Finance and Administration Assistant

Birdlife International; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

BirdLife International is seeking a Finance and Administration Assistant in Cambridge, UK, to support its IBAT team. The successful candidate will handle finance administration, invoice processing, and legal contract management while contributing to efficient operations. Strong organizational skills and advanced Excel proficiency are required, along with a degree or equivalent experience. This role offers hybrid working and a competitive salary of £25,000 to £28,000 per annum, plus excellent benefits.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

25+ days holiday

LinkedIn Learning access

Cycle to work scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent or strong experience in a similar role.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Strong attention to detail and able to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Support the Finance administration of IBAT, focusing on invoicing and efficiency projects.
• Manage contracts between clients and BirdLife Legal.
• Assist with audits and provide necessary information.

Skills

Organizational Skills

Time Management

Attention to Detail

Communication Skills

Microsoft Excel

Education

Degree or Equivalent Experience

Tools

ERP Systems

Job description

Application deadline: Sunday 31 August2025– 23:59 BST
Location:Cambridge, UK (hybrid working, minimum one day per week in Cambridge plus one week per month)

Full-time: 35 hours per week
Contract:Open-ended

Salary:£25,000 to £28,000per annum depending on skills/experience, plus competitive 12% pension benefit
Annual Leave: 25 days pro rata in year 1, increasing by 1 day p/a to 28 days

We’re BirdLife International, the only global Partnership conserving birds and all life on our planet. We exist to give one voice to nature, and to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.

We are now looking foran organised and efficientFinance and Administration Assistant to provide support to the IBAT Business and Finance Team. TheIntegrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) isa platform integrating the world’s most authoritative biodiversity datasets.

In this role, you will be primarily supporting the Finance administration of IBAT, with particular focus on invoicing and supporting improved efficiency projects. You will also be involved in the legal contracting between BirdLife International's legal function and IBAT clients, to facilitate swift contracting.

What you will be doing:

Finance

• Work with the BirdLife finance team using our finance system to help with accurate and timely invoicing.
• Make sure supplier payments are processed smoothly – checking bank details, loading invoices, and ensuring they’re posted correctly.
• Support credit control activities to help reduce outstanding debts
• Use client portals to upload invoices and compliance documents, making sure everything is in place to avoid payment delays
• Supporting in wider report generationsuch asprofit & loss, aged debtors, income and variance analysis, cash flow, and treasury updates
• Support the finance team during audits by helping answer queries and providing the necessary info

Legal

• Manage the flow of contracts between clients and BirdLife Legal – from drafting and review to signatures and record-keeping.
• Handle ad hoc contracts, ensuring legal review is done and approval/sign-off is completed properly.

Admin & Ops Support

• Help produce and update internal documents, like policies, processes, and business continuity plans.
• Monitor the finance inbox and make sure queries are picked up and responded to quickly.
• Pitch in with general admin tasks like room bookings, diary management, event support, and off-site coordination.
• Help prepare reports and documents for governance meetings, and assist senior team members with meeting prep.
• Support project delivery through research, data entry, note-taking, scheduling, and coordination.
• Help onboard new team members by setting up inductions, booking rooms, arranging access, and basic training.

What we are looking for:

• A degree or equivalent, or strong experience in a similar role.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills – able to juggle multiple tasks and stay on top of deadlines
• Strong attention to detail and able to work independently with minimal supervision
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, especially in Excel, plus confidence with Word and PowerPoint
• Great communication skills – both written and verbal – with the ability to deal with complex information and build good working relationships
• Confident, diplomatic, and able to negotiate effectively
• Adaptable and culturally aware, open to learning and tackling new challenges
• A professional approach, with initiative, energy, creativity, and flexibility
• Strong general admin skills, including prioritising tasks and staying organised

Some nice to haves:

• Experience managing contract wording and negotiations to reach agreement quickly
• Experience with invoicing, finance admin, and reporting tasks, ideally within a project setting
• Experience working in a charity, NGO, or international organisation
• Familiarity with ERP systems
• Foreign language skills

See the full job description here.

Some of our benefits:

• We are able to offer a hybrid model of working on-site and from home/remote for most roles, which helps to ensure a flexible work-life balance.
• A chance to work in the award-winning David Attenborough Building, which brings together much of the Cambridge-based conservation community on a ‘conservation campus.’
• A generous pension scheme, up to 12% company contribution.
• Holiday starting at 25 days excluding Bank Holidays and increasing for every year of service up to a maximum of 28 days.
• Full access to LinkedIn Learning with access to more than 13,000 high-quality, on-demand courses.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme, including access to Health Assured online health portal (webinars, nutritional advice, 4-week programmes, financial wellbeing and more).

BirdLife values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Find out more about our Diversity statement.

We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture, a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We aim to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.

We will consider putting into place appropriate reasonable adjustments for candidates who may have a disability.

Please note: under the UK Government criteria this role will not be eligible for Visa Sponsorship, unless you meet the exception criteria detailed here: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/when-you-can-be-paid-less

Interviews:First stage interviews will be held on 9th September 2025 via Zoom or Teams. For those successful through the first stage,2nd interviews will be held on 12th September 2025.