Senior Financial Accountant
Full Time/Permanent
Salary - £55-£60k
Our offer to you
We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive:
- Competitive salary and pension scheme
- 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years
- Hybrid, Flexible working
- Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme (subject to terms)
- Health and Wellbeing portal – access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme
- Discounts – you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping
About Us
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,100 employees and over 20,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning. As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future.
St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, and Young Responders programmes).
Job Summary
Are you a qualified accountant looking for a senior role where you can make a meaningful impact? At St John Ambulance, we're seeking a Senior Financial Accountant to play a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity, accuracy and effectiveness of our financial operations. Working closely with the Financial Controller, you'll help deliver high-quality financial reporting, maintain strong financial controls, oversee cash flow management, and support key statutory and regulatory requirements. This is an excellent opportunity to apply your technical accounting expertise while influencing financial governance across a national charity that saves lives and supports communities every day.
About You
To be successful in this role, you'll be a fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with strong technical accounting expertise and a proven track record in financial reporting and control. You'll bring experience of preparing statutory accounts, managing external audits, producing VAT returns, and delivering accurate balance sheet, cash flow and management reporting.
You'll have:
- A professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA or CIMA).
- Significant experience in financial accounting, including statutory reporting, audit management, and balance sheet control.
- At least three years' experience working within an audit firm.
- Strong knowledge of UK GAAP, financial controls, and VAT regulations.
- Experience preparing cash flow forecasts and supporting treasury and investment management activities.
- Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex financial information and provide clear insights.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to build effective relationships at all levels of the organisation.
- Advanced Microsoft Office skills and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
It would be beneficial if you also have experience of charity accounting and reporting requirements, including the Charity SORP, and familiarity with SUN and Q&A accounting systems. Most importantly, you'll be a collaborative and values-driven professional who champions inclusion, embraces continuous improvement, and demonstrates the St John HEART values in everything you do.
About the Role
- - Lead on the preparation of statutory accounts, annual reporting, and support external audit activities.
- - Produce accurate cash flow forecasts and contribute to budgeting and financial planning processes.
- - Prepare VAT returns and support other tax and regulatory submissions.
- - Ensure robust balance sheet control through the preparation, review, and resolution of reconciliations.
- - Support month-end and year-end close processes, delivering timely and accurate financial reporting.
- - Maintain strong financial controls, compliance processes, and support the implementation of accounting standard changes.
- - Drive continuous improvement across finance systems, processes, reporting, and treasury management activities.
- - Collaborate with colleagues across the organisation, championing inclusive leadership, innovation, and St John values.
Please see the job description for more detail (this can be viewed on our website or once you click apply)
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive high volume of applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
St John Ambulance are committed to increasing the diversity of our team and making sure we best reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. At St John, everyone is valued and supported to thrive, we have several networks including Multi Culture, Disability and Accessibility, Pride, Family and Carers and Women’s groups. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and engender a sense of belonging for all, by creating an environment of mutual respect, where we value unique differences and demonstrate authentic allyship. We believe passionately in equality, diversity and inclusion.
St John Ambulance is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice. Therefore, all successful applicants will undergo pre-employment checks, including DBS Clearance, as part of the onboarding process, if applicable to the nature of the role
Please note: St John does not accept speculative CVs and will only review CVs sent in application for an advertised vacancy.
