Financial Accountant -Temporary (up to 6 months)

RNLI; Poole; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

26 days annual leave + bank holidays

Competitive pension

Life assurance

Health and dental cashplan

Job summary

RNLI is seeking a Financial Accountant for up to 6 months in Poole, hybrid working between home and the Poole support centre with at least 2 days in the office. You will support year-end activities, deliver statutory reporting, and liaise with auditors as part of the Financial Reporting team.

The role requires substantial post-qualification experience or equivalent and strong Excel skills; charity sector experience is desirable. This temporary position closes 7 Oct 2026.

Qualifications

• Post-qualified experience or equivalent.
• Experience in statutory and management accounts.
• Charity sector experience desirable.
• Advanced Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Deliver year end and statutory reporting.
• Prepare management accounts and work papers.
• Coordinate audit deliverables with external auditors.

Skills

Post-qual. experience

Excel skills

Charity experience

Education

Professional accounting qualification

Job description

Financial Accountant - Temporary (up to 6 months)

Salary: £50,544 to £59,464 (dependent on experience)

Contract type: Temporary, Fixed-Term Contract or Secondment

Hours: Full-Time

Location: Poole, Dorset, England

Location description: This is a hybrid role between home and Poole support centre with a minimum of 2 days per week working in the office

Closing Date: 07-10-2026

Reference: 22034

About us

We are the RNLI: the charity that saves lives at sea. Every day of every year, people of all backgrounds get into danger in the water. It’s a problem that we’re here to tackle. We are known as a lifeboat service famous for heroic acts of courage but we’re more than a rescue organisation. We influence, supervise and educate people too. Increasingly, we are helping people to stay safe on the water, and we’re working with overseas partners as well - to reduce drowning internationally.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Financial Accountant to join us for up to 6 months to support with our year end and audit activities.

Some of the benefits

• £50,544 to £59,464 (dependent on experience)
• Flexible working
• 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Competitive pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Health and dental cashplan option

Your role

An opportunity has arisen for a Financial Accountant to join the Financial Reporting team of the RNLI.

Reporting to the Financial Reporting Manager, this Financial Accountant role will work closely with the Financial Reporting team, particularly the Financial Reporting Manager and Financial Accountant, with the main focus being the delivery of the year end.

This role will predominately support the Financial Reporting team with the year end close process and associated tasks, preparation of accurate statutory reporting and work papers, audit deliverables management and assist with queries from external auditors.

About you

You should hold a recognised accountancy qualification or be working towards a qualification. You should also have:

• Substantial post qualified experience or equivalent
• Strong experience in preparation of statutory and management accounts
• Charity experience desirable
• Strong Excel skills

The successful candidate will be an organised team-player with good attention to detail and the ability to consistently provide a high standard of work within deadlines. You will need to have the flexibility to work both independently and as part of a team and have strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Safeguarding and referencing

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include reference checks at offer stage and relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One