Senior Finance Coordinator

Location: Home-based in the UK.

Salary: £32,000 - £34,000 per annum, depending on experience

Contract: Permanent, full-time or 0.8 FTE

Working pattern: We offer a fully flexible working environment

Annual leave: 25 days of annual leave per annum, plus 3 additional days over Christmas

Additional Benefits: Comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

The role

We are looking for an experienced and organised Senior Finance Coordinator to join the Common Purpose Finance team.

This is a role for someone with a strong foundation in accounting and finance administration, excellent attention to detail and the ability to manage a varied workload with accuracy and consistency. You will play an important part in ensuring that our financial records are complete, accurate and up to date, supporting the smooth running of finance operations across the group.

Working closely with the Finance team and colleagues across different business units, you will take responsibility for a range of day-to-day financial activities, including sales invoicing, accounts receivable, payment processing, reconciliations and financial administration. You will help ensure that financial transactions are recorded correctly and that entries are maintained through to trial balance level across the group of companies.

The role involves both regular financial processes and responding to changing operational needs. You might spend one day preparing sales invoices, following up overdue payments and processing staff expenses, and the next supporting month-end reconciliations, preparing information for VAT returns or responding to audit queries. You will also help monitor cash flow, coordinate foreign currency purchases and support colleagues with finance-related questions.

You will need to be comfortable working with financial information, applying fundamental accounting principles and using financial systems and Excel to maintain accurate records. Equally important will be your ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues across different functions and countries, communicate clearly and ensure that queries and requests are followed through.

We are looking for someone who can take ownership of their responsibilities, anticipate what needs attention and manage competing deadlines without compromising accuracy. You will be expected to use your judgement and initiative to identify issues, work through problems and find practical solutions. This means being able to think logically, remain calm under pressure and take a considered, solution-focused approach when dealing with unexpected challenges or competing demands. You will be a dependable member of the Finance team, helping ensure that financial processes are completed efficiently and that colleagues across Common Purpose have the financial support and information they need.

This is not simply a finance administration role. It is about taking responsibility for important financial processes, maintaining the accuracy and integrity of our financial records and contributing to the effective financial management of the organisation.

Financial operations and accounts receivable

• Invoice processing – preparing and issuing sales invoices accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring that the relevant information and project details are recorded correctly.
• Accounts receivable and debt collection – monitoring outstanding invoices, following up overdue payments and taking appropriate action to support the timely collection of debts.
• Participant payments – coordinating and processing participant payments, particularly during programme delivery, ensuring payments are handled accurately and within required timeframes.
• Proforma payments – processing proforma payments and ensuring the necessary information and supporting documentation are maintained.
• Foreign currency purchases – coordinating foreign currency purchases to support the organisation's operational and financial requirements.

Financial administration and monthly processes

• Staff expenses – reviewing and processing staff expenses on a fortnightly basis, ensuring claims are accurate and comply with relevant procedures.
• TravelPerk invoice processing – managing the monthly processing of TravelPerk invoices and ensuring transactions are recorded accurately.
• Project code management – maintaining the project code sheet and ensuring relevant financial information is kept up to date.
• Business unit support – supporting business units with financial trackers and related information, ensuring records are maintained accurately and consistently.
• Finance inbox management – monitoring the Finance inbox and responding to or coordinating internal and external finance queries, ensuring requests are dealt with promptly and followed through.
• Financial administration – providing wider finance administration support and helping maintain efficient and consistent financial processes across the organisation.

Financial controls, reporting and reconciliations

• Month-end reconciliations – completing assigned month-end reconciliations, investigating discrepancies and ensuring financial records are accurate and up to date.
• General ledger accuracy – applying fundamental accounting principles to ensure financial transactions are correctly recorded, organised and maintained through to trial balance level across the group of companies.
• Cash flow monitoring – supporting the monitoring of cash flow and maintaining visibility of relevant financial information to assist the Finance team with cash management.
• VAT returns – supporting the preparation of the UK Group VAT return on a quarterly basis, ensuring the relevant information is accurate and available within required deadlines.

Audit and compliance support

• Year-end audit support – supporting the Finance team during the annual audit process, gathering financial information and documentation and responding promptly to audit queries.
• Ledger accuracy and audit preparation – assisting with checks and reconciliations to support the accuracy and completeness of financial ledgers ahead of and during the audit process.
• Audit queries and follow-up – coordinating responses to requests from auditors and colleagues, ensuring queries are addressed accurately and within agreed deadlines.

What you’ll bring

We are looking for someone with a solid grounding in accounting and finance administration who can combine strong technical and numerical skills with excellent organisation and attention to detail. You will be confident managing recurring financial processes, working with financial systems and supporting colleagues across the organisation.

You will bring:

• Problem-solving and initiative – you are a logical and solutions-focused thinker who uses sound judgement and takes initiative to resolve issues. You are comfortable working under pressure, assessing situations, identifying practical solutions and knowing when to escalate matters.
• Finance and accounting experience – experience working in a finance or accounts role, with a good understanding of fundamental accounting principles and financial processes.
• Accounts receivable experience – experience raising sales invoices, monitoring outstanding balances and following up overdue payments.
• Financial processing and administration – experience managing a range of financial transactions and administrative processes accurately and efficiently with the ability to identify discrepancies and investigate issues.
• Reconciliation skills – an understanding of financial reconciliations and the importance of maintaining accurate and complete financial records.
• Strong Excel skills – confidence using Excel to maintain financial trackers, organise information and work with data. You will also be comfortable using Outlook, Word and other Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail – the ability to manage financial information carefully, maintain accurate records and ensure tasks are completed thoroughly.
• Ownership and follow-through – the ability to take responsibility for assigned tasks, monitor outstanding actions and ensure queries and processes are followed through to completion.
• Relationship-building skills – the ability to establish effective working relationships with colleagues across different functions, business units and cultures, and to provide clear and helpful support.
• Prioritisation and adaptability – the ability to manage a high workload, multiple tasks and competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment, while maintaining accuracy and quality.

All applicants must also

• Be comfortable working independently and also as part of a collaborative, geographically dispersed team.
• Have a sound understanding of basic accounting principles and financial administration.
• Have strong numerical, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Be confident using Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and comfortable learning and using digital finance systems.
• Have excellent organisational skills and a high level of attention to detail and accuracy.
• Be able to manage competing priorities and meet regular financial and reporting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Be comfortable working independently, taking ownership of responsibilities and knowing when to seek guidance or escalate an issue.
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills and be confident responding to internal and external queries.
• Be committed to Common Purpose's independent and non-aligned approach to its work.

What we offer

• Purpose – the opportunity to work with a global community of people who are contributing to organisations and communities in different ways
• Influence – the opportunity to shape how Common Purpose understands and uses one of its most important long-term assets
• Variety – exposure to different sectors, generations, cultures, organisations and perspectives through your work
• Growth – continual development of your community, impact and strategic practice, alongside access to internal learning and development opportunities
• Responsibility – meaningful ownership of the development of our alumni communities and approach to impact
• Flexibility – a remote-first and flexible working environment
• A global network – the opportunity to work with alumni, colleagues and partners across different countries and contexts

About Common Purpose

Common Purpose is a global non-profit organisation that develops people to navigate the complexity, influence and competing interests that shape the world around them.

Our work is built around three disciplines:

1. Navigating complexity – sensing, interpreting and acting on what is changing in the world.
2. Navigating influence – staying accountable to the consequences of the power you hold.
3. Navigating legitimacy – having, and granting others, the ground and courage to challenge across boundaries that are not theirs to control.

We bring these disciplines to life through experiential learning. Participants encounter different perspectives, enter unfamiliar environments, engage with people and organisations beyond their usual experience, and work through real questions and situations. Our programmes create the conditions for people to test their assumptions, understand the consequences of their decisions and develop the confidence to act differently.

Our alumni are an important part of this work. They extend the relationships, ideas and experiences created through our programmes long after a programme ends.

Over 90,000 professionals and nearly 75,000 students worldwide have taken part in Common Purpose programmes.

Next Steps

If you are someone who enjoys building meaningful communities, developing trusted relationships and understanding the longer-term impact of people's experiences, we would love to hear from you.

Please send us your CV and a cover letter explaining why you are interested in the role and what you would bring to Common Purpose.

We would particularly welcome evidence of your experience building communities or networks, gathering impact or insight, developing relationships, or turning information and conversations into something useful for an organisation.

Common Purpose is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and will consider candidates based on the relevance of their skills, experience and potential.

If you have any access requirements during the recruitment process, please contact us at hr@commonpurpose.org.