Assistant Accountant

Michael Page International Recruitment Limited; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Career development opportunities

Professional development

Job summary

Michael Page International Recruitment Limited partners with a well-established housing organisation to recruit a Service Charge Officer within the finance team on an interim basis through February 2027. The successful candidate will own end-to-end service charge processes, budgets, reconciliations, and cost recoveries, with site visits and liaison with budget holders.

A strong analytical mindset, advanced Excel skills, and a customer-focused approach are essential to deliver accurate

Qualifications

• Experience within a service charge finance environment, ideally within housing, property management, or a regulated sector.
• Strong understanding of service charge budgeting, reconciliations, and cost recovery processes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to explain complex financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
• Experience working to strict deadlines within a finance function.
• Customer-focused with the ability to build positive working relationships across teams.
• Experience using financial and operational systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end service charge process, including annual budgets and year-end reconciliations.
• Produce and validate annual service charge statements and actual cost recoveries.
• Analyse service charge expenditure and investigate variances across schemes and estates.
• Review invoice coding and identify any mispostings or allocation issues.
• Prepare month-end accruals and prepayments.
• Liaise with budget holders and operational stakeholders regarding large expenditure variances.
• Support external audit requirements relating to service charge accounts.
• Maintain tenant account records and assist with year-end adjustments.
• Manage a portfolio of schemes and undertake site visits to support residents with service charge enquiries.
• Assist development and operational teams in setting service charges for new properties.
• Ensure compliance with relevant service charge legislation and industry best practice

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Excel

Communication

Team collaboration

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Financial systems software

Job description

We are partnering with a well-established housing organisation seeking a Service Charge Officer to join their finance team until Feburary 2027. This is an excellent opportunity for a service charge professional with strong analytical skills and a customer-focused approach.

Client Details

Our client is a well-established organisation within the housing sector, responsible for managing and maintaining a large residential property portfolio.

Description

The Assistant Accountant's duties will include but are not limited to:

• Manage the end-to-end service charge process, including annual budgets and year-end reconciliations.
• Produce and validate annual service charge statements and actual cost recoveries.
• Analyse service charge expenditure and investigate variances across schemes and estates.
• Review invoice coding and identify any mispostings or allocation issues.
• Prepare month-end accruals and prepayments.
• Liaise with budget holders and operational stakeholders regarding large expenditure variances.
• Support external audit requirements relating to service charge accounts.
• Maintain tenant account records and assist with year-end adjustments.
• Manage a portfolio of schemes and undertake site visits to support residents with service charge enquiries.
• Assist development and operational teams in setting service charges for new properties.
• Ensure compliance with relevant service charge legislation and industry best practice

Profile

• Experience within a service charge finance environment, ideally within housing, property management, or a regulated sector.
• Strong understanding of service charge budgeting, reconciliations, and cost recovery processes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to explain complex financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
• Experience working to strict deadlines within a finance function.
• Customer-focused with the ability to build positive working relationships across teams.
• Experience using financial and operational systems.

Job Offer

• Competitive salary up to £33,000 (doe)
• Flexible hybrid working arrangement, with one or two days in the office.
• Opportunity to join a collaborative and customer-focused finance team.
• Varied role with exposure across finance, operations, and resident engagement.
• Professional development and career progression opportunities.