Assistant Production Accountant FTC - Strictly Come Dancing

BBC; London; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

BBC Studios is seeking an Assistant Production Accountant for a 6-month FTC role supporting 'Strictly Come Dancing'. The successful candidate will manage financial controls, prepare cost reports, and ensure compliance with BBC guidelines. This hybrid position offers a competitive salary and opportunities for career progression.

Benefits

Flexible 35-hour working week

26 days holiday plus additional Corporation Day

Parental leave with 18 weeks fully paid

Defined contribution pension scheme

Access to courses and workshops

Qualifications

• Vocational training/experience within financial or accountancy field.
• Understanding of basic accounting principles and compliance requirements.
• Able to present finance information clearly to finance and non-finance people.

Responsibilities

• Support the Production Accountant in managing financial control of productions.
• Record transactions in the production's books and assist in preparing cost reports.
• Maintain a purchase order log and monitor the use of manual purchase orders.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving skills

Communication

Computer literacy

Education

Vocational training/experience in finance or accountancy

Working towards a recognized accounting qualification (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

PACKAGE DESCRIPTION

Job Reference: 23838
Band: B
Contract type: 6 month FTC
Salary: £25,000 - £30,000 plus £5319 London Weighting depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.
Location: Office Base is London Television Centre, with regular visits required to Elstree Studios, Borehamwood. This is a hybrid role and the successful candidate will balance office working with home working

ABOUT BBC STUDIOS

BBC Studios is a world-renowned content studio and channels & streaming business, powered by British creativity, with a reach that touches audiences in every corner of the globe.

We work with outstanding creative talent who are responsible for platform-defining shows from Strictly Come Dancing to Eastenders, Prehistoric Planet to Planet Earth III.

The range and quality of our content is unsurpassed, creating critical and commercial successes and global phenomena.

From BAFTAs to RTS Awards, BBC Studios is Britain's most awarded production company and the only producer with three of the top ten shows on IMDB; we're the home of bbc.com, the widest-read English language news website in the world; and the UK's largest distributor of British content.

THE ROLE

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Production Accountant to join the team on a 6 month FTC, to support Strictly Come Dancing.

This role is part of a team of Production Accountants and Assistant Production Accountants who, although being part of a wider finance community, are embedded within production departments, working closely with the Production Management teams. The purpose of this role is to:

•Support the Production Accountant in managing the financial control of a production/ slate of productions
•Work with the Production Accountant and Production Accounting Manager to ensure the delivery of timely and accurate financial information to support effective cost management of productions

Key Responsibilities:

General Accounting:

• To record transactions in the production's books of prime entry and general ledger
• To assist in the preparation of weekly cost reports based on the costs recorded in the BBC's main accounting system
• To establish and review production records in order to assist with the overall cost control of the production

Purchasing:

• To maintain a purchase order log and monitor the use of manual purchase orders
• To ensure all transactions are entered accurately in the appropriate accounting system
• To resolve any instances of incorrect charges or disputes and to liaise with external and BBC suppliers
• To understand BBC Procurement guidelines and ensure these guidelines are adhered to on the production
• Liaise with Procurement to progress out of scope purchasing
• To provide administrative support with the booking and payment of freelance crews
• To be responsible for processing expense claims and subsequent coding into the relevant system
• To be responsible for the Supporting Artist and Walk-ons payment process

Bank and Cash:

• Where relevant to assist in the operation of the production bank account(s) including the disbursement of cash to cover agreed expenditure
• To prepare weekly finance and expenditure reports and produce petty cash and bank reconciliations
• To assist with the management and control of production Barclaycards
• To assist as necessary in the preparation of Section 16 Reports

Controls and Compliance:

• To monitor and check that costs are appropriately authorised and to ensure that they are completely and accurately recorded in line with the BBC Guidelines
• To obtain and retain appropriate supporting documentation of all production transactions and ensure audit trails are maintained
• To maintain the Production Asset Register in line with BBC Policy

General Activities:

• To perform general duties within the genre/ production area as necessary and to deputise for the Production Accountant as required
• Facilitate collaboration between team members through information sharing, collaborating on decision-making and taking mutual responsibility for the work of the team
• Facilitate self-development by identifying own skill development needs and future career opportunities with the support of the Production Accounting team

WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Vocational training/experience within financial or accountancy field.
• Understanding of basic accounting principles, practice, controls and compliance requirements.
• Able to present and communicate finance information in a clear and concise written and verbal format to finance and non-finance people.
• Numerate with analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Computer literacy in key computer packages such as Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA:

• Experience in working in a production environment within a media organisation
• Working towards recognised accounting qualification e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent

LIFE AT BBC STUDIOS

We don't focus simply on what we do - we also care how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are important to us. Please make sure you've read about our values and behaviours here .

The BBC is committed to building a culturally diverse workforce, that represents the audiences we serve, and encourages applications from candidates from any background, especially people from diverse communities. Equity of opportunity is important to us, and we endeavour to make our processes equal, fair and meritocratic for everybody. More information on our D&I plan can be found here.

BBC Studios puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do both onscreen and offscreen, including delivering against the BBC Group's science-based Net Zero targets. More information on sustainability at BBC Studios can be found here.

We are proud to share that we are a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer and if you require any reasonable adjustments in order to apply please contact us on [e-mail].

WHAT WILL YOU GAIN FROM WORKING AT BBC STUDIOS?

• Flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance
• 26 days holiday (plus an additional day which is a Corporation Day) with the option to buy an extra 5 days
• Parental leave for new parents, regardless of gender, of up to a year with 18 weeks fully paid
• A defined contribution pension scheme with employer contributions up to 10%; and life assurance (at 4 times annual salary), eligibility for discounted dental, health care, gym and much more through salary sacrifice
• Excellent career progression - access to courses, webinars, workshops and the opportunity to work in different areas of the organisation

NEXT STEPS

We appreciate your interest in this position and understand how important this opportunity is to you. Due to the high volume of interest we may need to close the application period earlier than anticipated. This step is necessary to ensure we can provide a high level of attention and service to all applicants. Thank you for your understanding.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.