Role internally known as Finance Manager (Research)

The Royal Institute of International Affairs is an independent policy institute based in London. Our mission is to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world through improvement in international relations.

After years of rapid growth, we need to consolidate and simplify our internal organisation and take a clear, strategic look at our priorities and the balance between costs and income (which includes donations, grants and memberships) and modernise our financial systems and business process.

To support this, we are looking for Finance Business Partners who will act as valuable partners to our research teams and collaborate closely with the central finance team. In this position, you will be part of a research centre, collaborating with budget holders and research leads to provide an effective and efficient finance service.

Principal Responsibilities

Reports to: Assistant Director of a research centre with a dotted line to the Research Finance Manager. The Finance Business Partner will attend regular finance meetings and work closely with both research and finance teams.

Delivery

• Produce regular quarterly forecasts and the annual budget for the research centre.
• Support a research centre in the costing of projects, ensuring that profitability is accurately reported and monitored.
• Oversee the financial management of research projects and monitor actual project spending and income against budget and forecast, identifying and addressing variances.
• Provide insightful variance analysis where actual results do not align with expected budgets and forecasts.
• Work closely with the Finance team on production of management accounts.
• Support Finance with financial accruals and income recognition for management accounts.
• Support and input into the preparation of the annual statutory accounts by taking responsibility for producing certain disclosures and analyses.
• Oversee the auditing processes for centre related funding, as well as the specific auditing processes for individual projects.
• Ensure project reporting and the due diligence procedures are in line with funding requirements.
• Support the Assistant Director and research centre leads in analysing and interpreting their budgets and income.
• Continually seek to improve processes and procedures to support more effective budgeting and financial management.
• Develop and monitor strong financial controls across all processes.
• Support ‘Project Eagle’ to improve financial ways of working and implement a new finance system.
• Oversee the accurate and timely submission of financial reporting on large projects, especially where there are more complex reporting requirements. Ensure this project accounting feeds into management accounts, reforecast and year end.
• Collaborate with the Contracts Manager and Research Partnerships team to ensure best contract terms and the legal and financial elements are complied with.
• Ensure all reporting and invoicing to funders are in line with contractual terms.
• Actively contribute to the delivery of the Chatham House EDI strategy.

People

• Act as a key Business Partner to the research colleagues including budget holders. This involves assisting them in analysing and interpreting their numbers, advising on financial reporting, producing accurate forecasts and budgets and responding to ad-hoc queries.
• Build and maintain relations with key partners and work collaboratively with colleagues across the Institute.

Person Specification 

Essential Skills and Experience

• ACA/CA/ACCA/CIMA qualified accountant.
• Experience of acting as a business partner, financial project management and setting budgets and forecasts.
• Experience of working in the charity / not-for-profit sector (advantageous).
• Ability to present financial information in a clear, concise, and accessible way for diverse audiences.
• Work with accuracy and consistency to maintain high standards.
• Able to balance multiple deadlines and tight deadlines.
• A proactive, self-motivating approach to work, with a collegiate, collaborative, and consistent approach.
• Able to work autonomously, accurately and continuously maintain high standards.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with an ability to build relationships at all levels. You will be an effective business partner, demonstrating a commercial outlook, an inquisitive nature, as well as integrity and trust.
• Knowledge of different funders, philanthropic foundations, government departments, international organisations, businesses and NGOs.

Benefits 

Benefits include approximately 37 days annual leave (including public holidays and Chatham House closure days), pension salary exchange, employee assistance programme, parental leave, flexible working and other benefits designed to suit your lifestyle. All of this, in a professional, engaging and intellectually stimulating environment.

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000 per year. (Dependent on experience)

Contract: Full-time, 2-year fixed-term contract.

Location: Hybrid (Office/Home), minimum 2 days in the office per week.

Closing Date: We are eager to fill this role and will be reviewing applications and interviewing candidates on a rolling basis. Early applications are strongly encouraged, as the advert may be closed once suitable candidates have been identified.

The Job Description as outlined above will not be available once the closing date has passed. Please ensure you keep a copy for your own record.