Finance and Operations Officer in London

We’re looking for a proactive individual with experience and confidence in finance, bookkeeping, and charity operations to join our team.

About The Island

The Island has been dedicated to supporting children and young people aged 8 to 18 through tailored mentoring services for two decades. Over the years, we have provided life-changing support to over 3,000 children and young people, supporting them to build confidence, resilience, and brighter futures. At The Island, we believe that every young person deserves a positive role model. Our core 1-1 mentoring programme is delivered in a variety of formats, from short-term targeted support to long-term mentoring relationships and group programmes. Each approach is carefully tailored to the individual, responding to their unique needs and empowering them to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

Now is a crucial time in the Charity’s development. Following a strategic decision to return to being a community-based youth work organisation, we are looking to onboard a Finance and Operations Officer.

About the role

This role plays a key part in supporting the smooth and effective running of The Island. This role combines finance, governance, and operational responsibilities to ensure that resources are well managed, compliance is maintained, and internal systems enable staff to deliver high-quality services. The position works closely with the Charity Manager and Trustees to provide accurate financial reporting and strong organisational oversight.

We are looking for an individual with strong experience in managing the financial operations of a small organisation, ensuring systems and processes are efficient and robust, including financial forecasting, reconciliations, and continuous improvement of financial systems. The ideal candidate will be able to communicate financial information clearly to a range of stakeholders through both verbal and written formats. Strong organisational and administrative skills are essential, with the ability to manage project support and office management responsibilities while keeping the wider team informed on progress and priorities.

Main responsibilities

• Finance
• Process staff and mentor expenses, credit card reconciliations, and invoices accurately and on time.
• Manage monthly payroll, ensuring compliance with HMRC and pension requirements.
• Prepare weekly cash flow forecasts and review with Charity Manager and Treasurer.
• Prepare monthly income and expenditure reports for senior management and the finance committee.
• Act as guardian of the balance sheet, preparing monthly balance sheet reconciliations and highlighting any issues to the Charity Manager, Chairman and Trustee Treasurer.
• Manage the deferred income accounts in line with generally accepted accounting practice, matching income with activity.
• Support annual audit processes by collating documentation and liaising with accountants, and reviewing prepared annual accounts.
• Monitor incoming grants, donations, and other income, ensuring accurate tracking and timely reporting.
• Oversee transfers between accounts and reserves, working with banks and investment providers as needed.
• Operations
• Provide comprehensive administrative support across HR functions, including managing annual leave records and supporting day-to-day people processes.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date HR records, including employee information, training logs, and policy acknowledgements.
• Support end-to-end recruitment activities for staff, interns, work experience placements, and trustees, including job advertising, interview coordination, pre-employment checks (DBS and references), and candidate communication.
• Coordinate and deliver a smooth onboarding experience for new starters, including setting up systems access, arranging equipment, and scheduling induction activities.
• Liaise with external IT consultants to coordinate the setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting of IT systems and hardware.
• Organise, track, and maintain IT equipment (e.g. laptops, phones, peripherals), ensuring effective allocation, onboarding setup, and offboarding returns.
• Support the administration and upkeep of SharePoint sites, ensuring documents are well-organised, accessible, and kept up to date.
• Manage user access permissions across IT systems and SharePoint in collaboration with IT providers, ensuring appropriate levels of data security.
• Monitor and promote completion of mandatory training, ensuring compliance and accurate record keeping.
• Assist in reviewing, updating, and organising HR policies and procedures to ensure they remain current, accessible, and aligned with best practice.

To apply, please send a CV and covering letter (which may be submitted as a written statement, video, or voice note). The covering letter should detail your relevant experience and why you want to work at a local York charity that supports children and young people in the city. The closing date for applications is Friday 3rd July. Interviews will be held concurrently.

The Island is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all backgrounds in the community. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know if this is required.