Finance Coordinator

Systemic Justice is looking for a colleague who can help us manage our finances as we seek to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice.

About Systemic Just****ice

Systemic Justice is a new NGO that will partner with organisations working on racial, social, and economic justice to bring about change through strategic litigation.

Strategic litigation is a powerful tool that can be used alongside advocacy, campaigning, and policy work to help bring about systemic change. However, litigation is underutilised in movements working to address the structural inequalities in our society.

Centring affected communities in joint litigation, Systemic Justice will help broaden access to judicial remedies for those fighting for justice and equality. This will help dismantle the power structures that underpin and fuel racial, social, and economic injustice.

About the role

We are looking for a part-time Finance Coordinator to help us plan and develop budgets, ensure sound financial management practices, and prepare financial reporting and assist with external audits. As the Finance Coordinator, the majority of your time will be spent on day-to-day tasks such as payments and book-keeping, but you will also be assisting with budgetary planning, preparing for audits, assisting in developing financial reporting, etc.

Initially a short-term assignment, we hope to extend and scale the role as you help us develop our financial systems and practices. You will be an integral part of a small but rapidly growing team and work closely with our incoming operational colleagues and our Treasurer.

Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice. We are looking for someone who shares these values and for whom the prospect of operationalising these in our day-to-day work is an exciting prospect.

This is a part-time (equivalent to 16 hours per week), remote role.

What you’ll do

• Financial planning
  • Help develop and update grant and organisational budgets
• Financial management
  • Support the adherence with financial policies and procedures
  • Run payments and do bookkeeping
  • Undertake bank reconciliation
  • Monitor spending and liquidity
• Financial reporting
  • Prepare financial statements on organisational and grant levels
  • Prepare any statutory filings to authorities
  • Support liaising with external auditors and prepare for audits
  • Assist in the preparation of financial reporting for our board and our funders

What we hope you’ll bring

• Financial management and/or accounting experience, preferably from a non-profit context
• Financial planning and budget development experience
• Excellent Excel skills
• Experience with QuickBooks or equivalent accounting software
• Experience preparing for audits
• Knowledge of specific legislation and statutory requirements for NGOs, including in the Netherlands
• Comfort navigating a startup non-profit, including the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively and to work well in a rapidly growing organisation;
• Incredible attention to detail, the ability to work independently, and accurately
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Dutch will be considered an advantage.

In addition to this, the successful candidate is highly organised, keen on taking initiative, and has an excellent eye for detail.

Please note that Systemic Justice works in the CET time zone +/- two hours. Being located inside this time zone span is considered a prerequisite.

Deadline and how to apply

The deadline for applications for this role is 27 September 2022 at 23:59 CET.

We are organising an information call, where anyone interested in applying can join and learn more about our organisation, the role, and the process. The call will take place on 22 September at 17:00 CET. You can register here.

Your application should consist of your CV, and – instead of a traditional cover letter – a written response to these three questions:

1. Many non-profits rely on a combination of unrestricted and restricted grants where the latter allows you to only spend funds against agreed budget lines. How would you go about ensuring monitoring of the expenses of a restricted grant?
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of different accounting methods (accrual and cash) and why might a non-profit want to use accrual as a basis for their accounting?
3. Can you describe your process for handling competing deadlines and managing work pressure, particularly when working part-time or working for multiple organisations at the same time?

Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice. We invite anyone who does not have lived experience with systems of oppression to reflect on their suitability for this role before applying, and to address this as an introduction to their responses to the above questions if they choose to apply.

Conditions and remuneration

Period: 1 November 2022 – 30 April 2023 with the possibility of extension.

Remuneration: This is a six-month, part-time role, equivalent to 2 days (8-hour workday) per week. The hourly fee is between EUR 25-35, depending on experience. The ambition is to extend and scale the role beyond 2 days per week.

Location: The Systemic Justice team works remotely. The team meets three times a year in person to discuss strategy, organisational development, staff well-being, and more. In addition to this, individual staff members meet bilaterally or in smaller groups when needed.