Assistant Finance Business Partner - NW Based - Driver Required

Job Purpose

As Assistant Finance Business Partner, you will be a key member of a high-performing management accounts team, supporting a culture of reconciliation and control within the team to ensure the month-end accounts are produced accurately and on-time.

You will prepare accurate and meaningful variance analysis which identifies the key challenges and opportunities for the business in a way that is easily understood by a non-finance audience.

The Management Accounts Team will adopt a business partnering approach that supports collaboration and drives financial results.

Dimensions

·       The role does not have any staff management responsibility

Key Result Areas

• Provision of financial advice and support to the Group’s budget holders
• Contribute to the provision of a high-performing Management Accounting team, delivering a first-class internal service that is valued by colleagues across the organisation
• Adhere to the month-end close timetable, which aims to provide high quality financial information to the Group’s budget holders as soon after the month-end as possible
• Support the adoption of standardised and best practice processes and procedures across all activities to support the development of a high-performing team and the production of timely and accurate management accounts
• Support the annual budget process for each Group entity
• Support the production of the monthly Management Accounts for the Group
• Support the delivery of a true business partnering approach to the provision of finance support activities, supporting a culture of customer service and continuous improvement across the Management Accounts Team
• Through the development of a business partnering approach, support the Group's cost reduction agenda with Heads of Service and other budget holders, ensuring budget holders are accountable for delivering their financial targets
• Support the production of the year-end accounts for all Group entities, accurate, within deadline, and with a clean report from the Group's external auditors
• Support the delivery of high quality, system driven financial reporting that provides the key financial metrics for the organisation, and enables the budget holders to generate their own reports, supporting clear accountability and responsibility for budget management
• Support a culture of reconciliation and control, both within the finance team and across the Group

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in an accounting and/or finance background
• Support the preparation of high-quality financial reports to budget holders, and supporting budget holders to understand/deliver their financial targets
• Evidence of working towards tight deadlines
• Proven experience of working with and effectively influencing budget holders
• Experience of accruals/prepayments and effective month end close process

Skills

• High level of numeracy
• Highly IT Literate, evidenced by a high level of proficiency in all MS Office software
• Analysis and judgement – able to use own judgement involving complex facts requiring interpretation and comparison of a range of options
• Communication can work with a wide range of stakeholders including, staff across the organisation from different disciplines, Senior Management and Executive Directors, Internal and External Audit, Commissioners and other agencies.
• Negotiation - can demonstrate ability to negotiate and use persuasion skills
• Planning and organising – able to formulate plans involving uncertainty
• Relationships – Ability to understand, learn and use relationships to build networks to achieve goals
• Innovation - Provides new and innovative solutions for doing things
• Motivation - and Resilience –the ability to maintain a high level of commitment and energy towards personal and team goals
• Commitment - to working in a values based organisation to ‘make a difference to peoples lives”
• Open and honest approach
• Excellent verbal and written communication and persuasion skills

Knowledge

• Understanding of data flows, data management and analysis
• Operation of a computer based accounting package
• Understanding of techniques to develop reports to support decision making

Qualifications

• CCAB Part Qualified and/or AAT Qualified/Part Qualified or equivalent

We’re Alternative Futures Group, a health and social care charity providing specialist support for people with a learning disability or mental health condition.

We’re proud to have been positively changing lives and enabling people to achieve amazing outcomes for over 30 years.

We have a vision to create a world where amazing people do amazing things every day. Our skilled and experienced teams work with every person we support to create a personalised, outcome-focused plans to achieve their aspirations.

As a ‘values based’ employer, the people that work for us genuinely care about the people they support, and we are seeking likeminded people to join our team.  If you are passionate about working in Health and Social Care and have a real desire to make a positive difference to the lives of the people we support then we would love to hear from you.

At AFG we also recognise the contribution and value that our staff make.  We would not be able to provide the life changing support that we do without people like you!

In return for your contribution we will support you throughout your career and we provide a wide range of employee benefits, career development and lifestyle support services to ensure that you too feel supported, fulfilled and valued from day one of your employment with us.