UK Management Accountant

Join to apply for the UK Management Accountant role at SolarAid

Location: London, UK (Hybrid working possible)

Contract: Full time

Reports to: Director of Finance and Organisational Effectiveness & Group Financial Controller

Salary: Either £36,600 to £41,300 (depending on experience) if you are fully qualified or £27,300 to £31,500 plus a contribution towards your study package if you are not.

About SolarAid

SolarAid’s mission is to light up every home, school and clinic in Africa by 2030, using safe, clean, solar power. There are 548 million people in sub-Saharan Africa living without electricity. When the sun goes down at night, families are reliant on dangerous and expensive forms of lighting such as candles and kerosene lamps.

SolarAid has played an important role helping to create vibrant and sustainable solar markets across Africa through a trade-not-aid model in rural areas. Through our social enterprise, SunnyMoney, we have distributed over 2 million solar lights, directly impacting over 11 million people across Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Senegal. Families across the continent can now rely on safe, renewable solar lights as the sun sets, but there is still a long way to go to reach everyone who is being left in the dark, and we are stepping up our efforts.

SolarAid is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join SolarAid’s dynamic and growing team. This is a key role within the organisation, working with the Director of Finance and Organisational Effectiveness & Group Financial Controller, and with the Finance Teams in Malawi and Zambia. The role would particularly suit someone who is taking professional accountancy exams either CCAB or AAT.

The successful candidate will be used to working within a busy and fast paced environment and have the ability to work with colleagues of all levels across the business.

Your Values: You will be expected to uphold the values and ethos of SolarAid in the way we engage with audiences, and inspire support, at all times.

Role Purpose: Key accounting support for SolarAid UK. Accounting support for SolarAid Group.

Specifc Tasks

• Capture all SolarAid UK and SMG UK income and expenditure on an accruals basis into the financial records
• Identify and record restricted funding and allocate allowable expenditure against this funding.
• Identify and record gift-aided donations for monthly Gift Aid claims.
• Maintain purchase ledger, logging all purchase invoices to be paid from UK.
• Prepare weekly schedule of payments to be made from the UK for approval by the Director of Finance and Organisational Effectiveness and CEO.
• Initiate all payments made from UK bank accounts and obtain secondary authorised signature.
• Raise intercompany invoices recharging expenditure paid from the UK on behalf of the country programmes.
• Record intercompany invoices from countries recharging expenditure made in country on behalf of SolarAid UK and SMG UK.
• Report monthly by funding code on cash received into UK bank accounts to Senior Management Team.
• Weekly update of UK Cash Forecast for following twelve months (UK payments only), for incorporation into Group Cashflow by Finance Director.
• Report monthly on SolarAid UK and SMG UK actual income and expenditure vs budgeted income and expenditure (to be incorporated into monthly management accounts).
• Assist Group Financial Controller with the annual preparation of SolarAid UK statutory accounts, preparation of supporting schedules for Auditors.

Budgeting and Forecasting

• Co-ordinate and monitor the preparation of rolling budgets for SolarAid UK (working with the Group Financial Controller as necessary) and provide monthly summaries of SolarAid UK’s actual income and expenditure vs budget to be incorporated into the monthly management accounts.
• Contribute to the annual budgeting process, identifying core contracted UK costs.
• Prepare a twelve-month rolling UK Payments Forecast based on contracted and anticipated payments.

Gift Aid Claims

• Submit monthly Gift Aid claims in a timely manner to maximise cash flow.

VAT

• Work with the Director of Finance and Organisational Effectiveness to prepare SolarAid for becoming VAT registered.

Other duties

• As arising commensurate with the role.

Personal Specification

Formal Education and Professional Qualifications

• The successful candidate should be working towards a CCAB or AAT accounting qualification.

Skills and Competencies

• Attention to details, and ability to meet deadlines
• Good working knowledge of Excel
• Good working knowledge of accounting software
• Ability to reconcile bank accounts, and control accounts
• Ability to work with colleagues at different levels across the organisation in an assertive but supportive way
• Ability to work with the company’s external auditors, playing a key role in supporting during the annual audit.

Experience – Essential

• Experience of working in a finance team, ideally for at least two years
• Gift Aid experience
• Knowledge of foreign currency
• VAT knowledge

What we offer

• 27 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• 7% matching employer pension contribution
• An annual organisational training budget
• Remote working within agreed parameters
• A tight knit, friendly and close working team

Applicants are invited to email their CV and a covering letter, which explains how you meet the criteria in this job description and why you are a good fit for SolarAid to: recruitment@solar-aid.org. Please note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Please entitle your email as follows: Job role + [Name Surname]

The successful candidate must have a right to work in the UK and plan to be based here.

Seniority level

• Internship

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Accounting/Auditing and Finance

Industries

• Non-profit Organizations

London, England, United Kingdom