Finance Director

We are a small, dedicated team that is passionate about what it is doing and works hard to ensure our organisation punches above its weight. We are looking for an experienced Finance Director to lead on work to manage and develop our financial management systems to strengthen us as we grow. We are looking for someone with demonstrable experience managing an organisational budget of around £1,000,000, reporting to a board of trustees, leading on organisational audits and developing and implementing organisational, financial policies. You may have experience at similar organisations or be looking to bring a city background to a charity; experience in the third sector or the Middle East and North Africa region is not essential. We will consider recruiting for this role on a part time basis, depending on the experience and capacity of the individual selected.

Background: We are a Libyan and international independent non-governmental organisation, committed to achieving justice and respect for human rights in Libya. Our vision is of a Libya which embodies the values and principles of human rights and the rule of law and is a society committed to justice. We seek justice in Libya through advocacy and outreach, accountability, transitional justice initiatives and capacity building, underpinned by our own independent research.

We are recruiting a Finance Director for our London office. As Finance Director, you will work with LFJL’s programme teams and management to oversee LFJL’s finances. In particular, you will be responsible for preparing LFJL’s organisational budget, including forecasting income and expenditure, management accounts and year end accounting in partnership with our accountancy and audit firm. You will work closely with LFJL’s board of trustees and executive director to develop robust financial systems and policies and will oversee implementation and management of those systems. You will manage our Finance and Development Manager, who monitors project expenditure, reviews and implements purchase requests, runs payroll (with support from a third party provider), and coordinates reporting to institutional and state donors which you will oversee. You will be highly organised, articulate and confident when dealing with staff and third parties in person, by phone or by email, including institutional and state donors.

Committed to LFJL’s values and mission statement, you will play a key role in our organisation, working across our teams to implement policies and systems to strengthen us as we grow and enter our next phase. You will report to the Executive Director.

Responsibilities: You will work with LFJL’s management and board of trustees to oversee LFJL’s finances and financial systems. This will include:

• Overseeing the preparation of management and annual accounts and the development, maintenance and monitoring of management information systems, processes/procedures and audits to support sound financial management and reporting;
• Reporting to LFJL’s board of trustees on its budget and management accounts at each meeting to aid planning, forecasting, analysis and decision making; preparing minutes and drafting the agenda;
• Leading financial reporting and communications with LFJL’s donors, who include individuals, foundations and state and institutional donors;
• Designing and overseeing the implementation of our internal policies and processes around financial management, procurement and expense documentation;
• Overseeing expense reconciliation on a monthly basis;
• Monitoring expenditure against project and organisational budgets;
• Ensuring LFJL’s regulatory commitments (for example with the Charity Commission and Companies House) are met;
• Supporting the Finance and Development Manager and programme teams with project budget management; and
• Carrying out any other duties to support our activities.

Desired qualifications and skills:

Education

• Relevant degree or professional qualification.

Experience

● At least five years of finance experience, with part of this being at a management level, is required.

Skills and knowledge

• Good knowledge of key IT packages and accounting software (experience using Xero is an asset);
• Confident and comfortable dealing with staff and a variety of third parties and managing expectations to ensure that commitments are met;
• Willingness to use initiative, work independently and think creatively;
• Ability to multi-task effectively, including having excellent planning and organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure;
• Interest in human rights; and ● Positive, enthusiastic attitude.

Languages

• Excellent written and oral communication in English is essential.
• Understanding of Arabic is an asset.

Remuneration

Remuneration for the Finance Director is around £50,000 pa (full time), depending on experience.