Freeways and Freeways Trust

Finance Director

Information Pack

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ContentsJob Advert.............................................................................................................................................3

Welcome from Claire Hayward, CEO of Freeways:................................................................................4

Freeways Vision, Mission and Values....................................................................................................5

Strategic Plan.........................................................................................................................................7

Freeways Senior Management Structure..............................................................................................8

Freeways Trust Structure.......................................................................................................................8

Job Description......................................................................................................................................9

Person Specification............................................................................................................................14

Employee Benefits...............................................................................................................................16

Local Area............................................................................................................................................17

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Job Advert

Finance Director - Full time (37.5 hours per week)

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000 per annum, dependent upon experience.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Finance Director to join us on a permanent basis. The role is based in our head office at Abbots Leigh.

We are seeking to appoint an inspirational, dynamic leader and qualified accountant who is able to develop strong relationships and provide sound financial information and advice. You will be a key member of our Executive Team working closely with the Board of Trustees.

The Finance Director will work across 2 charities; Freeways and Freeways Trust.

Freeways is a charity with 16 services, mainly residential (care) homes or supported living flats across Bristol, Banes, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. These services accommodate approximately 100 adult residents with learning disabilities. Head office also has a day centre and hydrotherapy pool based at Abbots Leigh.

Freeways Trust own, manage and maintain the majority of properties that Freeways use.

The successful candidate will provide management and leadership to the Finance team in the delivery of an efficient, effective finance service to Freeways, Freeways Trust and any subsidiaries. They will also lead and manage the Pension Schemes associated with the charities; advising on changing legislation and cost implications. The Finance Director will also take on the role of company secretary for both charities.

The Finance Director will have responsibility for the charities’ financial strategy, operation and control. Reporting to the CEO and Chair of Trustees, the Finance Director will also perform a strategic role in the overall management of the charities.

You will ideally have experience working in the care sector or similar and have substantial experience of dealing with senior managers/board members and successfully leading a team.

In return, we offer a competitive salary and additional benefits.

To apply, please contact Jonathan Fogell at recruitment@freeways.org.uk to request an application pack.

Closing date for applications: 2 February 2018.

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Welcome from Claire Hayward, CEO of Freeways:

January 2018

Dear Applicant

Thank you for your interest in the post of Finance Director for Freeways and Company Secretary for Freeways Trust. Freeways and Freeways Trust are both registered charities which were set up in 1987 to provide care and support for adults with learning difficulties. This is a unique position in the organisation working with both the accommodation function undertaken by the Trust and the support function of Freeways.

Together, our aim is to provide first class accommodation to support individuals to maximise their potential; be able to make decisions about issues that affect their lives; work towards short and long term goals; and even take risks and make mistakes as part of the learning process, with the knowledge that they are safe being supported by an amazing team of people.

The way we work with people (service users, staff, and others) and how we build and develop relationships in the community is crucial to our success.

The role of the finance team includes direct support for the services, liaising with local authorities and other funders including self-funders, the benefit agencies and the other organisations who we engage to ensure a seamless service.

There are a number of challenges in social care and we need to ensure we provide value for money as the majority of our income comes directly from the public purse. The ideal Finance Director will support innovation, helping both charities plan for the future.

In order to maintain a competitive advantage we need to be continuously challenging ourselves and improving; as we are in a time of financial constraint, the role of the Finance Director is crucial to support effective decision making. Therefore the appointment will play a highly significant role in the future success of Freeways and Freeways Trust.

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Freeways Vision, Mission and Values

The Freeways Vision is “A PROVIDER OF CHOICE”.

We aim to be the organisation that professionals want to work with, staff want to work for and our clients want to be supported by.

The Freeways Mission Statement is “QUALITY, WELLBEING AND EVOLUTION”

We aim to provide quality services from well trained staff.

We want the people we support and the people within the organisation to be healthy both in mind and body; this includes treating people as individuals.

We want to constantly evolve, review and improve our offer to all our stakeholders.

The Freeways Business Values are:

1. Putting People FirstEverything we do should be focused on benefiting the people we support.

2. Having Great StaffWithout an adequate number of quality staff we cannot fulfil our mission. Our reputation is based on the actions of our staff and our biggest spend is on our staffing and associated costs.

3. Being Active in the CommunityPeople with learning difficulties have been historically supported away from the community and continue to have limited integration especially in terms of employment and social interaction; this is a balance we are working to redress. Additionally, as local authority funding is reduced, we need to find alternative ways to improve the quality of our offer and use community resources as much as possible.

4. Making Every Penny CountFinance is important in every organisation but in a charity it should not be the driver more the vehicle to get things done and help decision making. Any decision made needs to be with the beneficiaries in mind both now and into the future and this includes the future stability of the organisation.

5. Planning for the FutureEvery organisation needs to continually improve in order to survive. In social care we need to ensure we are taking advantage of new technology, change to meet different commissioning expectations as a consequence of legal

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changes and funding constraints and changes in the view that society has regarding people with learning disabilities

6. Having Good GovernanceEnsuring our policies and procedures are fit for purpose, support our charitable objectives and promote best practice. Also making sure the information we have supports good strategic and operational decision making.

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Strategic Plan

Freeways’ Strategic Plan is in its second year, running from 2016-2021.

The aim over the five years is for Freeways to work in a business-like manner, whilst still maintaining the charity’s compassionate ethos, to ensure the following outcomes:

1. Freeways is known locally as a high quality provider of person centred

services for people with learning disabilities, autism and/or challenging

behaviour

2. Freeways is known locally as a high quality provider for young people with a

learning disability offering a range of person centred services

3. Freeways offers all the people it supports the opportunity to find employment

or work related activity as a method of increasing their independence

4. Freeways continues to meet the needs of the people it supports as they age

including end of life, where this is the best option for the individual

5. Freeways is a constantly growing and evolving organisation which is forward

thinking and actively looking for new opportunities and ways of working to

improve the outcomes for the charity and its beneficiaries

6. Freeways has a culture which underpins its strategy

The aim of Freeways Trust is to provide quality accommodation to underpin the Freeways strategy.

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Freeways Senior Management Structure

Freeways Trust Structure

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CEOClaire Hayward

Finance Director and Company Secretary

Finance Team 6 posts

Senior OperationsManager

3 Posts

Human Resources Manager

HR and Reception5 Posts

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Chair of Trustees

Finance Director and Company Secretary (PT)

Strategic Estates Manager

Maintenance Team3 posts

Job Description

Job Description

Job title: Finance Director /Company Secretary

Department Finance

Split of role: Finance Director / Company Secretary For Freeways Finance Director / Company Secretary for Freeways Trust

Location: Based at Freeways Head Office, Abbots Leigh

Accountable to: CEO of Freeways in relation to Freeways. Chair of Trustees in relation to Freeways Trust. Board of Trustees in relation to the Pension scheme

Accountable for: Freeways: Finance Manager & Finance Team

Job Purpose

To contribute significantly to the financial leadership of Freeways and Freeways Trust, reporting directly to the CEO and the Chair of Trustees as outlined above to deliver agreed strategies relating to all financial requirements to include:

Directing and delivering financial, regulatory, company secretarial and facilities services for Freeways and Freeways Trust, ensuring full compliance with all appropriate legislative and regulatory requirements.

As a member of the senior management team, sharing overall responsibility for the preparation and delivery of Freeways and Freeways Trust business plans and the day to day operation of the organisation.

Overseeing all financial aspects of Freeways and Freeways Trust’s activities, including preparation of budgets for an organisation with a turnover of £5.5 million.

Acting as Company Secretary for Freeways and Freeways Trust with additional responsibility for the Freeways Pension schemes providing all relevant services needed to fulfil this role.

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Key Responsibilities and Objectives

Strategic Management

To support the CEO to set the overall direction of Freeways and to provide effective leadership in delivering strategic and operational plans, including the tracking and reporting of Key Performance Indicators, impact and progress against plan.

To develop a financial strategy and five-year budget plan, including investment plans (for Freeways and Freeways Trust ), which ensure that the objectives and actions in each charity five-year strategy and rolling Business Plan can be delivered financially.

To develop and deliver an IT strategy, which ensures that the objectives and actions in the Charity’s five-year strategy and rolling business plan can be delivered on time.

Undertaking detailed profitability analysis to ensure informed strategic business planning and investment decisions are taken.

Providing strategic recommendations to enhance financial performance and new growth opportunities.

To investigate all potential business opportunities both external and internal to ensure the required  income stream level is sustainable

Playing a key role in the purchasing of services across the charities, including involvement in tendering processes and negotiation of any outsourcing contracts.

Financial Management

To support the CEO and SEM to understand the financial feasibility of future developments and to plan and manage the best solutions to fund future developments.

To lead on the financial aspects of any strategic projects aimed at achieving growth of the organisation.

To maintain financial control of all centralised budgets with an overall value of £1m and oversight of devolved budgets to ensure the procedures laid down in the charities financial regulations are adhered to.

To maintain financial control systems for all income and expenditure, providing reports to the CEO, SEM, the Board of Trustees and Managers on progress of income and expenditure against budgets, as required.

Ensure up to date records of departmental information are maintained. To maintain and develop strong working relationships with key suppliers, partners and other

stakeholders, identifying and implementing opportunities to work in partnership to share/reduce costs and to improve service delivery.

To ensure robust tendering processes that are fair, objective and transparent and which uphold and demonstrate the probity of the organisation.

To develop and implement a system to enabling Freeways to track, monitor and report KPIs and broader management information.

Responsible for the preparation of the Trustees' annual reports and accounts for Freeways, Freeways Trust, Leigh Court Services Ltd and the Freeways Trust Pension Scheme in accordance with the relevant financial legislation.

To present and interpret accounts and other financial information to both the staff and Trustees.

To lead and manage the Pension Schemes associated with Freeways advising on changing legislation and cost implications.

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Leadership and Delivery

To provide high quality advice and support as required to the CEO, SEM, Trustees and Chair of Trustees, Senior Leadership Team and staff on matters relating to finance, governance, business planning, legal issues and risk management.

To ensure accurate and timely preparation of management accounts, the effective operation of management systems for all accounting functions.

To be responsible for the preparation of all appropriate financial reports for the SMT and board of Trustees.

To be knowledgeable in the latest legislation and new initiatives relating to the financial management of a Charity (e.g. (without limitation) secretarial practice, accounting standards, Charity Commission law and guidance).

To manage the preparation of statutory returns, pension scheme returns and accounts. To lead on external financial matters including with auditors, banks and funding partners. To advise on investment strategy. To develop co-ordinate and integrate business planning, management information and

budgeting systems so that they support the devolved management of services in the context of Freeways overall strategy and development plans.

To develop and oversee financial, risk management and business continuity processes to ensure the Charity is well run, efficient and complies with relevant legal requirements and best practice.

Staff Management and Development

To manage, motivate and develop the Finance Manager empowering them to improve their team and services.

To lead, develop and improve the Finance team by regularly carrying out progress reviews and ensuring key objectives are met and cascaded throughout the department, ensuring they deliver high quality services in areas of finance, governance, procurement and administration.

To liaise with Human Resources to establish an ongoing training program in line with company policies to develop staff to appropriate standards when required.

To communicate effectively with the team on a regular basis ensuring information is clear accurate, and timely, encouraging team participation in the way information is relayed to other departments.

To develop the resourcing requirements for the Finance function in line with the charities’ strategy making recommendations for and leading change where required.

To develop and manage policy relevant to the Finance function.

Additional Responsibilities

To represent and act as an effective ambassador for the two charities externally when required to do so by the CEO (for Freeways) and the Board of Trustees (for Freeways Trust) and act as Deputy to CEO (for Freeways) when directly requested to do so.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team to build a positive organisational culture and

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to provide clear, positive and motivational leadership across the organisation in line with its values

To attend meetings of the Board of Trustees and any other relevant forums supported by Freeways to provide effective high level strategic and operational support advice and information

To be part of an on-call system to cover for organisational emergencies Act as Data Protection Officer for Freeways. To undertake other such duties as are considered appropriate by the CEO (for Freeways)

and the Board of Trustees (for Freeways Trust) within the overall scope and objectives of the role and organisation, including the delivery of key projects and deputising for other senior leaders

To be aware of, adhere to and implement any legislative requirements consistent with the overall duties of this post including, Health and Safety and Data Protection and in line with all corporate governance and Freeways policies.

To contribute towards other aspects of Freeways work as required, commensurate with the scale and general nature of the post.

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Person SpecificationShortlisting will be based on the criteria listed below. Applicants should therefore explain in their application how they think they meet the criteria using relevant examples from previous work experience and community/voluntary/leisure activities, as appropriate.

Requirements: Essential Desirable AssessmentMethod

Knowledge and Qualifications:

Qualified Accountant with one of the professional bodies (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or CIPFA).

Good working knowledge of current account software systems.

Knowledge of management systems for all accounting functions including cash and banking, nominal ledgers.

Experience:

Significant experience at a senior financial controller or above level within a comparable organisation.

Significant experience in direct management and control of a minimum operational turnover of £5m.

Proven experience of direct management and supervision of a finance team.

Proven budgetary experience of budget preparation, setting, and monitoring including financial forecasting.

Proven experience in preparing and presenting financial / management accounts, reports and data.

Experience in liaising with auditors, business advisors and board members.

Experience of working in a company secretary type role with involvement in managing different types of pension schemes.

Experience of mergers and acquisitions.

Other Skills and Abilities:

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills both oral and written.

Proven report writing skills. Excellent IT skills (Excel, Word, Outlook). Proven experience in dealing with external

agencies, such as Charity Commission, HMRC.

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Application Form

Application Form & Interview

Application Form & Interview

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Sound business acumen. Team leader and team player. Ability to set targets; motivates and inspires staff to

achieve targets. Ability to prioritise responsibilities under pressure

and be self-motivating. Personal integrity and confidentiality. Excellent time management skills. Ability to distil complex information. Understanding of charity accounting.

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Employee Benefits

Annual Leave - entitlement is 35 days including bank holidays.

Freeways Pension – You will be eligible to join the Freeways Pension Plan which is based on auto-enrolment after completing 3 months service.

Employee Assistance Program – Freeways offers an assistance program for staff which offers on line advice and 24/7 specialist telephone support including a counselling service. This service is free to all employees and their immediate family can also benefit from some support. This service is run by a third party and completely confidential.

Working Hours – Freeways office is open from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday. The working week is 37.5 hours and will be based on organisational requirements. There is also a requirement to be part of an on call system to cover for organisational emergencies.

Flexible Working – Freeways understands the importance of work/life balance and will consider all requests for flexible working.

Sick Pay – After the completion of a successful probationary period of 6 months, if you are absent from work due to ill health, you will be entitled to occupational sick pay in line with the Absence Management Policy.

Special Leave – Freeways recognises that, at various stages during their working lives, personal, domestic, family responsibilities/difficulties or public commitments may require employees to request absence/s from work. Employees may be entitled to up to 3 days paid leave under our Special Leave Policy for such requests.

Child Care Vouchers – This is a flexible, simple and cost effective way of helping with the costs of childcare. The vouchers are purchased via salary sacrifice and can be used with a variety of child care providers.

Life Assurance – From their first day of employment staff are entitled to life cover (subject to the rules of the scheme) at a level of two times their salary. This means that, should you die whilst employed at Freeways, your family, or person you nominate, will receive a one off payment.

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Local Area

Freeways Head office is in the Leigh Court Estate in Abbots Leigh surrounded by woodland and farm land. Nearby you will find Leigh Woods, part of the Forest of Avon, and Ashton Court Estate; both areas are popular with mountain bikers and walkers.

Abbots Leigh is centred along the A369 between Clifton in Bristol and Portishead, close to junction 19 of the M5.

There is ample free parking on the site.

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