Finance Assistant

**Harmeny Education Trust **is a sector leading children’s charity, providing therapeutic care and education for children with complex additional support needs. We work on a day and all-year-round residential basis, supporting children and young people aged 5 to 18 years. The school is situated in a beautiful thirty-five-acre estate, which includes residential and education accommodation, mature woodland, community garden, orchard, wildlife habitats and children’s play areas.- We have an exciting opportunity for a- The
- ** Finance Assistant** is a critical role within a small, dynamic and enthusiastic team. The post-holder will be responsible for daily bookkeeping, payroll support and relevant administrative duties. If you love numbers, spreadsheets, data and reconciliations, then this could be an excellent opportunity to shape your career in finance. The salary for this role is
- **£24,957 - £28,739 per annum** depending on qualifications and experience.-
- We are highly committed to the professional development of all our staff and the post-holders will access comprehensive training and development opportunities.- If you would like to
- **find out more** about this rewarding opportunity, please view the job description below and/or contact Julia Giraud, Finance Manager, on 0131 449 3938.Key Responsibilities

**Context and overall purpose of the job**
- To have a lead role for the daily bookkeeping tasks, payroll support, administrative duties and contribute to the overall smooth running of the finance function.
- To ensure that transactional processes and procedures are operating effectively to provide a high standard of financial management information.
- To work closely with the rest of the Finance team on the month end processing and reporting, in order to provide soundfinancial information for all stakeholders.
- To ensure that all statutory external requirements and regulations are complied with.
- To be an active member of the wider Support Services Team.

**Principle areas of the job**
- Promote a positive ethos and culture in the Finance team and wider organisation, consistent with Harmeny’s vision, purpose and core values.
- Carry out bookkeeping tasks commensurate with the role, as laid out in the Finance Procedures Manual, and to ensure that the appropriate processes are being followed.
- Process purchase invoices, reconcile these with purchase orders, obtain departmental authorisation, data entry of transactions into the accounting system and deal with supplier related queries.
- Assist in the preparation and issue of sales invoices as well as in the proactive credit control monitoring.
- Prepare weekly supplier payment reports and set up electronic bank payments for authorisation.
- Process petty cash transactions, reconcile and prepare weekly transactional postings.
- Process credit card orders and payments, reconcile and prepare weekly transactional postings.
- Assist in the maintenance of the payroll system, collate salary information and provide support in the running of monthly payroll and annual returns.
- Respond to requests for pay-related information and to support the administration of the staff pension schemes.
- Assist with the production and analysis of monthly and quarterly finance reports.
- Assist in developing and maintaining HETL’s Asset Register.
- Assist with the archiving of finance, payroll and other financial data.
- Assist the Finance Manager in the review and development of financial policies and procedures.
- Provide information for the year-end audit file and respond to any audit queries.
- Support the Finance Manager to ensure that relevant returns are provided to external bodies (HMRC, OSCR, Companies House, Pension Regulator, Scottish Government etc.) in a timely manner.
- Support the Finance Manager with any finance-related improvement projects, delivering business change and ensuring the implementation of that change across the organisation.
- Maintain effective communication within the Finance team and across departments, to ensure that financial awareness and transparency is embedded across the organisation.
- Support with finance-related induction sessions and ongoing training, and to assist in producing guidance procedures for use by staff.
- Work in accordance with all Harmeny policies and procedures.
- Attend supervision, annual performance review, training and other meetings as required.
- Undertake any other duties delegated by the Finance Manager, HoF or other member of SMT that are commensurate with the post. Occasional weekend/evening work, or emergency cover, may be required.

Qualifications, Skills, Knowledge and Experience

**Essential**
- Minimum relevant qualifications equivalent to AAT Bookkeeping Level 2 or above and/or an HNC in Accounting.
- Previous proven bookkeeping and experience of working in a similar role.
- Knowledge and experience of purchase and sales invoices processing, payments and receipts allocation, petty cash and