About Us

Rainforest Trust is a leading global organisation sponsoring the creation and expansion of protected and conserved areas, playing a central role in combating biodiversity loss and fighting climate change. We have already placed over 45 million acres under permanent protection across 68 countries, and recent surveys show that 99% of the rainforest we have protected since 1988 remains intact.

Rainforest Trust UK (RTUK) is set up as a separate charity to tax-efficiently raise funds from donors here in the UK for Rainforest Trust’s conservation projects. We are currently a team of five people, but we are affiliated to, and supported by, the Rainforest Trust team in the U.S., which has a team of about 45 staff.

Overview

In 2022 the global charity raised $38 million for conservation projects in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The UK charity contributed £1.2m of this, and we are confident there is significant potential to increase our income from donors here. So, we are looking for an experienced Finance and Administrative Officer to join our small UK team to help us manage an increasing number of donations.

This is a varied role which will offer the successful candidate exposure to a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, including bank reconciliations, financial and performance reporting, some data upkeep and systems improvements. You will need to be good at juggling competing priorities, well-organised with excellent attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

Key Responsibilities

Finance

• Carry out weekly bank reconciliations using Xero.
• Maintaining records of expenditure, processing monthly expenses, paying invoices.
• Check income from bank transfers and import donations on a weekly basis to our CRM donor management database (Virtuous).
• Check bank transactions on a daily basis to see if any large/unexpected amounts have been received.
• Prepare HMRC Gift Aid claims and maintain records of Gift Aid donations and payments.
• Process monthly Disbursement payments of raised restricted funds to Rainforest Trust in the U.S.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly and annual management accounts and annual budgets.
• Liaise with the Payroll provider to assist with payroll preparation and ensure that all payroll deadlines are met.
• Prepare financial information for tenders or bids.
• Assist with annual external financial audits.
• Bank and process cheques.
• Transfer funds between Rainforest Trust UK bank accounts.
• Import bank transactions onto CRM database and ensure donations are assigned to correct conservation projects.

Administration

• Maintain all accounts on UK portals (Benevity, Charities Aid Foundation, etc) and process, track and reconcile all portal donations, soft crediting these where necessary.
• Ensure donors’ communications preferences are correctly recorded on the database, including adding new subscribers to the email mailing list and updating records when a donor opts in or out of a communication channel.
• Suggest changes or improvements to both financial and administrative processes (including automations) to increase accuracy, efficiency and potential cost reductions, then implement where agreed.
• Help update and maintain our supporter database, ensuring all information relating to funders and prospects is accurate and up-to-date, adhering to data protection and confidentiality procedures.
• Support processing and issuing of donor receipts and thank you letters.
• Support monitoring of the RTUK email inbox, responding to donor queries in a timely manner.
• Support with HR administration – keeping personnel and Trustee files up to date, keeping records of sickness, holidays and other absences, drafting new policies.
• Support the administrative coordination and delivery of fundraising appeals, campaigns and events.
• Help maintain and develop Rainforest Trust UK’s shared Google Drive, folders and templates.

General Duties

• Assist at fundraising events if required.
• Ensure the effective implementation of RTUK policies and procedures.
• Undertake such other duties, appropriate to the grade and character of the work, as may be reasonably required.

Person Specification

Experience

• At least 3 years’ relevant experience of general and finance administration
• Experience of working with accounting software, preferably Xero
• Basic accounting skills, AAT Level 2 qualified or relevant experience
• Experience of in-year financial reporting/monitoring key performance indicators
• Experience of preparing management accounts and budgets
• Experience of working in an administrative role, preferably within a fundraising environment
• Experience of using & maintaining a database, doing data entry and pulling data queries
• Experience of improving administrative systems and processes

Knowledge/Skills

• Highly numerate – with a high level of attention to detail
• Strong IT skills, especially Excel or Google-sheets
• Ability to prioritise with excellent organisation and time management skills
• Ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively with colleagues across
  the organisation
• Professional telephone manner and customer service skills
• Self-sufficient, self-motivated and proactive self-starter
• High proficiency with remote working

Values and Behaviours

• Commitment to Rainforest Trust UK’s mission and a passion for protecting the environment, saving species and fighting climate change
• Affinity with our core values of Nature & People; Efficiency; Transparency; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion;
• Partnerships & Collaboration; Science & Innovation
• Collaborative and able to work in a team
• Discretion and sensitivity in handling confidential information

Working Arrangements and Travel Requirements

Rainforest Trust UK staff work remotely and the successful candidate will be expected to work primarily from home with an excellent internet connection. They may be based anywhere in the UK but will be expected to travel to work from a shared team space in London 1 day per month. We are also flexible as to when the Officer works the available hours across the week, but would like some hours worked on a Friday.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Rainforest Trust UK is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive working environment. We recognise that promoting diversity and eliminating discrimination in our work will bring benefits for our people, our organisation and our charitable purpose. We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief or any other protected characteristic.

Benefits of joining Rainforest Trust UK

When asked what they love most about working at Rainforest Trust UK our staff say it is feeling they are making a difference and taking direct action on some of the biggest issues of our time – climate change, biodiversity loss and Indigenous Peoples’ rights. They also like being part of a small, friendly, and supportive team, where they feel they can have a direct input into decisions and our direction. We offer a host of other benefits too. See our Staff Benefits Policy here.

How to apply

Closing date for applications: is 5pm on 25 September 2023. To apply, please go via the Charity Job website. If you have been shortlisted we will let you know by the 29 September, and first interviews will take place on Thursday 5 October. Further information about our work can be found at: www.rainforesttrust.org