Assistant Accountant - Assets & Investments

At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers! So, if you like the sound of one of our jobs, please apply - you could be just who we're looking for! Of course, experience and track record are important, but we're more interested in hiring someone that embodies our People Promises. That's someone that does the right thing, is enthusiastic and motivated to grow, believes in Community spirit, is respectful and enjoys their work. As the UK's leading Social Enterprise we're dedicated to creating inclusive and thriving Communities for both our Customers and Employees.

More about your role

You'll support the Assets & Investments finance team by helping to deliver accurate and timely management accounting. You'll produce monthly reporting packs including commentary and maintaining financial data across systems.

You'll analyse financial performance, investigate variances and support cost centre reporting, helping to ensure accuracy and insight across the business. You will attend monthly managing agent meetings and present the monthly financial results, discussing areas of risk and opportunity. 

You'll also prepare monthly balance sheet reconciliations providing supporting information and resolve any unknown balances, assist with forecasts and business planning, and process journals such as accruals, prepayments and managing agent statements.

Working closely with both finance and non-finance stakeholders, you'll support the accuracy of financial information, contribute to improving processes and efficiencies, and ensure all transactions are recorded in line with accounting standards.

This is an initial fixed term contract until October 2027 working out of Preston 2-3 days a week.

For more information download a copy of the job description.

Essential criteria

• Working towards a finance qualification (e.g. AAT or equivalent) or relevant practical experience
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting or management reporting
• Experience preparing management accounts, including journal postings, balance sheet reconciliations and variance analysis
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and financial systems
• Knowledge of accounting standards and finance processes (policies and procedures)

More about you

You're building your career in finance and enjoy working with numbers, systems and data to support business decisions. You're comfortable working across a variety of tasks, from reconciliations to reporting, and take pride in producing accurate and reliable work.

You work well with others and are confident collaborating with both finance and non-finance colleagues to ensure information is correct and meaningful. You're proactive in identifying issues, spotting opportunities for improvement and helping streamline processes. You're organised, detail-focused and keen to continue developing your technical accounting skills.

At Places for People we are committed to a safe working environment so a basic DBS check is mandatory.

Benefits

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for

We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:

• Competitive salary with regular annual review
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Bonus scheme for colleagues at 2%
• 35 days holiday (including bank holiday) with option to buy or sell days
• Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs - up to £500 savings per year
• Access to wellbeing support such as counselling and flu jabs
• Private GP and health support services available
• Access to a rewards platform with retail and lifestyle discounts
• Savings on groceries, travel, shopping and home products
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Access to professional qualifications and career progression
• Internal development programmes and learning support
• Recognition schemes such as Star Awards and Colleagues Awards
• Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
• Free membership to Places Gyms

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then apply following our simple 5 minute application process, upload a CV and a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role. If you have any questions please email the recruitment team View email address on careers.placesforpeople.co.uk

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided you meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on View email address on careers.placesforpeople.co.uk . 

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications. If you are interested in this role we would advise applying immediately to avoid disappointment.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.

W e understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.  

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. 

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. 

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities