Finance Director

Recruitment pack

Dear candidate,

Educational outcomes are profoundly unequal in Britain today. Young people fromdisadvantaged backgrounds are five times less likely to make it to a top universitycompared to their more advantaged peers. This structural inequality denies youngpeople from fulfilling their potential and limits their life chances. It cannot be right.Tackling this social injustice is what motivated me five years ago to become a volunteertutor with The Access Project, and to join as Chief Executive two years after that.

Time and again when I meet students on our programme, or who have progressed totop universities, I am inspired by their stories of how they are overcoming the odds. Atthe heart of each of these personal journeys is a simple message – “I wouldn’t be herewithout the support of The Access Project”.

Now is an exciting time for The Access Project. We have weathered the pandemic well:expanding into Bradford to serve more students; piloting small group tuition for ourstudents; and supporting them to achieve our highest-ever placement rates at topuniversities. We will shortly be publishing a new strategy which will set out an ambitionto expand our reach and to lay the foundations for greater impact at scale in futureyears. We have recently appointed a couple of new Directors, so this is an excellentpoint to join the Executive Team as we are defining how we work as a group and leadthe organisation through the next stage of our journey.

The Finance Director will be central to our success in the coming years. You will help usunderstand the financial implications of longer-term growth scenarios and differentchoices about how we grow and ensure we manage our resources effectively.

We are passionate about the work that we do and making a transformative difference tothe lives of the young people we serve. If this is a mission that drives you, and achallenge that excites you, we would love to hear from you.

Yours sincerely,

Nathan Sansom, Chief Executive

A message from ourChief Executive, NathanSansom

The Access Project is an innovative education charity that helps bright young peoplefrom disadvantaged backgrounds gain places at top universities.

We support nearly 2,000 young people aged 14-18 across nearly 40 schools. Ourprogramme helps students to make good choices and strong applications through in-school mentoring delivered by our team of talented University Access Officers. We alsohelp raise students’ attainment so they can meet the terms of their university offers byproviding academic tuition, delivered 1-2-1 by volunteer tutors or in small groups bypaid tutors.

The Access Project is expanding to become a national organisation. We work in London,the West and East Midlands, grew into West Yorkshire last year, and are expanding intothe North West from September 2022. We have a team of c.65 staff working in schoolsand in our regions. We will turnover c.£3m in this financial year, with our funding comingfrom a range of sources including schools, businesses, major donors and grant-makingtrusts which means we are not too reliant on any one stream.

A strong commitment to evidence and impact is at the heart of how we work, and we areproud that independent research shows our students achieve higher grades and arebetween two and four times as likely to progress to top universities than similarlydisadvantaged peers.

We are a team passionately committed to our mission, and who support one another’swork. We are committed to improving The Access Project as a place to work for all ourstaff and are in the first year of delivering our three-year People Strategy. We alsorecognise we have a way to go before we are the fully inclusive and diverse organisationwe want to be. We are developing an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy withsupport from external consultants and engagement from staff and trustees.

About The Access Project

The Access Project is embarking on a new strategy and is looking to scale our impactover the next four years while laying foundations for significant growth over the nextstrategy period. The Finance Director will help us increase our impact by contributing tostrategic decisions on how we operate, and by ensuring we have effective planning andmanagement of our budget.

The Finance Director is one of six Director-level positions on the Executive Team, and assuch it has an important leadership role across the organisation: in role-modelling tostaff; accountability to the CEO and Board of Trustees.

In terms of functional responsibilities, you will be responsible for the finances of thecharity and line manage a team of 2. You will lead the accounting, budgeting,forecasting and year end processes, including the production of the charity’s accounts,and provide financial information and recommendations to the Board of Trustees andExecutive Team.

Young people are at the heart of The Access Project, and as such we are committed tosafeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We fully expectthe Finance Director to share this commitment. Please note that a high standard ofwritten and spoken English is required to carry out this role.

About the role - FinanceDirector

The Finance Director will lead the Finance team, which consists of a 0.6FTE FinanceManager and 0.5FTE Senior Coordinator.

Duties and responsibilities of theFinance Director

Strategic responsibilities

Bringing a strategic finance perspective to the development of any new projects atThe Access Project, in particular challenging and supporting the team to understandthe financial implications of business as usual and various strategic optionsDeveloping a financial strategy for the charity and providing value for money analysisto support key decision makingBuilding financial models as required to test and understand the costs andimplications of different strategic optionsIdentifying, planning for, and delivering improvements to existing financial processesand decision making in conjunction with budget holdersReviewing as necessary and managing core business processes to enable effectiveplanning for, and management of, key functions. This will include supporting theCEO and Director of Strategy and Impact with the annual business planning cycleWorking closely with the Director of Fundraising and Communications to reconcilesecured income and produce accurate fundraising forecasts.

Functional responsibilities

Responsibility for the finance functionMaintaining a system of sound financial controlsReviewing, implementing and communicating core staff policies related to financeSupporting funding bid submissions and reporting and monitoring restricted,unrestricted and designated funds, ensuring that they are appropriately designatedand usedManaging the annual budgeting and forecasting processes, leading engagementwith Trustees and budget holdersReviewing and disseminating monthly management accountsReporting the financial results of the charity to Executive team, Finance Committee,Trustees and donors, using both numerical data and analysisMaintaining financial spreadsheets and re-forecasting on a regular basisProducing the annual statutory accounts and liaising with the auditorsProvide effective management of the team, including supporting their developmentand overseeing the appraisal processSupporting the Operations Director with oversight of PayrollEnsuring compliance with tax and other financial regulations

Organisational leadership

Duties and responsibilities of theFinance Director

Leading the organisation through active participation in the Executive team:Taking an active role in ensuring the organisation is making the right decisions toachieve our stated strategic objectivesTaking cabinet responsibility for decisions at Executive levelWorking with our external training partner to develop and implement financialtraining to non-staff and raising the financial literacy of the whole organisationReporting to a high standard to TAP’s Finance Committee and Board ofTrustees, and externally where required.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be passionate about drawing out the motivations oforganisations and individuals and connecting these with the mission of The AccessProject. They will be a natural relationship-builder, able to develop and motivate a team.

Essential skills and experience

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) with 4 years plus post qualificationexperienceStrong financial and commercial awareness, with a track record of budgeting andfinancial management in an organisation with a turnover of £1m+A quick learner with strong problem-solving abilitiesStrategic thinker, experience of converting strategy into detailed operational plansConfident in working with a range of budget holders across departmentsExperience of driving improvement and managing changeAn ability to make financial discussions, decision making and documentation clearand comprehensible to the laypersonExperienced at using ExcelExcellent verbal and written communication skillsFamiliarity with Charities SORP (FRS 102)Passionate about educational disadvantage and The Access Project’s mission.

Desired skills/experience

Experience of finance in the non-profit sector Outstanding project management skills, meticulously well organised and reliableFamiliarity with Xledger or similar accounting software

Disclosure of a Criminal Record

The Rehabilitation of Offenders 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order 1986 does notapply to posts where there is access to children. This means that applicants foremployment which involves working with children and young people must disclose anycriminal record. If your application is successful, you are required to make thesedisclosures and consent to The Access Project verifying the accuracy of your responsewith the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Young people are at the heart ofThe Access Project, and as such weare committed to safeguarding andpromoting the welfare of childrenand young people. We expect youwill share this commitment.

As an equal opportunities employerwe welcome applications from allsuitably qualified persons.However, as people from ethnicminorities are currently under-represented in our staffing bodyrelative to the diversity of thestudent body we serve, weparticularly welcome applicationsfrom candidates from minorityethnic backgrounds. Allappointments will be made onmerit.

Terms and conditions

Job title: Finance DirectorReporting to: Chief ExecutiveDirect reports: Finance Manager, Senior Finance & Operations Coordinator Job location: London or remote with regular travel to London (one day a week forExecutive Team meetings, plus additional c. monthly travel for Board meetings, allstaff meetings, audit, etc.)Contract: Part-time, 0.6FTE, with flexibility around how hours are structuredSalary: £55,000 to £63,000 per annum pro-rataAnnual leave: 25 days per year pro rata, plus additional Christmas closure daysBenefits: Employee pension scheme, cycle to work scheme, travel card loan, flexibleworking, Perkbox, Employee Assistance Programme

How to apply

Closing date: 9:00am, Monday 12th SeptemberFirst interviews (virtual): Week commencing 19th SeptemberSecond interviews (in person): Week commencing 26th September

If you would like to apply to the Finance Director position, please send an up to date CVand supporting statement (maximum two pages) detailing how you meet the personspecification and role description to cairo.johnson@prospect-us.co.uk by the aboveclosing date.