Finance Lead for the Church of England Governance Project

Overview

The National Church Institutions (NCIs) are national administrative bodies that work together to support the mission and ministry of the Church of England. Their activities are hugely varied, ranging from management of a multi-billion-pound investment fund, to a grant-giving charity, a housing service for retired clergy and the administration of four multi-employer pension schemes.

The National Church Governance Project Board is currently developing proposals to simplify the governance arrangements of the National Church Institutions and some of their recommendations require detailed work assessing the financial implications of the proposals.

The team work in a hybrid way, split between our Westminster office and from home. Our policies actively promote flexible working and a positive work/life balance, recognising that the nature of the role means the occasional need to work longer hours from time-to-time in order to meet urgent deadlines. Specific working arrangements can be discussed at interview.

Introduction

You will be a key member of the Governance project team and will work closely to support the project team in its delivery of the project. You may also support the wider Emerging Church Programme with ad-hoc financial analysis.

The Finance Lead will undertake several significant pieces of work to support the Governance project, part of the Emerging Church Programme, including but not limited to:

• Financial analysis work to determine the future operating cost of the proposed governance model as compared to the current arrangements
• Evaluation of the funding model for the proposed new entity, given due consideration to the current model of funding the national bodies, including but not limited to the diocesan apportionment arrangements and the distribution of funds from the Church of England endowment
• Research and recommendations in relation to technical accounting and compliance matters which may arise as a result of the restructure e.g. transfer of assets, restricted funds, tax and VAT implications
• Support the Governance Project Director with the development and management of the budget for the Governance Project, giving careful consideration to the resources required at each stage, and producing regular financial reporting and monitoring to support the management of the project
• Work with the Finance team to identify and implement the changes required to systems and processes to support the proposed new entity structure and financial operating model, engaging with the Finance Transformation Programme to ensure that the requirements of the Governance Project are met in the proposed new finance system
• Provide relevant financial analysis to directors and HR to support any team restructuring arising from the new entity structure, working with the Finance Business Partners
• Undertake the necessary financial analysis and mapping to manage the transfer of accounting records from one entity to another

Main Responsibilities

Financial Analysis and ad hoc projects

Responsible for undertaking a range of financial analysis including:

• Providing financial analysis support to members of the Governance Project Team in relation to the key governance recommendations as and when required
• Building financial models and co-ordinating shared data analysis working collaboratively with the Finance Team and the Governance Project Team, and with wider stakeholders such as diocesan finance staff as necessary
• Acting as Finance subject-matter expert on the Governance Project, and co-ordinating across the team to ensure coherent and comprehensive understanding of the governance requirements
• Providing some high level management of the Emerging Church Programme Budget and be prepared to help support on provision of Financial Analysis to the wider Programme

Technical advice and application

• Responsible for providing technical advice and support in relation to accounting and other matters including:
• analysing the technical accounting and compliance implications of the proposed changes and providing advice and support to ensure that technical requirements are understood and met
• Working collaboratively with the legal team and any external advisers as necessary, knowing when to seek third party advice and ensuring that issues are raised clearly and as early as possible
• Supporting the development of any new templates or processes arising from technical compliance obligations

Process and system improvements

Responsible for supporting the Project Governance Team develop recommendations that enhance current NCI processes and systems, ensuring that the financial rationale for doing so is justifiable:

• Considering how the proposals developed impact the current financial modelling and assessing what risks and opportunities might arise from this work.
• Ensuring new or changed processes are designed within an appropriate financial control framework balancing efficient working practices with robust and effective internal control procedures
• Engaging with the Finance System implementation team to ensure that future requirements are understood.

Service quality and stakeholder communication

Responsible for supporting the Governance Project team to develop its proposal, whilst balancing this with the needs of the current NCI trustee bodies who will need a clear understanding of the financial implications of the proposed changes:

• Identify key stakeholders, understanding their role and the impact of any changes upon them, engaging with them at all stages of any change programme
• Develop and deliver appropriate stakeholder communication plans, working with Internal Communications as appropriate to ensure changes are communicated clearly and effectively, promoting buy-in and compliance
• Work collaboratively with the NCI finance team to ensure all proposed changes are well understood, and that knowledge and understanding is embedded within the team to enable customers to be supported both through and after the change process

Other

• Undertaking other ad hoc tasks as required to ensure the Governance Project team delivers a high-quality, cost-effective service.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a strong CCAB qualified technical accountant, able to use financial and other data to provide insight and drive decision-making. You will have strong financial modelling and excel skills, and be able to identify key drivers and inputs to build a robust financial model with the ability to evaluate multiple scenarios. You'll need to be confident in reading and evaluating accounting standards and other advice and guidance to develop an informed view, and to make recommendations.

To flourish in this role you'll need to be always looking to improve processes and work smarter, collaborating with your finance colleagues to drive best practice in everything we do, fostering a culture of sustainable change and continuous improvement. We need a strong communicator, passionate about what you do and able to instil enthusiasm in others, engage in a credible way with a wide range of stakeholders to optimise solutions, achieve buy-in and promote excellence.

Essential

Education:

• CCAB or equivalent professional accounting body qualification

Skills/Aptitude:

• Strong technical accounting skills, confident in evaluating and applying technical guidance and making recommendations
• Strong financial modelling skills, with the ability to distil key information and build complex and robust financial models and scenarios supported by appropriate documentation
• Excellent IT skills, including advanced Excel and strong finance system skills
• Strong analytical skills and excellent attention to detail
• Strong influencing and persuasive skills, able to engage and motivate others and achieve buy-in without direct line management responsibility
• Proactive, self-motivated and enthusiastic, confident in decision-making and problem solving
• Well organised with an ability to work calmly and effectively under pressure
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, able to engage a wide range of stakeholders at all levels, including both finance professionals and non-finance staff
• Business analyst skills – able to understand business needs and translate them into practical solutions

Knowledge/Experience:

• Experience in a range of finance roles in complex organisations including both technical accounting and compliance, and financial modelling / analytics roles
• Experience of working as the finance lead on projects or programmes, confident in giving advice and working relatively autonomously
• Experience in leading and delivering successful change, improving processes and ways of working within a team and with other teams

Desirable

• SAP experience
• Experience of working for a large charity or complex organisation

About us

In the National Church Institutions (NCIs), we support the mission and ministries of the Church of England. We work with parishes, dioceses, schools, chaplaincies and other ministries, and with national and international partners including mission agencies, and other denominations and faith groups.

Find out more about working for the National Church Institutions by visiting Careers | The Church of England

NCI values

• We strive for excellence
• We collaborate
• We act with integrity
• We show compassion
• We respect others

We welcome everyone and we accept and value people for who they are and what they contribute, treating others in the way we would wish to be treated ourselves. We actively listen to and include others, encouraging and enabling everyone’s voice to be heard in discussions and decisions. When we disagree, we aim to disagree well with respect and kindness.  

We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you. If there is anything we can do to support you in your application please get in touch via email to hr.recruitment@churchofengland.org.

• As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively look to attract, recruit and retain those of you who are disabled.

• We are a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and welcome applications from those of you who have served in our Armed Forces and their families.