feedback, making recommendations for improvement where appropriate.
• Undertake additional tasks which may be reasonably required to meet the organisation’s needs.

Skills/Qualifications/Experience

• Experience in the following accounting software – Xero, QuickBooks and Sage.
• Experience in accounting practice with a strong technical accounting knowledge.
• Experience of creating tool-kits and implementing systems and processes to facilitate change and growth.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral with the ability to influence and engage with a wide range of partners.
• Demonstrates strong commercial awareness and takes a proactive approach to promoting and developing the service, identifying opportunities to support its growth and sustainability.
• Evidence of ongoing personal development and participation in learning opportunities.
• Ability to be self-motivated, with good personal organisational and time management skills.
• Good judgement and logical decision-making ability.
• Ability to resolve problems in a proactive, practical and positive manner.
• Ability to take initiative with a practical, ‘hands on’ approach to work.
• Experience of managing a client portfolio alongside a staff team.
• Excellent IT skills, including a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Flexibility to travel across a wide geographic area.
• Experience of charity accounts.

This job description reflects the major tasks to be carried out by the jobholder and identifies the level of responsibility at which the jobholder will be required to work. This job description may be subject to review and/or amendment at any time to reflect the requirements of the job.