Main Purpose of post:To be the guiding hand of the Board of this dynamic charity

Join our Board – Break the Silence

Who are we? Break the silence breakthesilence.org.uk Operating since 2004, Break the Silence is a registered charity in Scotland and a Company Limited by Guarantee. It provides a range of tailored, holistic support options for survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, aged 13 years and above. Our vision is to make a profound and positive difference in the lives of those affected by sexual trauma.

A recent strategy session refreshed our key values, and we have a clear action plan for the next three years.

The role:An interim Chair was co-opted in November ’21 to oversee a refresh of the strategic direction and vision of the charity and conduct a thorough governance review. This process has now been completed with the amazing support and enthusiasm of the entire staff team. Part of the process was finding new trustees as some long-standing trustees had served their full terms. This comes at an appropriate juncture; having supported Break the Silence to this point it gives them a much-deserved rest and allows for new talent to step into trustee roles and help move the organisation forward with its new strategy.

It is now appropriate for the Interim Chair to step down and hand over the reins to a new Chair to build on the very solid foundations put in place over the last nine months. In addition, the timing offers an opportunity to fully embed the new trustees and utilise the pool of new talent, experience, and new ideas. The Board meets 6-8 times a year, typically for a two-hour meeting held digitally. Board papers are distributed in advance. Historically the trustees have worked closely with the small staff team so there would be an opportunity to work collaboratively on specific projects. Currently there is a trustee led Communications sub-group focusing on social media and raising the profile of Break the Silence.

About you:The charity welcomes applicants that reflect the diversity of the community we serve. We value the diversity of opinion, thought and experience that a new board member can bring. The appointment may appeal to an experienced person wishing to volunteer as a Chair for the first time or from those more experienced in this key role. It is important to Break the Silence that potential candidate share our values of being compassionate and collaborative, effective and knowledgeable in supporting those affected by sexual trauma and supports the Charity’s vision to influence and inform within the sector. We strive to be a Centre of Excellence for our service users and all our stakeholders.

Break the Silence provides a range of tailored, holistic support options for survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, aged 13 years and above.

The Finance Officer assists the CEO (Operations) to ensure compliance with the income generation strategy and associated workplans, and to undertake the effective operation of all accounting functions within Break the Silence. The range of responsibilities relates to financial forecasting, project budgets, income/expenditure, payroll processing, quarterly and end of year accounts and reports, and formal submissions in line with legislative requirements to OSCR, Companies House and HMRC.

Key Responsibilities include:

Bookkeeping & Accounting

• Prompt, accurate and effective processing of all income received using Xero, ensuring BtS needs are fully met.
• Ensure cash, cheque and electronic donations are accepted, processed and recorded in compliance with the Institute of Fundraising Code of Practice guidelines and accounting best practice.
• Administer all Gift Aid donations made to BtS, complying with HMRC requirements, and maintaining appropriate records.
• Record all incoming invoices, process through Xero, and ensure appropriate authorisation by the CEO (Operations) prior to processing payments due within invoice terms.
• Raise all outgoing invoices using Xero and ensure due payments are received within specified terms.
• Developing and managing a process for collecting aged debts.
• All invoices, statements, receipts and associated documentation are appropriately filed in a manner that ensures that they are easily retrievable, and as required for statutory purposes.

Banking and Related

• Ensure bank accounts are fit for purpose and managed to effectively support BtS activities and requirements
• Depositing cash and cheques timeously.
• Maintaining and monitoring effective petty cash procedures to support internal BtS processes.
• Complete monthly reconciliations of all bank accounts and that these agree with income and expenditure accounts for that period.

Payroll and Pensions

• Establish an internal payroll system for BtS which meets all statutory requirements and supports and records all contractual payments.
• Ensure accurate and timeous payment of staff salaries/wages on a monthly basis.
• Maintain easily retrievable individual and group pay records, and comply with all statutory and management requests for pay related data.
• Process all approved expenses claims from members of staff, ensuring these comply with BtS policy.

Support to the Management Team

• Produce quarterly, monthly and end of year accounts for reporting purposes for the organisation and individual project budgets in line with funder terms and conditions.
• Assist with financial forecasting and planning, and cost of service delivery analysis, to drive both clinical and cost efficiencies.
• Support both the management team and all staff to ensure the best use of resources across BtS, making recommendations where appropriate.

Essential:

• Two years’ experience of working in a similar role.
• Experience of using accountancy software, ideally Xero.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular liaising with non-finance staff.
• Good IT knowledge and ability to effectively use Microsoft Office applications including excel, outlook etc.
• Write and present reports incorporating financial data.
• Manage own workload efficiently and effectively with minimum supervision.
• Understanding of 3rd sector organisations and fund accounting.
• Ability to investigate and resolve queries, particularly from the management team.
• Work on own initiative or as part of a team.
• Data retrieval.
• Managing financial systems.
• Plan and prioritise workload to meet deadlines and maintain accurate accounts.

Desirable:

• Part qualified member of recognised accountancy body.
• Working knowledge of payroll software.

Post is subject to disclosure check.

JOIN OUR BOARD AT BREAK THE SILENCE

About Break the Silence

Operating since 2004, Break the Silence is a registered charity in Scotland and a Company Limited by Guarantee. It provides a range of tailored, holistic support options for Survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse of all genders, aged 13 years and above. Options for support include; one to one professional counselling using qualified Psychotherapists, outreach counselling, couple support, complementary therapies, advocacy, group activities, and volunteering opportunities.

All support is designed to assist Survivors to work through their trauma, move forward and improve their social well-being and psychological health,enabling and supporting Survivors to achieve an attainable standard of living, health and family life.

Break the Silence recently conducted a board skills survey which highlighted areas where knowledge could be strengthened. Specifically, the Board are looking for new trustees with experience in any of the following areas: Legal, Finance and Digital skills.

As we provide services to all genders we are looking to reflect that gender diversity on our board.

The Board meets every 8 weeks from 1-3pm on Mondays, currently virtually.

More details can be found on the website breakthesilence.org.uk