Finance Officer

About us

This exciting role is a full-time joint appointment (or possibly two part-time roles) to both The Royal Warrant Holders Association (“RWHA”) and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (“QEST”). You will have a contract of employment with each organisation.

The RWHA is a 183-year-old membership body with over 700 mainly UK companies, ranging from small artisan enterprises to multi-nationals, many of whom are household names. Working closely with the Royal Household, we help manage Royal Warrant applications and advise on their usage. We also support the management and review of Warrants. Company membership of the Association delivers a range of benefits, including social and networking events, together with business-focussed workshops and seminars.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust was formed in 1990 by the RWHA and is an independent charity supporting the training and education of talented and aspiring craftspeople. To date, it has awarded over £5.5 million to nearly 800 individuals in a broad range of traditional and contemporary craft disciplines.  QEST works in partnership with other organisations including the National Saturday Club to collaborate on developing Craft&Making Clubs across the UK for 13-16 year olds. 

QEST is based in the same building as the RWHA – a townhouse in Victoria, London SW1 - and shares key support services with it, such as finance.

Overview of the role

As part of two small, dynamic and flexible teams, there will be regular administrative roles to perform, such as processing invoices and handling our bank accounts. There will also be plenty of engagement with the outside world.

For the RWHA, for instance, you will often be the first port of call for companies with finance queries. You’ll experience regular exposure to an eclectic mix of member companies, big and small, many of them household brands, or family businesses.

And through your work with QEST, you’ll engage with craftspeople from a range of disciplines, supporting both QEST Scholars and tutors on funding queries.

Working with the Head of Finance of both organisations, key areas of responsibility will include:

• Managing incoming invoices and expenses through our approval and payment process
• Keeping check on our bank accounts and reconciling them with our own finance systems
• Setting up payments to suppliers and grants to craftspeople and others
• Raising invoices and liaising with suppliers and members to ensure they’re paid on time
• Producing monthly and ad-hoc financial reports

As with any small team, you will be asked to help with activities beyond your immediate responsibilities. These include attendance at some of our events, which offer opportunities to engage with members from across the UK. Examples are the Annual Luncheon and Banquet at prestigious venues in London, or it could be a small reception for young professionals, or supporting a sustainability workshop.

The role is based at our central London office, but we support agile working. We expect it to be office-based for four days per week whilst you familiarise yourself with our systems. This will also ensure the personal support you will need in the early months by working directly alongside our Head of Finance, and other colleagues.

What we are looking for in you

We are looking for somebody with excellent communication skills and a friendly approach to dealing with Warrant-holding members, and external partners. You will be a key contact point for many of our QEST Scholars, so you’ll need to be comfortable with talking them through our financial processes. We’re also looking for somebody with a pro-active, can-do attitude, with a keen eye for detail and accuracy.

A good knowledge of book-keeping and accounting is important. Ideally, you will also have proficiency with Microsoft Office software – and functions such as pivot tables and V-Look Up. Experience of working in a busy finance environment is also an advantage, together with experience of using finance software – we use Sage 50.

Although the role was previously full-time, we’d welcome applicants from those interested in working part-time, as we may be able to create a job-share role by matching two outstanding candidates.

Why join us?

We’re two small, enthusiastic, highly skilled teams working with a diverse and exciting range of external stakeholders. We can offer you a unique opportunity to develop your financial skills, whilst gaining exposure to many different companies, craftspeople and individuals.

We are also keen to support you. Although we welcome applications wherever you are in your accounting career, we recognise it may well suit those in the early part of that career. If you’re ambitious to progress your accounting career, we may well be able to help facilitate this.

The salary range is £30-£35k per annum, depending on experience (pro rata if part-time), together with a range of benefits. These include 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays.