Finance Administrator - Tetbury, United Kingdom - The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Description

Westonbirt, the National Arboretum is one of Britain's finest tree collections, with the vision to be a world leader in trees, inspiring people through conservation, education and participation.

With over 600 acres homing 15,000 specimens and 2,500 species of tree from all over the world, the arboretum plays a vital part in research and conservation, and is a significant visitor attraction, drawing over 500,000 visitors each year.

In 1985, a small group of enthusiasts who saw the need to work with the Forestry Commission to preserve, enhance and enlarge this unique landscape, met for the first time.

This group became the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (FoWA), a registered charity.

Today the charity employs a small number of staff who manage a supporter base of 38,000 members, some of whom volunteer at the arboretum.

In addition, in 2020 the charity formed an enterprise strand, which is now responsible for managing and running the Westonbirt Gift Shop.

As an employee of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (FoWA), not only would you be part of Westonbirt Arboretum's story, you would be part of a team of passionate and dedicated people.

We are committed to our Vision to support Westonbirt Arboretum in being a world leader in trees; inspiring people through education, participation and conservation.

As a team, and as individuals, we respect and encourage diverse opinion and perspective.

We work collaboratively towards a shared purpose and actively seek to improve ourselves through self-reflection and learning how to work smarter, not harder.

We take pride in our ability to be agile and creative which enables us to be forward thinking, innovative and to make better decisions.

Most importantly, we place the well-being of our colleagues, customers, volunteers and partners at the heart of everything we do.

As a key role in the finance team, the Finance Administrator is responsible for assisting the Finance Officer and Finance Director in their roles and, in so doing, will be helping to maintain the financial records of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (FoWA) and its trading subsidiary Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum Enterprises Ltd (Enterprises) and, to a limited extent, will be involved in providing accurate financial information, back-up and support within the Finance Team.

Working within the FOWA team, the role will require close liaison with colleagues to ensure financial administration across the Charity is efficient and effective and that budget holders are supported.

Confidentiality across all areas of this role is required as this role will have access to both personal (FOWA staff and Trustees) and commercial information.

In addition, the job holder will provide a point of contact to any visitor to the Great Oak Hall in the absence of colleagues or volunteers and give information on both the Arboretum and FOWA.

Key responsibilities

The accurate and cost effective maintenance of the FoWA's and Enterprises financial records including the operation of Sage 50 accounts and Excel spreadsheets.

Sales ledger/income

• Ensure cash handling within the business remains secure and follows FoWA's financial procedures;
• Accurately account for donations and membership subscription received from the website signing into Sage Page and exporting the income schedule in a Excel file and manipulating that information into a format that can be used as a basis for postings within Sage 50 accounts;
• Accurately account for donations received directly to the bank in the form of direct debits within Sage 50 accounts;
• Reconciling membership income and donations received to the records held by the Membership Team;
• Recording all cash and cheques received through Sage 50 accounts and bank in on a timely basis;
• Manage credit control activity and bad debts with the exception of membership subscriptions;
• Regularly review the daily takings sheet prepared by the Retail Manager for Enterprises;
• At the end of the month, post the daily income to the EPOS control account;
• Download the Cardnet transactions at the end of the month and reconcile to the EPOS control account;
• Post all receipts to the bank account in Enterprises.
• Maintain monthly spend spreadsheet for the Shop

Purchase ledger/payments

• Post purchase invoices to the purchase ledger for the charity and the shop;
• Check staff and trustee expense claim forms are fully completed and accurate;
• Reconcile the purchase ledger with supplier statements ensuring that differences are resolved;
• On a monthly basis, check supplier payment details and highlight any changes;
• Prepare purchase ledger payment schedules for review and authorisation;
• Set up payments on the bank prior to authorisation;
• Record all payments in Sage 50 accounts ;
• Liaise with FoWA and Forestry England (FE) staff as required with respect to FE grant payments;
• Prepare aged creditors reports and arrange for weekly BACS payment runs, manage direct debit payments and associated p