Finance and Administrative Assistant

You must apply for this job through Aurora's website, not just Handshake.

OVERVIEW 

Aurora Orchestra creates vibrant musical adventures that share a passion for orchestral music with the broadest possible audience. Over the past two decades it has established itself as one of the UK’s leading performing ensembles, with a vibrant year-round programme of live activity and an ambitious creative learning programme. 

The new role of Finance and Administrative Assistant will support Aurora’s programme with a focus on financial management and general administrative assistance for the orchestra’s leadership team and trustees. The appointee’s primary responsibility will be to support the Finance Manager with book-keeping and other areas of financial administration; they will also offer general administrative support including diary management/meeting planning for the Chief Executive, Creative Director and board. The role presents a great opportunity to develop a broad range of skills and experience at the heart of one of the UK’s most innovative performing arts companies. 

The ideal candidate will be a collaborative team player with a positive and enthusiastic attitude and strong interpersonal skills, who will thrive as part of a small and committed management team. They will show exceptional attention to detail, be highly organised and have an interest in further developing their accounting and administrative skills. 

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

This role is primarily focused on financial administration but will also involve supporting the wider Aurora team across a range of tasks and responsibilities. Within the context of a rapidly-developing organisation it is likely the role will evolve over time, with scope for developing experience across the full spectrum of orchestral management functions. Principal duties will include the following: 

Finance 

● Booking supplier invoices (including freelance player payments) onto QuickBooks Online, ensuring correct coding between account codes and orchestral project codes 

● Booking debit card transactions onto Quickbooks, ensuring correct coding 

● Processing staff expenses and booking onto QuickBooks 

● Responding to staff queries and requests in a professional and timely manner 

● Supporting sales invoice processing and chasing as required 

● Assisting with the reconciliation of the QuickBooks bank balance to the bank statement. 

Senior leadership/general office support 

● Diary management support (coordinating internal and external meetings) for senior team including the Chief Executive and Creative Director 

● Meeting room bookings 

● General office management support (stationery orders; keeping subscriptions up to date; support with digital filing etc) 

● Handling queries to the general Aurora email inbox/phone and fielding/passing along as appropriate Board 

● Organising/diarising board meetings including the four main board meetings per year, strategy day, committee meetings, trustee appraisal meetings etc 

● Confirming venues and organising online meeting links for board meetings 

● Preparing and circulating board papers

● Administering Charity Commission/Companies House filings relating to new board appointments and retirements

● Keeping board information up to date on Aurora’s website 

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Essential: 

● Strong IT skills including proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel 

● A collaborative team player with a positive and enthusiastic attitude and strong interpersonal skills, who will thrive as part of a small and committed management team 

● Excellent attention to detail 

● Ability to communicate effectively in person and in writing 

● Highly efficient and organised, with proven time management skills and the ability to prioritise and work calmly under pressure 

Desirable: 

● Minimum 1 year of relevant professional experience working in an administration role 

● Experience of financial administration/bookkeeping 

● Experience of using QuickBooks or similar accounting software 

● Some familiarity with orchestras/orchestral music 

Training: 

The individual will work closely with the Finance Manager and will be given training as required, with the possibility of formal AAT training as the role develops.