Senior Branch Accountant

A leading UK charity supporting serving personnel, veterans and their families is seeking a Senior Branch Accountant to join its finance team on a two-year fixed-term contract.

This is a newly created role designed to strengthen the organisation's approach to branch accounting and year-end reporting. With a nationwide network of around 2,000 branches and a significant volume of annual returns to manage, the successful candidate will play a key role in overseeing the year-end process, supporting branches and volunteer Independent Examiners, and retaining the knowledge needed to drive improvements throughout the year.

This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified accountant who combines strong technical skills with the confidence and communication style to work effectively with non-finance colleagues and volunteers. You will also help lead the seasonal interim accounting team during the busiest period of the year.

The Senior Branch Accountant will be responsible for:

• Supporting the annual branch year-end reporting process, ensuring returns are accurate, complete and delivered to deadline
• Helping to recruit, train, supervise and support the seasonal Year-End Accounting Team, including reviewing their work and providing technical guidance
• Reviewing branch returns, journals and reconciliations, investigating irregularities and ensuring the integrity of year-end financial information
• Acting as a trusted point of contact for branches, counties and internal stakeholders, explaining accounting requirements clearly to finance and non-finance audiences
• Managing relationships with volunteer Independent Examiners, including coordinating communications, guidance and training
• Working with Learning & Development and engagement teams to improve training materials and financial understanding across the branch network
• Supporting audit activity and responding to internal and external audit queries
• Identifying recurring issues, control gaps and areas for improvement, then implementing practical changes ahead of the following year-end cycle
• Undertaking occasional visits to branches across the UK to provide training, practical support and guidance.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be a fully qualified CCAB accountant
• Have strong financial accounting experience, ideally within a complex, multi-entity, membership, charity or similarly decentralised organisation
• Bring experience of year-end accounting, annual returns, complex reconciliations and financial reporting
• Be confident reviewing the work of others and ideally have experience supervising, managing or coordinating temporary, seasonal or project-based teams
• Have excellent Excel skills and be comfortable analysing large volumes of financial data
• Be a confident, approachable communicator who enjoys working with non-finance stakeholders and can explain technical information in a clear and supportive way
• Combine strong attention to detail with the ability to spot wider process improvements and make them happen
• Be organised, pragmatic and comfortable managing competing deadlines during busy reporting periods.

This role could suit a newly qualified accountant with relevant charity or membership-sector experience who is ready to take on greater responsibility, as well as a more experienced accountant who enjoys combining technical work with stakeholder engagement, coaching and support.

The role is offered on a two-year fixed-term contract, with a salary of up to £51,000 per annum including London Supplement. It is based in central London with hybrid working, typically two days per week in the office, alongside occasional travel to branches elsewhere in the UK. The organisation is looking for someone who can join as soon as reasonably possible, ideally within a month. The role has been created as a longer-term alternative to the organisation's previous seasonal model, with genuine scope for it to become an enduring part of the finance structure.

This is a particularly interesting opportunity to join a large, mission-led organisation in a role where you can make an immediate impact at year-end while also having the time and ownership to improve processes, strengthen financial governance and build lasting relationships across a nationwide volunteer network.

To apply, please submit your CV today.