Treasurer to support Leicester charity

We're on the hunt for a new Treasurer to join our Board of Trustees here at First Step Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, to help oversee our finances and ensure our charity can fulfil its mission to deliver counselling and services to male survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

What will you be doing?

About First Step

We are a Leicester-based charity, specialising in providing services including counselling and advocacy to male survivors of sexual violence and sexual abuse. We are one of only six UK charities operating in this space, and have enjoyed year-on-year growth to the point that we have become an essential service throughout the city, county and beyond. In recent years we have formed partnerships with other similar charities to deliver remote counselling to people across the country, and we have stepped up our work in the county's prisons to help inmates come to terms with their past and break their cycle of offending.

We are largely funded by grants, with support from funders including the National Lottery, Henry Smith Foundation, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. Last financial year we attracted over £300,000 in grant funding to help us deliver our essential services to more clients than ever before. We deliver our services free of charge to our clients, and our mission is to be able to reach everyone who needs us and support them in taking the first step towards addressing the sexual abuse they experienced.

About the role

As our Treasurer, you will take a key role in maintaining strategic oversight of our finances, managing our annual budget and monitoring our spend against it, and preparing our annual accounts for submission to the Charity Commission. You will also become a key member of our small but effective Trustee team, each of whom are engaged and passionate about our cause, and keen to see First Step continue to go from strength to strength.

You will also work with our CEO and Finance lead to support them in their operational management of day-to-day spending, and authorise any large transactions in line with our security measures.

What are we looking for?

You will ideally have experience in accounting, bookkeeping, finance, audit or budget management, with an understanding of the fundraising landscape. As an added bonus, you may have experience in financial reporting, particularly within the public sector.

Ideally you will be familiar with software such as Sage or Xero, or are willing to get up to speed quickly on it.

You will have a knack for finding that balance between caution and confidence, ensuring the charity meets its obligations in a safe way but is also bold enough to continue sustainable growth. You will not be afraid to offer your perspective, or challenge when appropriate, to help us demonstrate effective governance.

What difference will you make?

You will join us at an exciting time, with the opportunity to support the Board of Trustees and our committed staff team in modernising our financial governance processes, improving our financial reporting to provide assurance to our funders, and ensuring that First Step is well-positioned to attract new streams of funding.

If you have a passion for bringing about impactful change and continuous improvement, and want to help First Step continue to reach everyone who needs us, we would love to hear from you.