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Head of Finance

Employer
Fight for Peace International
Location
E16 2LS, London (Greater)
Salary
Up to £50,000 per annum + benefits
Closing date
14 Oct 2019

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Fight for Peace (FFP) is a global youth development NGO that delivers a public health-based approach to reduce youth violence.

FFP was established in the Complexo da Mare favela in Rio de Janeiro in 2000 in response to the arming and employment of young people by drug trafficking factions. It was replicated in London in 2007 in response to rising youth gang violence in the UK. FFP’s methodology has been consolidated over 18 years of delivery experience, and today is a comprehensive youth crime and violence reduction approach, working at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. We engage and support young people through boxing & martial arts, education, employability support, psycho-social support, and youth leadership (the FFP Five Pillars). Today, the FFP Academies in Rio and London working directly with over 3,000 young people annually.

In 2011 Fight for Peace launched the Global Alliance Programme to share methodology with other organisations in communities affected by crime and violence. Over 150 organisations from 25 countries have been trained and supported through GAP, collectively reaching 240,000 young people. Those organisations now make up the FFP Global Alliance, a community of practice that FFP facilitates to strengthen and scale youth violence prevention programming.

In 2015, FFP launched Safer Communities to establish a place-based, multi-agency approach to delivering the FFP’s holistic youth violence prevention methodology. Safer Communities uses collective impact to integrate multiple services in urban violence hotspots to ensure young people can access the range of support input they need, in contexts where capacity and resources are scarce. Safer Communities is being piloted in Kingston and Cape Town. 

Today, FFP uses the two Academy sites to design and test approaches to youth violence prevention. Approaches that are effective are then codified and scaled via Global Alliance partners and Safer Community sites.

About the role

Fight for Peace has experienced consistent and growth in the UK and internationally, and in 2019 Fight for Peace (UK) and Fight for Peace International merged to become one organisation. An experienced finance professional with a proven track record in financial leadership is needed to support the implementation of the merger, ensure robust and sustainable financial management, strengthen finance management processes, support further expansion going forward, provide finance leadership to existing and future FFP subsidiaries, and work with senior management colleagues to ensure strategy is informed by financial intelligence. 

Management

The Head of Finance will be a member of the FFP senior management team, report to the Interim CEO, and provide quarterly financial reports to the FFP Board of Trustees. The Head of Finance will be responsible for:

Development and leadership of a cross-organisational Finance Team, including:

  • Review and develop the team structure to adequately meet the financial management needs of the charity.
  • Recruit, line manage and develop finance colleagues.
  • Support the delivery of the Next Generation strategy within the Finance Team (Next Gen is FFP’s strategy to employ and develop ex-FFP Members).
  • Develop a Finance team and functions that can succeed / is sustainable beyond your tenure.

Lead monthly and annual financial reporting processes for FFP, including:

  • Work with key management and delivery staff of both UK and international divisions to design annual operational budgets.
  • Monitor expenditure against income and producing reconciled monthly management accounts, quarterly reforecasts, and annual financial statements as required.
  • Manage the charity’s reserves in accordance with the Trustee’s Reserve’s Policy.
  • Oversight and coordination of annual external audit

Oversight of all ongoing financial and finance-related tasks, including:

  • Payroll, pension and other staff benefit schemes.
  • Supplier payments, and international transfers.
  • Act as the direct liaison with the charities’ bank.
  • Re-granting funds to Luta pela Paz and other partners in accordance with FFP’s Grants Protocol and wider sector best practice.
  • Work with HR colleagues to check, approve, record the following for budget, management and auditory purposes: issuing of staff contracts, increments, and holidays.

Strengthen and maintain finance management procedures and policies, including:

  • Review current financial policies, procedures and systems and where necessary strengthen or create new approaches.
  • Maintain all financial policies, procedures and systems ongoing.
  • Maintain and develop FFP’s finance manual to share with colleagues and future post holders. 

Support the fundraising team with all relevant strategy and tasks, including:

  • Support project planning process to ensure proposals align with financial needs.
  • Create project budgets for inclusion in fundraising proposals.
  • Create interim and final financial reports for funders.

Oversight of financial relationships with partner organisations who are hosting FFP projects in other countries (Jamaica and South Africa at time of writing), including:

  • Design of reporting templates for host organisations and provision of any required training.
  • Timely transfer of funds to host organisation to enable local FFP team to carry out their activities.
  • Host relationship management on finance matters.
  • Ensure processes are robust and compliant with all relevant international development Finance standards.

Oversight of finance operations in FFP subsidiary organisations, including:

  • During the set-up phase of an FFP subsidiary, and at other times where necessary, direct management of subsidiary’s finance operations.
  • Recruitment and development of subsidiary-based Finance team.
  • Adaptation of FFP financial systems and policies for use by subsidiary.
  • Ongoing strategic leadership of financial operations in subsidiaries, including: guidelines for, and support around, financial policies, processes, systems and standards that FFP subsidiaries must follow.

Work closely with the governance team to ensure compliance and good governance, including:

  • Liaise with external auditors to complete statutory audits.
  • Support the filing of annual accounts with Companies House.
  • Review and implement post-merger financial integration plan.
  • Ensure all finance related staff policies are reviewed periodically and kept up to date.

In addition:

  • Work together with to SMT colleagues to ensure financial analysis is considered and included in organisational strategy, planning, resourcing and decisions.
  • Support non-finance colleagues to work with the finance function, and create and maintain a Finance-aware culture across the FFP orgs.
  • Liaise and exchange regularly with Luta Pela Paz where necessary.
  • Support SMT colleagues in accordance with the FFP Group strategic development plan.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

  • CIMA/ACA/ACCA qualified.
  • High-level charity finance management experience.
  • Excellent written and communication skills at all levels.
  • Excellent IT skills (e.g. excel) and financial software experience (e.g. Sage, QuickBooks etc.).
  • Proven strategic project planning, prioritising and time management skills.
  • Experience of internal monitoring and evaluation of staff and project outputs.
  • The ability to remain calm when working under pressure.
  • Respect and promote FFP values.

Desirable

  • Minimum 5 years high level programme management experience.
  • Experience in setting up payroll in the UK.
  • Experience of human resource management including recruitment, training and development.
  • Experience of detailed reporting to multiple funders on all aspects of the programme and services (narrative and financial).
  • International finance experience (tax, payroll, currency exchange etc.).

Personal qualities:

  • Energetic
  • Motivational
  • Leadership quality
  • Ability to use own initiative and others to achieve requirements.
  • The capacity to perform complex tasks under pressure.
  • Proactive
  • Strong communication skills

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