Finance Director

The South Westminster Alliance is partnering exclusively with Robertson Bell to recruit a Finance Director on a permanent, full-time basis. The South Westminster Alliance is a collection of the Northbank, Victoria, Victoria Westminster and Whitehall Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) all of which are private, not-for-profit organisations funded by their respective local business communities via a ‘BID Levy’ mechanism and tasked with delivering a range of projects and services to improve the trading environment. Each BID must pass through a successful ballot of its business members to be established and thereafter renewal ballots typically every 5 years.

The Finance Director role is currently outsourced but with this opportunity we will be bringing that function back in-house as the Alliance is now seeking a hardworking and versatile Finance Director who will be responsible for maintaining all the financial systems – budgeting, accounting, book-keeping, payroll, auditing, reporting & internal control, company secretarial work and compliance for all four BIDs.

The key responsibilities will be:

• Working with members of the executive team to prepare the budgets for each BID’s five-year Business Plan based on consultation feedback from members and direction from BID Boards – apportioning budget to the project/service areas accordingly.
• Preparing detailed annual budgets for each BID’s operations and service delivery using the five-year Business Plan as guidance.
• Designing and monitoring the budget sheets for each BID’s service delivery and overhead costs.
• Liaising with colleagues to ensure the budget sheets are current and regularly updating the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive on financial performance.
• Preparing annual accounts detailing project/service spend to be published in public annual reports. 
• Overseeing the work of the Accounts Assistant, providing support and training where necessary.
• Preparing and submitting quarterly VAT returns.
• Processing monthly payroll using, complying with auto-enrolment procedures for staff pension and keeping staff records up to date.
• Overseeing a purchase order system and ensuring proper approval procedures are being followed by staff.
• Reconciling BID Levy payments and following up outstanding amounts.
• Arranging and overseeing an annual external audit for each of the four BIDs and report findings back to the Chief Executive & Board.
• Preparing quarterly management accounts with commentary for the BID Board meetings.
• Preparing ad hoc reports for funding applications, steering group meetings, levy income, ballot process, etc.
• Company secretarial duties

The organisation:

The combined budget for the South Westminster Alliance BIDs is approximately £6m per annum, equating to £29m across their five-year terms. The BIDs operate as companies limited by guarantee, were established under the Business Improvement District Regulations (England) 2004 and are overseen by non-executive Boards comprising members of the local business community. Each BID has its own priorities and deliverables which are set out in publicly available five-year Business Plans. Deliverables are spread across five core themes: Public Realm & Environment; Community Safety & Business Resilience; Corporate Community Engagement; Marketed & Promoted; and Strategic Vision.

The South Westminster Alliance is one of the largest and most prominent group of BIDs in the country, led by Chief Executive Ruth Duston OBE who has worked in the urban regeneration industry for over 25 years.

Essential requirements:

• Qualified chartered accountant with at least ten years’ experience in a management accounting role and external audit work.
• Extensive experience of using bookkeeping and payroll software packages (ideally Xero and BrightPay respectively) and Excel.
• Specialised knowledge of accounting practices within the Business Improvement District sector is preferable but not essential.
• Accurate financial reporting skills and the ability to present financial information at Board level.
• Experience of setting up the financial infrastructure needed for a new company (bank accounts, VAT, payroll, pension schemes etc.).
• Experience of aligning an organisation’s finances to its strategic aims and objectives.
• Able to work collaboratively with colleagues and manage others.
• Highly organised, able to manage their time and workload in order to meet strict deadlines.

Victoria BID’s head office is based near Green Park tube station and candidates will have the offer of 1-2 days per week working from home.

The closing date for applications is 22^nd May 2022. Applications will be under constant review before the closing date so please submit your application to our retained search agent Robertson Bell. Apply now to be considered!