Finance Manager

Permanent, part-time, £32,000-£41,000 per annum (pro rata)

Summary

We are seeking an experienced finance professional who will have operational
management and control across St Ebbe’s finances, with an annual expenditure of over
£2m.  Careful stewardship of our financial resources is vitally important in furtherance
of St Ebbe’s passion to know Christ better and make him known.

Increasing the diversity of our staff team to better reflect our church family context is a
priority for us. Applicants are invited to indicate any adjustments that would help them
apply for the role.

About St Ebbe’s

St  Ebbe’s  is  a  community  of  around 800 people  made  up  of  families,  locals, students,
international  visitors,  retired  and  more.  We  have  three  services  each  Sunday,  with  a
range of activities throughout the week. We are evangelical and Anglican, though we
have many members and some staff from other backgrounds.

Our vision is to see God honoured through the foundations of the Bible and prayer to:

•  Reach out to non-believers with the good news of Jesus
•  Build up Christians as disciples of Christ
•  Send out Christians to serve Christ in Oxford and the world

Main purpose of the role:

To enable achievement of the defined tasks of St Ebbe’s Church (to reach out, build up
and  send  out)  through  effective  management  of  our  finances.  This  will  include  the
provision of high-quality processing, financial control, reporting and analysis across three
bases, Central, Headington and Cowley.  The role holder will be the primary contact point
for  financial  matters,  delegating  regular  operational  accounts  work  to  the  Financial
Administrator,  and  working  under  the  supervision  of  the  Minister  (Operations)  (M(O))
who has overall strategic responsibility for finance.

Areas of responsibility

Financial Management

•  Supporting the M(O) in the financial management of St Ebbe’s.

•  Working with and for the PCC Treasurer, the Headington Finance Administrator, local
treasurers for each base (St Ebbe’s Central, St Ebbe’s Headington and Grace Church
Cowley, as well as any future church plants under the responsibility of the PCC) in the

Finance Manager Job Description September 2025

preparation of an annual budget, engaging other staff and PCC as required.

•  Preparation of longer-term plan figures and financial support for major new initiatives.

•  Preparation of revised financial forecasts through the year (at least quarterly).

•  Providing financial advice to staff, including guidance on setting and working within

approved budgets, and obtaining financial approval.

•  Assisting M(O) and Treasurer for Central St Ebbe’s in the preparation for Gift Days and

any other financial appeals as needed.

•  Working with the PCC Treasurer and M(O) devise and implement improvements to

our financial management, control and reporting.

•  Manage our insurance policies, to ensure they are adequate, appropriate and good

value.

•  Oversee management of our contracts for supplies, including utilities, and proactively
procure  new  suppliers  or  contracts  to  achieve  good  value  for  money  in  all  our
purchases. (Much of this is delegated to the Financial Administrator and other staff in
practice.)

Financial Control

•  Ensuring appropriate systems and processes exist to enable the church to comply

with legal and moral obligations,

•  Ensuring  that  St  Ebbe’s  Financial  Policies  and  Procedures  are  understood  and

followed throughout the organisation.

•  Ensure  payments  are  made  on  time,  any  creditors  are  managed,  and  debts  are

collected.

•  An authorised signatory to the bank accounts and online banking, being one of the
regular co-signatories to payments, having checked their authorisation is correct.

•  Conduct a regular review of all bank accounts to identify anomalies, balances held
in correct accounts to maximise interest and ensure reconciliations are correct.

•  Financial  oversight  of  any  large  projects,  including  introduction  of  necessary

financial controls, their monitoring, and reporting of project finances.

•  A ‘watching brief’ and advisory role on behalf of the M(O) of the finances and financial
procedures of all bases supporting their staff and local treasurers.  This will include
necessary actions and controls to ensure appropriate levels of consistency across St
Ebbe’s and the preparation of consolidated reports.

•  Reviews budgets for one-off/irregular activities, and either gives or seeks approval in

accordance with Financial Procedures.

Financial Reporting and Analysis

•  Provide timely, accurate and appropriate regular reports and analysis to assist with
decision  making  and  planning,  including  to  PCC,  Standing  Committee  and  to
budget holders.  Will include raising accruals to ensure any reports represent a fair
account.

•  Facilitate  communication  of  the  financial  situation  to  the  PCC  and  wider  church,

Finance Manager Job Description September 2025

including  ensuring  literature  and  website  content  are  readily  available  and  up  to
date.

•  Monitoring  performance  against  budget  of  budget  holders  and  activities,

highlighting and divergence as appropriate to M(O) and budget holders.

•  Involvement in PCC Finance Committee, preparing papers.

•  Production of ad hoc reports and analysis as requested and as you identify areas of

concern or necessary for communication.

•  Working with our auditors to prepare for and complete the annual financial audit

and production of Annual Report and Accounts.

•  In  partnership  with  the  PCC  Treasurer,  responding  to  requests  from  Diocese  and

elsewhere for financial information.

•  Maintain  any  necessary  systems  outside  of  our  accounting  package  to  aid  with
financial reporting (e.g. Excel spreadsheets), ensuring that their data is both accurate
and conforms to our core accounting data.

•  In partnership with the PCC treasurer, ensure that all necessary financial reporting is

completed e.g. to Charity Commission, HMRC/Treasury.

Management of Financial Administrator, including:

•  Ensuring they maintain an accurate and orderly record of St Ebbe’s finances.  This

will include regular and ad hoc checks for accuracy.

•  Ensuring cash and bank accounts are appropriately monitored and controlled, that
payment  processes  are  followed,  and  that  appropriate  levels  of  liquid  funds  are
maintained to meet expenditure.

•  Ensuring contract management and procurement is completed to a high standard

and with beneficial outcomes.

•  Oversight of payroll and pension contributions.

•  Working  with  the  Financial  Administrator  to  prepare  both  regular  and  ad  hoc

accounts summaries, reports and analysis.

•  Undertaking the tasks of the Financial Administrator when they are absent or at busy

periods.

•  Line management responsibility.

In addition to the above, other duties of the post include:

•  To be an active and valued member of the senior staff team at St Ebbe's, attending,
where possible within a part-time role, weekly staff meetings and annual days away.

•  To  be  making  a  positive  contribution  as  a  member  of  the  Admin  &  Finance  team,
undertaking whatever additional tasks are required to contribute towards St Ebbe’s
aims.

Finance Manager Job Description September 2025

Personal qualities and experience

Essential:

•  You  will  be  a  person  of  high  personal  integrity,  with  experience  demonstrating
that you handle money with care and information confidentially, and in a manner
dictated by the Gospel.

•  You will be a financial professional, with appropriate qualifications or experience

on the job, ideally in a charity or similar context.

•  You will be commercially astute, able to identify and achieve suitable outcomes

for the church. You will have successfully achieved beneficial procurement.

•  You will be able to communicate clearly, and if necessary, firmly, across a range of
audiences, including PCC, staff team, volunteers, members of the congregation,
with our auditors and other stakeholders.

•  You will be highly numerate, able to use MS Excel to a good standard and very
comfortable using modern office IT systems (we use ExpensePlus for accounting).
You will be an astute financial analyst.

•  The  role  holder  will  be  a  committed  Evangelical  Christian,  and  their  belief  will

inform all aspects of the performance of their role.

Desirable:

•  You  will  have  successfully  managed  staff  to  improve  performance  and  achieve

positive working outcomes.

•  You will be a committed member of St Ebbe’s Central.

Other information

Salary:
Pension:

Hours:

£32,000-41,000 pro rata, depending on training and experience.
10% pension contribution to either the Church Workers Pension Fund
or a similar recognised scheme of your choice.
This is a part-time position, 14 hours per week, which can be arranged
flexibly, but which must include some hours on either Tuesday or
Thursday.

Annual leave:   25 days, plus Bank Holidays and the days between Christmas and New

Year (pro rata).

Line manager:   Tim Dossor, Minister (Operations).
Place of work:   St Ebbe’s Church, central Oxford.
Start date:

As soon as possible after interview.

The selection procedure for the post will follow a process of shortlisting, taking up
references, and then interviews, which will include practical exercises.

If you have any questions or would like an informal conversation, please contact Tim
Dossor Minister (Operations).

Closing date for applications

12 noon on Friday 24th October 2025.

To apply, please complete an application form and send it, along with your CV, to
Alyson Grove, PA to Minister (Operations), alyson.grove@stebbes.org. The form is available
on our website (www.stebbes.org/jobs).

Finance Manager Job Description September 2025