Finance Assistant

REDRESS is recruiting a Finance Assistant to support the financial operations of the charity. We are looking for a highly motivated junior professional who will enjoy working in a busy human rights NGO with colleagues from all over the world.

REDRESS has a diverse team from different places, different backgrounds, and with different experiences. We welcome applications from people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, and disabled people, and those with lived experience of torture or ill-treatment, who are currently under-represented. Under our Equality Policy we will use positive action under the UK Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified. We are also trying to recruit globally where UK immigration law permits it.

Who we are

REDRESS is an international human rights organisation based in London and The Hague that pursues legal claims on behalf of survivors of torture in the UK and around the world to obtain justice and reparation for violations against their human rights. We empower survivors to access justice through human rights cases against governments, civil cases against individuals, and cases where we advocate for law enforcement bodies to prosecute perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Our approach is strategic, so that as well as representing an individual we target the policy reasons that enabled the torture to take place, by building a campaign that uses advocacy, community engagement, and communications to influence change.

Our 2025 Strategy identifies torture related to dissent and discriminatory torture as our two thematic priorities. We also support the anti-torture movement through our solidarity programme.

REDRESS has undertaken a process of growth and modernization over the last few years. You can find information about the organization in the latest Trustees Annual Report. We currently have good reserves of nearly six months running costs, and a diverse funding base. We have grown to about 30 staff, and plan to remain at a similar size while we consolidate. We have upgraded our procedures and policies, and we are developing new commitments to improve staff development, further enhance our diversity, build our survivor-centred approach, and ensure people with lived experience are part of REDRESS.

The Team

The finance team provides operational support for the activities of REDRESS, including management of project related finance, and the core finances of the charity.

Position Profile

REDRESS is recruiting a Finance Assistant to support our finance operations.

The Role

Based in London, the Finance Assistant will work primarily on maintaining the financial records of projects. You will work with the finance team, project staff and international partners on ensuring the finances of the project meet with Redress and donor financial requirements. You will also support the general financial administration of REDRESS.

Responsibilities

The position will contribute to the work of REDRESS as follows:

Day-to-day book-keeping using QuickBooks Online, including transaction processing and reconciliation of accounts.
Process expenses claims and expenditure requests.
Respond to payment requests using national and international bank transfers as appropriate.
Assist in the preparation of interim and final multi-currency financial reports to funders.
Support and monitor international partner organizations by reviewing their reporting and checking transactions.
Provide regular insight into project fund balances.
Maintain cashflow management controls.
Assist the Head of Finance in preparing the statutory accounts.

The position is also expected to carry out such further duties as may reasonably be required from time to time by REDRESS.

Personal Specification

This is an entry level position, and so we will consider candidates at the beginning of their career, with some relevant experience. The ideal candidate will have the following skills.

Essential Competencies

The successful candidate will need to have the following competencies:

A university degree relevant to the role or a qualification in finance or at least two years’ relevant experience.
Relevant experience such as internships, volunteer roles, work experience, educational work placements, or other practical experience.
Demonstrated experience working with an accounting database.
Fluency in written and oral English.

Desirable Competencies

A strong candidate will also have other desirable competencies:

At least two years relevant work experience.
A qualification in accounting or finance.
Demonstrated proficiency in Excel and accounting database programmes.
Fluency in a language other than English, in particular French, Arabic or Spanish.

Personal Attributes

To work for Redress, the candidate should have the following personal attributes:

Happy to work collaboratively as part of a small and energetic team with a wide range of personalities.
Highly efficient and organised, with an ability to multi-task, show initiative, solve problems, and take a hands-on role when necessary.
Able to think and work strategically, creatively, and under pressure.
Able to understand and support the aims, objectives and values of REDRESS and reflect them in all aspects of work.
Able to work with victims of human rights abuse with a range of specific needs.

Terms

Reporting. The position is part of the Finance team, and will report to the Head of Finance, Sheilagh Cardosa.

Hours. This is a full-time position at 35 hours a week. Evening and weekend work may be required from time to time. REDRESS will consider a part-time role for this position.

Location. The position is based at the REDRESS office in London.

Flexible Working. REDRESS is an “in-person” organisation and we value team work. We have a flexible working policy for those with child-care responsibilities which allows them to adjust their working hours. We also allow for working from home – at the moment this policy requires staff to be in the in the office at least two days a week.

Salary. REDRESS has fixed salary scales, with annual cost of living increases, and the possibility of step increases with strong performance. This is an entry level ‘assistant’ position, and the salary is at A1 or A2 on our salary scales, depending on experience, which is £27,182 or £29,220 a year.

Duration. The contract is for a fixed-term of 12 months, but is expected to be extended, subject to funding.

Start date. The position would ideally start in October 2022.

Probation. There is a six-month probationary period.

Pension. REDRESS offers a pension contribution of 10% of salary.

Holiday. There are 25 days of holiday per year, in addition to UK public holidays. The office is also closed between Christmas and New Year.

Status. The candidate must have the right to live and work in the UK. Unfortunately we cannot sponsor a UK immigration process for this role.

Interview process. We expect to do two rounds of interviews. We may ask candidates to make a short presentation as part of the process, but will provide information on that nearer the time.

First round Interviews will take place on Wednesday 14 September and will be on-line.
Final round interview will take place on Wednesday 21 September and will be in-person at our office in London.

How to Apply

Please upload to our recruitment portal:

A cover letter of no more than one page explaining (a) why you would like to work for REDRESS, (b) how you fulfil the personal specification for the role, and (c) how you will contribute to the diversity of REDRESS. So that we can find you, please name this document using: [family name] [personal name] Cover letter
Your CV or resume. Please name this document using: [family name] [personal name] Curriculum Vitae

Please also complete the anonymous Diversity Monitoring Form. We use the information from the form to tell us about the diversity of the applicant pool for each of the positions that we advertise. We keep the conclusions of the analysis for our records, and the underlying data is destroyed three months after the recruitment closes.

Deadline: Wednesday 7 September