Service Charge Accountant (Maternity Cover)

Galliard Homes Ltd.; Chigwell; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in property development is seeking a dedicated Service Charge Accountant to join their dynamic finance team. This full-time, office-based role involves managing service charge and rent accounts for a diverse portfolio of properties. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in ensuring accurate financial reporting and effective communication with leaseholders. With a commitment to employee well-being, the company offers a supportive environment and a range of benefits, including life assurance and professional development sponsorship. If you are proactive, organized, and passionate about finance, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Life Assurance

Critical Illness Insurance

Matching Contribution Pension Scheme

Discretionary Salary and Bonus Review

Employee Assistance Programme

Discounted Gym Memberships

Cycle to Work Scheme

Volunteering Opportunities

Sponsorship of Professional Qualifications

Qualifications

• Proven track record in an accounts function, ideally in service charge accounts.
• Experience with management accounts and preparing year-end financial statements.

Responsibilities

• Manage service charge and rent accounting for a portfolio of properties.
• Generate invoices and provide support to leaseholders regarding their accounts.
• Monitor budgets and provide insights into financial performance.

Skills

Accounts Experience

Problem-Solving Skills

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Time Management

Microsoft Excel

Understanding of Leasehold Properties

Education

AAT Qualification

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

Bluebox

Job description

Founded in 1992 and with over 250 employees, Galliard Homes is London’s largest privately owned property development and management group overseeing residential, hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial projects across London, the Home Counties, and the Midlands.

Galliard has a £4 billion portfolio of over 6,000 homes and 714,088 square feet of commercial developments under construction.

With an impressive portfolio of award-winning developments, we are proud to be considered as London’s leading property developer.

The Position

Fixed-Term Contract: This position is offered as a fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave. The expected duration is approximately 16 months, although this may vary depending on the successful candidate’s start date.

A Service Charge Accountant forms part of our in-house Property Management team, known as Galliard Estate Management (GEM). Working specifically within the GEM Finance team, the Service Charge Accountant will take ownership of the service charge, ground rent, and commercial rent accounting function for a portfolio of properties.

Please note that this is a full-time, office-based role. Standard working hours are Monday to Thursday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, and Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Accurately input property details to set up new sites on our property and service charge management system, Bluebox.
• Create new tenancies on Bluebox in line with completions and assignments.
• Generate and distribute service charge and rent invoices in accordance with lease agreements, ensuring timely and accurate billing.
• Provide professional and efficient support to leaseholders regarding their accounts, payments, and service charge statements, ensuring queries are resolved in a timely manner.
• Verify and process invoices related to service charge expenses, ensuring payments to contractors and suppliers are made in accordance with agreed terms.
• Monitor and review expenditure against budgets, identify and investigate variances, and post corrections where required.
• Meet monthly with Property Managers to provide insights into budget performance and highlight areas of overspend.
• Ensure bank transactions are accurately recorded and reconciled to maintain financial integrity and track service charge fund movements on a weekly basis.
• Process and allocate rent payments to property owners, ensuring compliance with lease agreements and financial accuracy on a monthly basis.
• Calculate and post prepayments and accruals to ensure service charge accounts reflect true financial positions at year-end.
• Preparing year-end accounts pack to trial balance and supporting schedules.
• Act as a key point of contact for external auditors and accountants, ensuring all required financial documentation is provided efficiently.
• Prepare and issue balancing charges and year-end reports to leaseholders.
• Support Property Managers to create and review draft service charge budgets.
• Compile and distribute new budget packs to leaseholders, ensuring leaseholders receive clear and transparent financial information.
• Advise and contribute to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by providing input into process improvements.
• Provide administrative and accounting support to the wider accounts team as required.

The Person

A Service Charge Accountant will have a proven track record of working within an accounts function, ideally in a service charge accounts role or similar. They will be a proactive and highly organised professional with strong problem-solving and communication skills.

A Service Charge Accountant will also meet the below criteria:

• Previous general accounts experience within sales and purchase ledger.
• Understanding of prepayments and accruals.
• Ability to scrutinise expense data and investigate anomalies.
• Excellent communication skills across face-to-face, telephone, and email interactions, with a professional approach.
• Proficient in basic Microsoft packages including Word and Outlook with the ability to learn new systems as needed.
• Intermediate or above skill level in Microsoft Excel, with the ability to use functions such as PIVOT and XLOOKUP.
• Exceptional administration skills, with strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent organisation, prioritisation, and time management skills in order to meet monthly and seasonal deadlines.
• Solid understanding of leasehold properties.
• Experience with management accounts and preparing year-end financial statements.
• AAT qualified or currently working towards AAT qualification.

The Benefits

As a family-owned business, we want everyone to feel at home from day one. In return for commitment, loyalty, and hard work, we offer benefits ranging from:

• Life assurance
• Critical illness insurance
• Matching contribution pension scheme
• Discretionary salary and bonus review
• Employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym memberships
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Volunteering opportunities
• Sponsorship of professional qualifications and accreditations