Finance and Data Administrator, School Libraries in London

Salary: £27,000 per year

Contract: Fixed-term contract until August 2029

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location: Based in London SW8 / home and flexible working

We empower people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. Together, we’re helping people change their stories. You could join us as we work to ensure every primary school in the UK has a dedicated library space.

What you’ll be doing:

The government has committed to ensuring a library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament – a step that supports the National Year of Reading 2026’s aim to tackle the nation’s steep decline in reading for pleasure. The National Literacy Trust will work with DCMS and the National Lottery Community Fund to design the programme of delivery in England, whilst also continuing its mission to ensure every primary school in the whole of the UK has a dedicated library space to help create a strong reading for pleasure culture for its pupils.

We are recruiting a Finance and Data Administrator who will support the delivery of this work. You will be part of our school libraries team, providing administrative support and working closely with our Project Managers to deliver our nationwide Libraries for Primaries programme. This will include:

• Working with our finance team and book fulfilment partner to support complex and large-scale procurement
• Reconciling finance records
• Maintaining our contacts database and sales records
• Supporting school recruitment and the delivery of training
• Developing and maintaining administration systems and workflow processes

You will be contracted to our office in London, but this role is suitable for home and flexible working, with the majority of your work carried out from home if you would prefer. However, you will need to be available to travel to London for staff and team days, as well as to support project delivery and partnerships. This could be around a day a week on average, although at times it will be a lot less, and unfortunately, we are unable to cover travel costs for this.

What we’re looking for:

• Experience of administration and team support
• Use of contact databases and content management systems
• A proven track record in budget management and financial reconciliation
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills
• Organisational skills and attention to detail
• Experience working in the education or library sector would be an advantage

Why our work is so vital:

Literacy changes everything. It gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. It’s the key to knowledge, confidence and inspiration. It’s better results at school, and better jobs. If children grow up without the tools to communicate, without books to read or opportunities to write, it’s harder to get where you want to go. The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity helping people overcome these challenges and change their life chances through the power of words – reading, writing, speaking and listening.

We work collaboratively in local communities, focusing our work in 20 areas of the UK that are facing the biggest challenges. We support schools, developing the most effective tools and techniques and providing resources and programmes to engage and inspire children. We campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and decision-makers. We support vulnerable adults, people in the criminal justice system and young offenders’ institutions to build their literacy skills.

What we offer you:

Our team are passionate about our mission, and we have a strong and positive working culture, based on shared values and respect. We offer a range of flexible working options and promote a workplace where you can be yourself and contribute to our success, whoever you are. As well as a competitive salary, we offer benefits including:

• A generous leave allowance totalling 39 days (including bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year)
• Pension contributions of 8% of annual salary
• A cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme and other health and wellbeing benefits

Our people are our most important asset, and we value and respect diversity in all its forms (seen and unseen). We particularly welcome applications from those from Black and Asian backgrounds, as well as candidates with disabilities and from the communities in which we work. We would like to increase representation of these groups among our staff as we know greater diversity will lead to an even greater impact for our work.