Finance Manager

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. We are looking for a colleague who can oversee the finances that support this work.

Position type: Full-time (4 days per week, 32-hour work week)

Duration: 12 months with possibility of extension

Remuneration: 77.000 EUR annually

Location: Remote, based in Europe (CET time zone +/- two hours)

Please note: We encourage all potential applicants to review our Frequently Asked Questions prior to applying.

About the role

We are looking for a Finance Manager who will be responsible for financial planning, developing organisational budgets, ensuring sound financial management practices across the organisation, preparing financial reporting, and ensuring smooth external audits. As the Finance Manager, you will be an integral part of a small but growing team, working closely with a Finance Coordinator, our Co-Head of Operations, colleagues who work on fundraising, 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, both internally and externally, is an exciting prospect.

About Systemic Justice

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice.

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.

Systemic Justice is the first Black-led, majority BPOC organisation in Europe working on strategic litigation and it is currently developing projects focussed on climate justice and social protection.

What you’ll do

Financial planning

• Develop organisational and project budgets with the support of the organisation’s leadership and team;
• Make decisions with relevant team members about how to strategically allocate grant funds;
• Set up provisions, liquidity analyses, and develop financial scenarios for the organisation and its projects;
• Help devise a policy for developing programmatic and organisational reserves and provisioning for long-term litigation projects;
• Track grant spending and guide the team on the best way to ensure the timely spending of grants.

Financial management

• Ensure best practices in financial management are implemented via the development and implementation of relevant finance policies and procedures;
• Work closely with our Finance Coordinator on accounting, book-keeping, and bank reconciliations;
• Monitor and track organisational expenses, manage cash flow and forecasting;
• Oversee payments and internal approval flows;
• Ensure ongoing grant compliance;
• Ensure regulatory finance-related compliance.

Financial reporting

• Manage relationship with our external auditor and ensure smooth organisational audits;
• Develop annual accounts with support from external accountant;
• Clearly communicate financial updates to the Board and other relevant team members
• Provide regular expenditure reporting to the team;
• Develop financial grant reporting structure and schedule with the support of a Finance Coordinator.

What we hope you’ll bring

• Extensive experience in accounting, financial management, and budgeting in a non-profit context;
• Experience developing and implementing financial policies and translating them to team members and other stakeholders who don’t have a finance background;
• Experience in grant compliance and financial reporting;
• Experience working with external auditors and accountants;
• Experience managing and building a finance team that works closely with the leadership team, operations, and other people across the organisation;
• Excellent Excel skills;
• Experience with QuickBooks or equivalent accounting software;
• Knowledge of specific legislation and statutory requirements for NGOs in the Netherlands will be considered an advantage;
• 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.

Deadline and how to apply

The deadline for applications is 7 September 2023 at 23.59 CEST.

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 31 August at 18.00 CEST (click here to register).

We expect to do the first interview online and a second interview in person. We expect to be able to offer the position to the selected candidate by 30 September for a start date as soon as possible.

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

1. Why are you interested in Systemic Justice’s work?
2. Can you describe a time when you were involved in managing and reporting on the finances of an organisation, ideally in a non-profit context: what was your role in the financial management and reporting and how did you go about it?
3. Can you describe your process for handling competing deadlines and managing work pressure, particularly when working on multiple strands of work at the same time?

Systemic Justice recognises that online application processes can pose barriers to people who have certain accessibility needs. If you have accessibility needs in relation to applying for this role, please get in touch with us directly on info@systemicjustice.ngo and let us know how we can best support you.

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 in the application if they choose to apply.

Conditions

Period: 12 months with possibility of extension

Remuneration: 77.000 EUR annually

Location: Remote, in Europe (CET time zone +/- two hours). We are unfortunately not able to assist with work permits.

Staff meet-ups: Our team meets in person three times a year to discuss strategy, organisational development, team well-being, and more. In addition to this, individual team members meet bilaterally or in smaller groups when needed.

Work week: Systemic Justice operates with a four-day, 32-hour work week.

Flexible schedules: We are generally online and available from 11-16 CET, but are otherwise flexible about working hours to accommodate the best individual balancing of personal and remote-work life.