Treasurer

What will you be doing?

Creative Futures South West CIC is a community interest company connecting 16 to 19 year old creative learners in further education with creative employers, cultural organisations and progression routes. We work with 15 college groups covering 20 colleges and more than 20 arts and cultural partners. Our feasibility phase was funded by Arts Council England and we are now moving into delivery.

What you would do

• Operate the company bank account within limits set by the board, making payments to suppliers, freelancers and partners
• Keep the bookkeeping records up to date and reconcile the account monthly
• Track restricted, designated and unrestricted funds separately, so that grant money from Arts Council England and other funders is always accounted for against its conditions
• Send the board a short monthly finance pack: bank statement, transaction list, and the balance of each fund against its conditions
• Process supplier and freelancer invoices once they have been properly approved
• Flag anything that looks wrong, early
• Support the directors when the annual accounts and the CIC34 community interest report are prepared, which the directors approve and file
• Help us build simple, proportionate financial processes as we grow

What we are looking for

A finance background: qualified accountant, bookkeeper, finance manager, or equivalent practical experience. A formal qualification is welcome but experience matters more. Comfortable with online banking and cloud accounting software. Experience of grant funded or restricted funds is a real advantage, though we can explain how ours work. Reliable and consistent, because a small amount of time every month is worth far more to us than a burst of effort once a year.

Terms

Unpaid, with out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed against receipts. Governed by a volunteer agreement rather than a contract of employment. Initial term of twelve months, reviewed by agreement. Subject to two references and confirmation that you are not disqualified from acting as a company director and are not subject to any insolvency restriction. 

What are we looking for?

A finance background. Qualified accountant, bookkeeper, finance manager, finance director, or equivalent practical experience. A formal qualification is welcome but what matters is that you have done this work.

Confidence with online banking and cloud accounting software. We are setting our systems up now, so we are not asking you to learn ours. If you have a view on what we should use, we would like to hear it.

Reliability and consistency. A small amount of time every month is worth far more to us than a burst of effort once a year. Reconciliation that happens on time is the whole point of the role.

Comfort working within limits. The board sets payment thresholds and approval requirements, and you would operate inside them. If that sounds restrictive rather than sensible, this is probably not the right role.

Desirable

Experience of grant funded or restricted funds, which is the single most useful thing you could bring. Familiarity with community interest companies or small charities. Experience of setting up financial systems from scratch rather than maintaining existing ones. Interest in further education, creative careers or regional development.

Most important

If we had to choose, it is restricted fund experience and reliability. We can explain how our particular funds work, but someone who has already tracked money against conditions and reported on it will be effective from month one.

The kind of person this suits

Someone who wants to build something rather than maintain it. Our systems are being designed now, so you would be shaping how a new organisation handles public money, and what you set up will still be in use in three years.

Equally, someone who is comfortable saying no. If an invoice arrives without the right approval, we would want you to hold it and tell us why, not process it and mention it later.

Practical requirements

Two references, at least one from someone who has seen you handle money or accounts. Confirmation that you are not disqualified from acting as a company director and are not subject to any insolvency restriction. Photo identification and proof of address.

What difference will you make?

Creative Futures South West CIC is at the point where the finances need a specialist. We are moving from a funded development phase into delivery, and we are putting the right structure in place before the money arrives rather than after.

You would give us three things.

Separation of duties. Spending decisions sit with the board; payment execution sits with you, within clear limits the board sets. This is the standard funders expect, and having it properly in place strengthens every application we make.

Rigour on restricted funds. Arts Council money, college match funding and core income all carry different conditions. Tracking them separately from the day they arrive, against the terms attached to each, is a skill. You would design that system rather than inherit someone else's.

Visibility for the board. A short monthly pack showing where each fund stands against its conditions, so the directors can govern on evidence.

There is a real influence here that a larger organisation could not offer. Our financial systems are being built now. What you set up in your first three months is what we will still be using in three years, and you would be shaping it rather than maintaining it.

The wider impact is on the young people we exist for. The South West has a strong creative economy and a large pipeline of talent coming through further education, but access to creative careers still depends heavily on postcode and personal networks. Learners in rural and coastal communities face travel costs and distance that decide whether they take part. We are building the regional infrastructure to change that, and we intend to keep access free to students and colleges.

Handling that money properly is what makes it possible.

Anything else...

Around 2 to 3 hours a month, mostly reconciliation and the monthly finance pack, done whenever suits you. Expect a little more in the month a grant lands, and a heavier first month while we set the systems up.