Campaign/Gift Aid Officer

Campaign & Gift Aid Officer

Reports To Senior Accounts Technician

Hours of work: 35 hours per week Monday to Friday

Overview of the Diocese

The Diocese of Portsmouth comprises 90 parishes across Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire (except Slough), South Oxfordshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. Formed 19th May 1882 by the division of the Diocese of Southwark, the Diocese of Portsmouth has a presence in every community and can offer ministry and mission to all who come to us, working towards the Bishop's vision of Bringing people closer to Jesus Christ through his church.

Background

The prime responsibility of the Diocesan Finance Office is to support our parishes in the smooth functioning of all financial matters. This includes managing transactions with and for parishes, supporting their access to banking and credit cards and providing systems and guidance for financial reporting and claiming Gift Aid. Parishes approach us for advice and support on a wide range of activities relating to fundraising, Gift Aid, the payment of staff, pension scheme rules, handling charitable collections and administering restricted funds. The aim and mission of our team is to provide the highest possible quality of support to parishes, and to the priests and volunteers that serve them. We also provide a support function to other Diocesan central departments, assisting with financial transactions and with budgeting and financial monitoring. We are responsible for producing statutory accounts and supporting the audit process.

Overall Job Purpose

The Gift Aid function is an important role within the Diocesan finance team. The purpose of this role is to undertake the bulk of the day to day responsibility for claiming Gift Aid for the Diocese. The value of the Gift Aid claimed annually from HMRC is around £2 million. Gift Aid is organised locally in parishes by volunteers, and it is a key responsibility of this role to ensure that these individuals are trained and encouraged to perform this service. Training and communication will therefore be of primary importance as a new way of working is promoted to users across the Diocese. It is essential that the post holder has the ability and communication skills to build strong working relationships at all levels across the organisation. The role will report to the Senior Accounts Technician

Additionally, the role will be responsible for collections/donations/direct debits for all campaign fundraising. The Diocese has embarked on a 5 year campaign (Closer to Christ) which is anticipated to raise in excess of £10 million. The administration of the cash collection and accounting for this campaign is very important and will be a key element of this role

Key Responsibilities

Gift Aid

• Maintain user access to the Gift Aid Claim System database, processing new users and issuing passwords

• Maintain communications and contact details of all members of the Gift Aid community within the parishes

• Take the lead on maintaining the ongoing relationship with the Gift Aid Claim System software provider

• Manage the monthly claim process, including working with the Senior Accounts Technician to ensure the accuracy of funds passed back to parishes

• Ensure the correct analysis is undertaken to apply Gift Aid to restricted funds within the Diocese

• Organise an annual Gift Aid seminar as part of the Parish Volunteers day. This also serves as an AGM for the scheme

• Work with Gift Aid volunteers and finance team to continue and develop a system of self-auditing for Gift Aid to comply with HMRC requirements

• Access updates and training as required to ensure that our guidance is technically up to date with all HMRC changes reflected

• Ensure that an efficient filing and data storage system is maintained

• Prepare accounting journals for both Gift Aid and Collections/Donations

Closer to Christ Campaign

• Maintain excel spreadsheet of campaign pledges and enable efficient electronic filing of pledges

• Process new Direct Debit collections and ensure smooth running of existing direct debit mandates

• Pay in cheques on day of receipt

• Liaise weekly with CCS

• Reconcile monthly with bank account and journal entries onto accounting system

• Respond to queries from donors

Person Specification

(Personal attributes essential to performing role: e.g. skills, competencies, expertise, knowledge, experience.)

Competence, expertise & Knowledge

Essential

• Good communication skills, with the ability to provide instruction, guidance and advice to other staff and volunteers

• Numeracy and attention to detail

• Ability to self-motivate and undertake a wide variety of tasks

• Able to meet deadlines and identify and resolve problems

• Collaborative approach to working, willingness to support other Finance team members

• Basic accounting experience preferred

Please apply by sending:

A Covering letter: Please tell us how your motivation, values, skills, experience, and personal qualities demonstrate your suitability for the role (around 500 words) and why you would like to work for the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.

Current CV and the details of two referees: This should include full education and employment history (including dates, with no gaps left unexplained). Please include your current or most recent employer as one of your referees.

Please send applications via email

Closing date for applications: Friday 10th December 2021 at 1700 hours

Notes to candidates

1. Interviews: all shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a face-to-face interview.

2. Unsuccessful applications: if you have not been contacted within 3 weeks of your application, we regret that you will not have been offered an interview on this occasion.

3. General: this post will be subject to review under the relevant Diocesan Terms and Conditions of Service.

4. New employees to the Diocese will be subject to a probationary period of six months.