Finance & Admin Assistant

Salary: £22,500 dependent on experience

The Castle Cinema are seeking a Finance & Admin Assistant to be responsible for maintaining the cinema’s finances in collaboration with the Cinema Directors and external accountants.

The Castle Cinema is an independent community cinema in Hackney, and the reincarnation of one of London’s earliest cinemas! Built in 1913 as The Castle Electric Theatre, the original cinema closed in 1958 but re-opened in 2017 after a successful crowdfunding campaign.

With two beautiful screens and a stunning bar, we’re passionate about great films, delicious refreshments and genuine service, and want a trip to The Castle to be remarkable for all three.

We’re proud to have built a great reputation with the following values:

Honest & generous; Friendly & informal; Diverse & inclusive.

We particularly welcome and encourage candidates local to Hackney, disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and those that are underrepresented in the arts to apply. We’re also committed to strong LGBTQ and gender representation.

Summary

Our Finance & Admin Assistant is a key support to our senior management team. They’re responsible for maintaining the cinema’s finances in collaboration with the Cinema Directors and external accountants. They also take an active role in related admin such as the cinema software and HR processes, and provide analysis and reporting on all business areas.

We’re looking for someone who is highly computer literate as we aim to automate and streamline as many processes as possible. We anticipate this role will have potential for some flexible and remote working.

Responsibilities

• Check, submit and accurately reconcile invoices, and cross reference with statements
• Maintain bookkeeping in Pleo, Dext and Xero
• Liaise with team members, customers and suppliers to resolve queries on a timely basis
• Liaise with senior management and external accountant to ensure staff wages and other payments are prepared and submitted in a timely manner
• Process payment runs for the cinema to ensure staff and suppliers are paid on time
• Work with the hires and events team to raise sales invoices and send to clients
• Organise refunds, including hire deposits
• Receive, reconcile and process all income, and investigate discrepancies
• Review outstanding debtors, issue reminders, and chase overdue amounts
• Administer the cinema’s petty cash and other cash out activities
• Develop a great working relationship with the external accountants, and provide information to them on a timely basis
• Draw upon experience to help to review, rethink and redesign processes and practices to create better, leaner, simplified and more automated ways of doing things
• Promote sustainable working practices and reduce the environmental impact of the cinema.
• Work with the Cinema Directors to ensure appropriate financial tracking and reporting
• Take an active role in administering the cinema & bar software – updating attributes such as VAT rates, cost of stock and license fees, and providing insights, input and feedback
• Support the heads of departments (Programme, Hires, F&B, Marketing, HR) with finance related tasks such as reconciliation, reporting and analysis
• Assist with other reporting such as PPL PRS
• Work with the Cinema Directors and technical team to automate and streamline processes wherever possible
• Support the Cinema Directors in developing fundraising strategies and documentation
• Develop a working understanding of the cinema’s operations, and a willingness to occasionally assist the team on shift.
• Be willing to undertake any necessary training or development in order to fulfill the role

This  job  description  is  indicative  but  not  exhaustive.  As  such,  in  addition  to  the  key responsibilities listed the post holder may be required to perform other duties commensurate with the scope and/or level of the role.

Person Specification

Essential

• Minimum 1-2 years experience in a similar finance or administration role
• Numerate and with knowledge of accounts software packages or able to learn quickly
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Strong financial literacy in preparing budgets and financial reporting
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to prioritise workloads and coordinate workflows between team members to meet deadlines for bids or reporting purposes
• Good understanding of accounting principles
• Ability to work accurately at pace
• Fluent I.T skills including confidence with Gsuite, databases and spreadsheets
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Punctual and reliable
• Desire to grow with the role

Desirable

• Degree in finance, accounting, business administration or similar
• Understanding of cinema operations and software, and the wider cinema industry
• Applied knowledge of current legislative frameworks and best practices
• Prior experience of finance software such as Xero, BrightPay, Dext and Pleo
• Experience in developing fundraising strategies and brokering partnerships within an arts and/or cultural context
• Part qualified ACCA/CIMA or equivalent
• A basic grounding in computer programming

Terms & Conditions

Job title: Finance & Admin Assistant

Reporting to: Senior Managers, Cinema Directors

Pay: £22.5k p/a pro rata – dependent on experience

Hours: up to 32 hours per week

Holiday entitlement: equivalent of 28 days per year, pro rata

Other benefits: complimentary tickets to screenings and events in the cinema, 50% discount on select food and drink at the bar.

Contract: permanent, subject to a three month probationary period

Please send a CV and cover letter to: jobs@thecastlecinema.com and include “Finance & Admin Assistant” in the subject line.

Please note: as a small team we may not be able to respond to every application. Thank you in advance for your interest.

The closing date for this position is 07/04/2021 at 23:59