Senior Finance Coordinator

Salary: £32,000 - £34,000 per annum, depending on experience
Contract: Permanent, full-time or 0.8 FTE
Working pattern: We offer a fully flexible working environment
Annual leave: 25 days of annual leave per annum, plus 3 additional days over Christmas
Additional Benefits: Comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
The role
We are looking for an experienced and organised Senior Finance Coordinator to join the Common Purpose Finance team.
This is a role for someone with a strong foundation in accounting and finance administration, excellent attention to detail and the ability to manage a varied workload with accuracy and consistency. You will play an important part in ensuring that our financial records are complete, accurate and up to date, supporting the smooth running of finance operations across the group.
Working closely with the Finance team and colleagues across different business units, you will take responsibility for a range of day-to-day financial activities, including sales invoicing, accounts receivable, payment processing, reconciliations and financial administration. You will help ensure that financial transactions are recorded correctly and that entries are maintained through to trial balance level across the group of companies.
The role involves both regular financial processes and responding to changing operational needs. You might spend one day preparing sales invoices, following up overdue payments and processing staff expenses, and the next supporting month-end reconciliations, preparing information for VAT returns or responding to audit queries. You will also help monitor cash flow, coordinate foreign currency purchases and support colleagues with finance-related questions.
You will need to be comfortable working with financial information, applying fundamental accounting principles and using financial systems and Excel to maintain accurate records. Equally important will be your ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues across different functions and countries, communicate clearly and ensure that queries and requests are followed through.
We are looking for someone who can take ownership of their responsibilities, anticipate what needs attention and manage competing deadlines without compromising accuracy. You will be expected to use your judgement and initiative to identify issues, work through problems and find practical solutions. This means being able to think logically, remain calm under pressure and take a considered, solution-focused approach when dealing with unexpected challenges or competing demands. You will be a dependable member of the Finance team, helping ensure that financial processes are completed efficiently and that colleagues across Common Purpose have the financial support and information they need.
This is not simply a finance administration role. It is about taking responsibility for important financial processes, maintaining the accuracy and integrity of our financial records and contributing to the effective financial management of the organisation.
Financial operations and accounts receivable
Invoice processing – preparing and issuing sales invoices accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring that the relevant information and project details are recorded correctly.
Accounts receivable and debt collection – monitoring outstanding invoices, following up overdue payments and taking appropriate action to support the timely collection of debts.
Participant payments – coordinating and processing participant payments, particularly during programme delivery, ensuring payments are handled accurately and within required timeframes.
Proforma payments – processing proforma payments and ensuring the necessary information and supporting documentation are maintained.
Foreign currency purchases – coordinating foreign currency purchases to support the organisation's operational and financial requirements.
Financial administration and monthly processes
Staff expenses – reviewing and processing staff expenses on a fortnightly basis, ensuring claims are accurate and comply with relevant procedures.
TravelPerk invoice processing – managing the monthly processing of TravelPerk invoices and ensuring transactions are recorded accurately.
Project code management – maintaining the project code sheet and ensuring relevant financial information is kept up to date.
Business unit support – supporting business units with financial trackers and related information, ensuring records are maintained accurately and consistently.
Finance inbox management – monitoring the Finance inbox and responding to or coordinating internal and external finance queries, ensuring requests are dealt with promptly and followed through.
Financial administration – providing wider finance administration support and helping maintain efficient and consistent financial processes across the organisation.
Financial controls, reporting and reconciliations
Month-end reconciliations – completing assigned month-end reconciliations, investigating discrepancies and ensuring financial records are accurate and up to date.
General ledger accuracy – applying fundamental accounting principles to ensure financial transactions are correctly recorded, organised and maintained through to trial balance level across the group of companies.
Cash flow monitoring – supporting the monitoring of cash flow and maintaining visibility of relevant financial information to assist the Finance team with cash management.
VAT returns – supporting the preparation of the UK Group VAT return on a quarterly basis, ensuring the relevant information is accurate and available within required deadlines.
Audit and compliance support
Year-end audit support – supporting the Finance team during the annual audit process, gathering financial information and documentation and responding promptly to audit queries.
Ledger accuracy and audit preparation – assisting with checks and reconciliations to support the accuracy and completeness of financial ledgers ahead of and during the audit process.
Audit queries and follow-up – coordinating responses to requests from auditors and colleagues, ensuring queries are addressed accurately and within agreed deadlines.
What you’ll bring
We are looking for someone with a solid grounding in accounting and finance administration who can combine strong technical and numerical skills with excellent organisation and attention to detail. You will be confident managing recurring financial processes, working with financial systems and supporting colleagues across the organisation.
You will bring:
Problem-solving and initiative – you are a logical and solutions-focused thinker who uses sound judgement and takes initiative to resolve issues. You are comfortable working under pressure, assessing situations, identifying practical solutions and knowing when to escalate matters.
Finance and accounting experience – experience working in a finance or accounts role, with a good understanding of fundamental accounting principles and financial processes.
Accounts receivable experience – experience raising sales invoices, monitoring outstanding balances and following up overdue payments.
Financial processing and administration – experience managing a range of financial transactions and administrative processes accurately and efficiently with the ability to identify discrepancies and investigate issues.
Reconciliation skills – an understanding of financial reconciliations and the importance of maintaining accurate and complete financial records.
Strong Excel skills – confidence using Excel to maintain financial trackers, organise information and work with data. You will also be comfortable using Outlook, Word and other Microsoft Office applications.
Excellent organisation and attention to detail – the ability to manage financial information carefully, maintain accurate records and ensure tasks are complete