Finance Manager (Part-time)

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is a global think tank focused on making human rights part of everyday business. We work with companies, governments, and civil society to shape policy and practice on business and human rights globally. As a registered UK charity with international operations, we manage a complex funding portfolio from institutional donors, foundations, and corporate partners.

We are looking for a qualified Finance Manager to bring dedicated finance expertise in-house on a part-time basis. You'll work closely with the Head of Operations to strengthen our financial management capability as we continue to grow - ensuring robust oversight, accurate reporting, and strong stewardship of the funds entrusted to us.

This is a new role, created to bring qualified accounting expertise into our team. IHRB has grown significantly in recent years, and we now manage multiple legal entities (IHRB Charity, IHRB Trading, and IHRB Nordic), diverse international funders with varying reporting requirements, and a distributed global team. This role will enhance our financial rigour and ensure we continue to meet the high standards our funders and trustees expect.

Expected outcomes

Within the first 6-12 months, you will have:

• Strengthened our financial oversight by providing qualified review of transactions and reporting
• Established a reliable process for monthly management accounts and cashflow forecasts
• Built an effective working relationship with our external accountants, ensuring seamless coordination between bookkeeping and internal operations
• Enhanced support for budget holders, helping them track spend against grants and prepare for funder reports
• Developed and improved systems and tools that make it easier for the team to manage expenses, approvals, and financial processes
• Continued to strengthen financial controls across multiple entities, ensuring compliance and best practice

Key Responsibilities

Financial Operations & Oversight (40%)

• Manage day-to-day queries and approvals through ApprovalMax and Dext, ensuring timely processing and accurate coding
• Prepare monthly management accounts and cashflow forecasts for leadership
• Monitor budget vs actuals across programmes and core operations
• Review and approve payment runs, ensuring proper documentation and authorisation
• Oversee Xero management, expense coding, and transaction reconciliation
• Support the annual audit process and statutory accounts preparation

Compliance & Controls (30%)

• Ensure VAT compliance across multiple entities (IHRB Charity, Trading, Nordic)
• Maintain and improve financial controls and procedures
• Liaise with external accountants to ensure accurate bookkeeping and resolve queries
• Provide financial analysis to inform strategic decisions (e.g., charge-out rates, day rates, overhead recovery)
• Support the Board of Trustees with financial reporting and assurance
• Contribute to organisational sustainability planning and financial modelling

Funder & Grant Financial Management 20%

• Track restricted fund balances and ensure grant expenditure aligns with funder requirements
• Prepare financial reports for funders including foundations and institutional donors
• Support grant budget development and cost recovery calculations
• Ensure proper allocation of costs between restricted and unrestricted funds

Systems & Process Improvement (10%)

• Work with the Head of Operations to build and improve financial systems and tools that support budget holders and team members
• Develop clear guidance and resources to help colleagues navigate financial processes confidently
• Continuously improve workflows in ApprovalMax, Dext, and Xero to make things easier for everyone

Requirements

Key skills

• Qualified accountant: ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent
• Charity experience: You've worked with charities or not-for-profit organisations, ideally in the UK, and understand restricted fund accounting
• Systems confident: Strong working knowledge of Xero, and comfortable with tools like ApprovalMax and Dext (or similar expense/approval platforms)
• VAT expertise: Experience with VAT compliance, including partial exemption
• Multi-entity experience: You've managed finance across multiple legal entities with different reporting requirements
• Clear communicator: Able to explain financial matters to non-finance colleagues and support budget holders effectively
• Grant funding experience: Experience with funder reporting (foundations, institutional donors, government grants)
• Charity understanding and experience: Understanding of charity SORP and Charity Commission requirements

Helpful if you have, not a dealbreaker if you don't...

• A knack for improving processes and making systems work better for people
• Interest in human rights, sustainability, or the not-for-profit sector

Attitude

• Detail-oriented: You take pride in accuracy and getting things right
• Proactive: You anticipate what's needed and stay ahead of deadlines
• Improvement-minded: You're always thinking about how to make things work better, not just maintain the status quo
• Self-directed: You work effectively in a remote environment, managing your own time and priorities
• Supportive: You're patient with colleagues and help them understand what they need to know

What We Can Offer You

• Location: Flexible/remote within 2 hours of CET time zone. Home-based.
• Working arrangement: Part-time contract to evaluate mutual fit (hours to be determined based on candidate and needs, but likely 2 days per week) and organisational need
• Compensation: £40,000 - £45,000 FTE (Pro rata for part-time hours)
• Contract type: This is a consultancy arrangement, so you'll need to be registered as self-employed (or operate through your own company) and be responsible for managing your own taxes, insurance, and any other legal or financial obligations
• Growth potential: The opportunity to shape a new role and strengthen our financial capability as we grow
• Impact potential: Work with a purpose-driven organisation at the forefront of business and human rights globally
• Our commitment: Autonomy and trust, value your professional judgment, clear communication and realistic expectations, support for your growth, and a flexible working arrangement that respects your life outside work