Finance Assistant Purchase Ledger - 30 hours per week in Oxford

Founded 25 years ago, the Ethical Property Company provides affordable workspaces to charities, community groups, campaigns and social businesses working for a fairer and more sustainable society. From humble beginnings, the company has grown steadily and now owns or manages 16 centres across the UK providing office, retail and conference space to over 1,000 social change organisations. Flexible leasing arrangements provide our tenants with long‑term security and working alongside like‑minded organisations offers them influence‑enhancing networking opportunities. The company has some 90 staff, based in our properties in London, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Bath, Brighton and Manchester. Our centres are managed to minimise energy use, waste, car travel and the use of harmful materials while offering tenants modern, affordable, and flexible space managed in a transparent and supportive way.

Position Salary: £22,400 to £24,000 pro rata (FTE £28,000 to £30,000 depending on skills and experience)

Working hours: 30 hours a week, Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5:30 pm, (flexible according to business needs) with an hour for lunch.

Location: Ethical Property Head Office, Cowley Road, Oxford.

The postholder is responsible for the management of the accounts payable functions for the Ethical Property Company (EPC) and The Social Justice and Human Rights Centre (SJC). The Finance Assistant will report to the Finance Manager. Using accounting software QuickBooks and Sage Intacct, the Finance Assistant will be responsible for:

• Process all purchase invoices for EPC and SJC within the existing procedures, including coding, posting to the accounting system, obtaining authorization, preparing invoices for payment, creating bank payment files, sending out remittances.
• Management of the ledger, including allocation of payments, supplier statement reconciliations, supplier queries.
• Processing credit card statements, reconciling receipts, checking adhesion to travel and expense policy.
• Processing employee expenses, reconciling receipts, checking adhesion to travel and expense policy.
• Dealing with internal queries from colleagues on invoices and payments.
• Filing all purchase ledger paperwork, physically and electronically.

Bank and Cash

• Posting bank payments and bank receipts on the account software.
• Processing petty cash receipts and payments for Head Office and other locations.
• Preparation of purchase ledger payments for approval.
• Filing bank statements and other paperwork.
• Reconciling all bank accounts and petty cash accounts.

Other Responsibilities

• Ad hoc tasks as required by the Finance Director or Finance Manager.
• Continuous review and improvement of internal process in consultation with colleagues, to improve the services we provide to tenants.
• Attending company-wide events such as the staff conference, training and any other commitments.

Requirements

This is a busy, demanding and responsible role that requires an individual with both customer service and practical skills, and a positive attitude.

• AAT qualified/part qualified or qualified by experience. Study package available for the successful candidate.
• Significant experience in running purchase ledgers and bank reconciliations.
• Ability to act quickly and effectively using their own initiative.
• Meticulous attention to details.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to prioritise work, multi‑task and remain flexible.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels.
• To be a team‑player, but able to work alone when required.
• To be trustworthy, personable and reliable.
• A commitment to provide a good service to our tenants, suppliers and colleagues.
• Excellent IT skills, including computerised accounts packages and Microsoft Office and at least to intermediate level in Excel.
• A commitment to social and environmental issues.

Other information

This is a permanent contract role with a three‑month probationary period. The roles benefits include 25 days holiday entitlement pro‑rata as well as statutory bank holidays. We offer a company contribution up to 7% to a pension dependant on scheme as well as other benefits.