Finance Manager

Role Summary

Julie’s Bicycle (JB) is seeking an experienced and hands-on professional who can contribute to
the organisation's financial strategy and future resilience. This is a senior leadership role within
the Operations and Finance function, where you will be working closely with the Managing
Director, Head of Programmes, CEO, and Treasurer, providing the essential financial
intelligence needed to guide key organisational decisions.

Job title:
Contract:

Location:

Salary:

Finance Manager
Preferably 0.8 FTE (Full-time also considered for the right candidate), 1
year contract with the possibility to become permanent
Hybrid working: office base is at Somerset House, London: we are flexible
on approach, within a hybrid model of in-person & virtual. This can be
discussed at interview (*)
£50k to £55k p.a. (pro rata), depending on experience

Reporting to:

Managing Director

Start date:
Normal hours:

ASAP - depending on candidate’s notice period
Office hours are 9.30 - 5.30pm, Monday – Friday. As this is ideally a 0.8
FTE role, there is flexibility on how the time is spread across the week.
Please state how you would intend to allocate your time when you apply.
(requests for flexible working hours will be considered)

Other:

●  Annual leave is 25 days plus standard bank holidays (pro-rata)
●  Cultural entitlement of £250 per annum (pro-rata) to spend on arts/ cultural events &

activities

●  All employees are able to claim 1 hour a week for personal wellbeing
●  Pension scheme enrolment and 6% employer contributions (reviewed annually)

(*) Access to office space in London is always available to staff who can't or don't want to work
from home.

If you would like this application pack in a different format (e.g. large print or audio file), please
email recruitment@juliesbicycle.com.

About Julie’s Bicycle (JB)

JB is a leading non-profit putting climate action at the heart of culture. We believe that
creativity is a powerful catalyst for change—and that the arts and cultural sector has a vital role
to play in building a just, regenerative future.

For over 15 years, we’ve worked with artists, cultural institutions, funders, and policymakers to
mobilise creative climate leadership through advocacy, research, policy influence, training, and
community building. We champion climate justice, centre equity, and believe that environmental
solutions must be driven by cultural shifts as well as systems change. For more information,
please see: JB Our Work.

The Role

The Finance Manager will be a pivotal position within JB’s senior leadership team, responsible
for the effective and efficient management of all financial operations. This role requires a highly
experienced and hands-on professional who can seamlessly manage day-to-day bookkeeping
and compliance while also contributing to the organisation's financial strategy and future
resilience.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in charity finance, a deep understanding of
VAT complexities, and the ambition to grow into a strategic financial leader. You will work closely
with the Managing Director, CEO, and Treasurer, providing the essential financial intelligence
needed to guide key organisational decisions.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Management And Reporting (Operational & Strategic)

●  Hands-on bookkeeping and transaction management: Oversee and execute all
financial transactions, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll
preparation, and bank reconciliations using the organisation's accounting software.
●  Management accounts: Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts,
commentary, and analysis for the Managing Director, CEO, and the Board of Trustees.

●  Statutory compliance: Manage all aspects of Charity SORP compliant financial
reporting. Prepare and coordinate the annual statutory audit, working directly with
external auditors. Oversee filing and reporting to regulators including the Charity
Commission and Companies House.

●  VAT and tax compliance: Lead on all VAT compliance, including preparation and
submission of quarterly VAT returns, ensuring full adherence to HMRC regulations,
particularly those unique to the charity sector, including partial exemption requirements
and annual adjustments.

●  Budgeting and forecasting: Coordinate and support the annual budgeting process.

Develop regular financial forecasts and projections to ensure the organisation remains
financially sustainable.

●  Cashflow management: Monitor and manage the organisation's cash flow, ensuring

adequate funds are available for all operational needs.

●  Payroll: Manage the relationship with the outsourced payroll provider, collate salary
information, ensuring is accurate and up-to-date and manage pension payments.
●  Coordination of confidential finance administration: Business rates/premises,

company bank accounts, credit card software, audit preparation, companies house, PL,
EL, PI & and drive insurance renewal process

Strategic support and leadership development

●  Financial insight as part of the Senior Leadership Team: Develop and deliver clear,

data-driven financial analysis and insights to inform strategic decision-making across the
organisation (SLT, SMT and Board).

●  Policy and procedure: Review and maintain robust financial controls, policies, and

procedures to safeguard the charity’s assets and ensure best practice.

●  Strategic recommendations: In collaboration with the MD and CEO, research and
present options for improving financial efficiency, exploring new funding models, and
strengthening the long-term financial health of Julie's Bicycle.

●  Board support: Prepare monthly management accounts, as well as comprehensive
financial reports for quarterly Trustee meetings, attending meetings as required to
present and discuss financial performance.

●  Training the team: Embed a culture of financial curiosity, procedures and basic literacy.

Grant And Project Finance

●  Restricted funds: Maintain meticulous records for all restricted and designated funds,

ensuring compliance with all donor and grant conditions.

●  Grant reporting: Lead on preparing detailed financial reports for funders (e.g., Arts

Council England, trusts, foundations), ensuring all expenditure is accurately recorded
and compliant with specific grant requirements. Consolidate all the above into a shared
reporting calendar.

Person Specification

Essential experience and knowledge

●  Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/AAT), with at least 5-10 years of demonstrable,
progressive experience in a similar finance role, with a significant portion gained within
the UK charity/non-profit sector.
In-depth, practical knowledge of UK charity financial regulations and Charity SORP.

●

●  Expert-level understanding of VAT for charities, including partial exemption and trading

subsidiaries.

●  Proven ability to manage the full accounting cycle, from transaction entry (bookkeeping)

through to preparing statutory accounts.

●  Experience in managing the annual audit process and engaging with external auditors.
●  Excellent proficiency with accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Aquila)

and advanced Excel skills.

Skills and attributes

●  Hands-on and proactive: Willingness to undertake all levels of tasks, from routine data

entry to high-level analysis (essential)

●  Developing leadership: Demonstrable potential or experience in influencing decisions,
leading process improvements, and contributing strategic thinking (strongly desirable)
●  Collaborative working: Ability to nurture and maintain relationships across the team

(essential)

●  Exceptional attention to detail: A meticulous and highly accurate approach to all

financial data and reporting (essential)

●  Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to
explain complex financial information clearly to non-finance colleagues, the MD, and
Trustees (essential)

●  Alignment with mission: A genuine interest in and commitment to the mission and

values of Julie’s Bicycle (desirable)

Why Join Us?

At Julie’s Bicycle, you’ll join a passionate team working at the intersection of creativity and
climate action. We offer a collaborative, inclusive, and flexible working culture, where your voice
will shape how the cultural sector responds to one of the greatest challenges of our time.

How to apply

If you’d like to apply, please:

●  Complete the application form and equal opportunities monitoring form found on our

website here.

Submit these via our application portal by 11.59pm on Sunday 23rd Nov 2025.

We encourage people from any background to apply for this post. We are committed to
creating a workforce which is representative of our society, and to bringing together
those with a variety of skills and experiences to help shape what we do and how we
work. We are particularly keen to hear from people of colour and those who self-identify
as disabled.

Please note, this post is open to people who already have the right to live and work in the UK,
as Julie’s Bicycle is not currently in a position to sponsor a work visa.

A note on AI

While we understand that some people may use AI tools for accessibility (and recognise and
support that many assistive technologies may use elements of AI), we ask candidates to
consider what tools are most appropriate during the application process. For example, we
recognise the value for many people of machine learning language tools like Grammarly. On the
other hand we would discourage the use of generative AI tools in writing your application, as
we'd like to understand your personal interest in working for Julie's Bicycle, and be able to
understand your non-AI-assisted communication skills just as they are. We also recognise that
for many of the people and creative communities we work with, the rise of generative AI poses a
threat to their livelihoods, while the environmental impacts of AI are only set to grow: this means
we also have a responsibility as Julie's Bicycle to consider where and when (and if) we use AI in
our work.

Thank you for your interest in working at Julie’s Bicycle.