Finance Manager

Irish Foster Care Association; South Dublin; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Irish Foster Care Association seeks a Finance Manager to lead the organisation's financial operations, ensuring accurate records, robust controls, and timely reporting to the CEO and Board.

The role combines management accounting, budgeting, and day-to-day bookkeeping, with responsibility for grants, financial planning, audit preparation, and compliance within the Irish charity sector.

Qualifications

• Recognised professional accountancy qualification or progress towards qualification.
• Minimum three years in finance, accounting or financial management.
• Experience in charity/not-for-profit sector preferred.

Responsibilities

• Prepare accurate monthly management accounts and analysis.
• Develop budgets, forecasts and variance analysis.
• Manage grants and restricted funding with reporting to funders.
• Coordinate annual audit and support external auditors.
• Maintain internal financial controls and accounting records.
• Oversee day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll input and supplier payments.
• Provide financial information to CEO, SMT and Board.

Skills

Bookkeeping

Management accounting

Budgeting

Forecasting

Financial reporting

Cash flow management

Payroll processing

Internal controls

Stakeholder communication

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent

Part-qualified accountant (experience)

Tools

Excel

Job description

ROLE PROFILE

The Finance Manager is a new role in IFCA and will be responsible for the effective day-to-day management of the organisation's finances, ensuring accurate financial records, robust financial controls, timely reporting and effective management of organisational and restricted funding.

This is a hands-on role combining financial management, management accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities. The Finance Manager will manage the full finance cycle, from processing day-to-day transactions and reconciliations through to preparation of management accounts, budgets, forecasts and reports for the CEO and Board.

The role will support the CEO and National Leadership Team in ensuring that the organisation's financial resources are appropriately managed, monitored and reported.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following:

Financial Management and Reporting

• Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts.
• Provide clear analysis of income and expenditure against budget.
• Prepare regular reports showing funding received, expenditure against individual funding streams and remaining balances.
• Monitor organisational financial performance and highlight significant variances, risks or emerging issues to the CEO.
• Prepare cash-flow forecasts and monitor the organisation's cash position.
• Support the CEO in preparing annual organisational budgets and financial forecasts.
• Maintain appropriate cost centres and funding codes to enable accurate allocation of expenditure.
• Prepare financial information and reports for the CEO, Senior Management Team, Board and relevant Board committees.
• Provide financial analysis to support organisational planning and decision-making.

Day-to-Day Finance and Transaction Processing

The Finance Manager will have direct responsibility for oversight of the organisation's bookkeeping function, including:

• Maintaining accurate and complete accounting records.
• Processing purchase invoices, supplier payments and maintaining the purchase ledger.
• Raising sales invoices, processing receipts and maintaining the sales ledger.
• Reviewing and reconciling debtors and creditors balances.
• Recording income and expenditure accurately against appropriate nominal codes, cost centres and funding streams.
• Posting bank transactions and completing regular bank reconciliations.
• Reconciling and processing credit card transactions and staff expenses.
• Maintaining the general ledger, and processing journals, accruals and prepayments.
• Maintaining appropriate supporting documentation for all financial transactions.
• Managing petty cash where applicable.
• Input of employee payroll data and processing of the payroll file.
• Accounting for payroll deductions and employer payroll costs.
• Ensuring financial records are maintained accurately and are readily available for audit and reporting purposes.

Funding and Grant Management

• Maintain detailed financial records for all grants, contracts and restricted funding.
• Monitor expenditure against approved funding streams and ensure it is appropriately allocated.
• Prepare financial returns and expenditure reports for funders.
• Maintain a schedule of funding received, expenditure incurred, commitments and balances remaining.
• Work with managers to ensure expenditure remains within approved budgets.
• Support the preparation of funding applications by providing budgets and other financial information.
• Ensure compliance with the financial conditions attached to grants and funding agreements.

Budgeting and Financial Planning

• Coordinate the annual budgeting process in conjunction with the CEO and relevant managers.
• Support managers in developing and managing departmental and programme budgets.
• Monitor actual performance against budget throughout the year and prepare revised forecasts where required.
• Identify potential financial pressures, underspends and funding risks at an early stage.
• Support longer-term financial planning and sustainability.

Audit, Governance and Financial Controls

• Coordinate the annual audit and act as the primary day-to-day contact for external auditors.
• Prepare schedules, reconciliations and supporting documentation required for the audit.
• Support the preparation of annual financial statements.
• Maintain and continuously improve appropriate internal financial controls.
• Ensure appropriate segregation of duties, authorisation and financial approval processes.
• Maintain finance policies and procedures and recommend improvements where appropriate.
• Support the CEO and Board in meeting their financial governance responsibilities.
• Ensure financial documentation and records are retained in accordance with organisational and statutory requirements.

Systems and Process Improvement

• Maintain the organisation's accounting and financial management systems.
• Ensure effective use of accounting software and Microsoft Excel.
• Review finance processes regularly and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, accuracy and financial control.
• Develop clear, accessible financial reports for managers who may not have a finance background.
• Support improvements in financial data, reporting and organisational systems.

General

• Work collaboratively with the CEO, management team and colleagues across the organisation.
• Provide financial guidance and support to budget holders.
• Liaise professionally with funders, auditors, suppliers, banks and other external stakeholders.
• Maintain strict confidentiality in relation to financial, payroll and organisational information.
• Undertake other finance-related duties appropriate to the role as required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Qualifications and Experience

Candidates must hold:

• A recognised professional accountancy qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent; or
• Be a suitably experienced part-qualified accountant actively progressing towards a recognised professional accountancy qualification, where the organisation determines that the candidate has sufficient experience to undertake the full responsibilities of the role.

Candidates must have:

• A minimum of three years' relevant experience in a similar finance, accounting or financial management role.
• Demonstrable experience of hands-on bookkeeping and maintaining accounting records.
• Experience preparing management accounts.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
• Experience of bank reconciliations, general ledger management, accruals and prepayments.
• Experience preparing financial reports for senior management.
• Experience working with accounting software and a high level of competence in Microsoft Excel.
• Experience supporting year-end accounts and external audit processes.
• Experience working within a charity, not-for-profit, membership or publicly funded organisation.
• Experience managing multiple grants or restricted funding streams.
• Experience preparing financial reports and returns for statutory or public-sector funders.
• Knowledge of financial governance requirements within the Irish charity and not-for-profit sector.
• Experience of payroll administration.
• Experience presenting financial information to a Board or Finance Committee.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong technical accounting and bookkeeping skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to translate financial information into clear and accessible reports.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and priorities.
• Sound judgement and a strong understanding of financial controls.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of the finance function.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including working constructively with colleagues who do not have a financial background.
• High standards of integrity, discretion and confidentiality.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach to financial management.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal: Chief Executive Officer, National Lead for Corporate Services, National Leadership Team, budget holders, staff and the Board / Finance Committee.

External: External auditors, funders, Revenue, banks, payroll providers, suppliers and other relevant professional advisers.

IFCA is an equal opportunities employer.