CRRC is a registered charity with the primary object of supporting refugees and displaced persons in Cambridge and Cambridgeshire. The charity is lead by the Board of Trustees of which the Treasurer is an ex-officio member. (S)he is subject to the decisions of the Board.
The Treasurer will hold the CRRC’s Trustees to account for the Charity’s finances and vision, maintain financial control and ensure we comply with our legal responsibilities as a Registered Charity. The Treasurer will work with all members of the team to ensure that there is a transparent and clear financial process. As Treasurer to the Charity, you will also become a Trustee. Trustees are expected to understand and accept the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship and understand their role as a Trustee.
The role is mainly online with occasional in person meetings in Cambridge. The expected hours will vary between 2 to 6 hours per week with a flexible working arrangement. The position is unpaid. Expenses incurred in undertaking the role will be reimbursed.
A competent treasurer or part-qualified bookkeeper or accountant would be ideal. Experience in the charity field is desirable but not essential.
Our bank is the Co-operative Bank. There is no branch in Cambridge, so all transactions are electronic or by post.
Budgets The Treasurer co-ordinates the production of an annual budget, in conjunction with Group leaders. Details are kept on excel spreadsheets.
Financial Reports will be presented to the Board every quarter, setting out the income, expenditure and balance against budget at the end of each quarter. In addition to providing the Board with an overview of the financial position of CRRC, these reports should help the Board to understand trends and pressures and help the Board to understand how CRRC is using funds to support its objective.
Financial records These are now only kept electronically, using excel spreadsheets. The existing spreadsheets have been set up by the present Treasurer, but could be modified if improvements are considered advantageous.
Receipts are from various sources, as standing orders, bank transfers, cheques and through Kindlink, Paypal, CAF and payroll deductions. Cash is rarely used.
Gift Aid The treasurer is responsible for making claims for Gift Aid and for keeping Gift Aid forms.
Payments All payments must have signed off by a Trustee responsible for the budget heading. The vast majority are by bank transfer. Claims for payment are made on an electronic form to the Treasurer, who then sets up a bank transfer which is forwarded to the signatories for approval. This gives final authorisation for the bank transfer to take place. The Treasurer must check that the form is correctly filled in and the payment requested is in line with relevant e-mails and overall CRRC policy. A bank card is used for a limited number of specific payments. The number of payments varies each month. In 2022-23 there were 270 payments across the year.
Restricted and designated funds In addition to the main CRRC fund, there are currently 3 restricted/designated funds. These funds use the same bank account, but its transactions are recorded separately.
Annual accounts The Treasurer is responsible for producing annual accounts after the end of the financial year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June. These are then presented in draft to the Board before being submitted to an Independent Examiner. The Treasurer then passes the approved annual account summary to the relevant Trustee for submission to the Charity Commission (Annual report and financial accounts 2022.)
Financial policy and Procedures This document gives in more detail the above information.
Supporting volunteers The Treasurer is also responsible for informing volunteers about the process for payments, including through relevant updates to process documents, and may be required from time to time to contribute to updated guidance for volunteers.
The current treasurer will be training the new treasurer and will remain available to support the new treasurer. The main reason for the stepping back of the current treasurer is to make time for the current treasurer to drive and oversee important changes and adaptations to facilitate the financial management of CRRC and to be more closely involved in the overall governance of our charity.
CRRC intends to adopt a digital payments system in 2024-25, in order to streamline the payment process for CRRC’s volunteers, budget approvers, bank signatories, and for the Treasurer. CRRC is also exploring changing the bank account.
It is possible that the number of restricted/designated bank accounts may be reduced.
Applications must be made by email to admin@cambridgerefugees.org in the first instance; please ignore the template “Apply now” button below.
Please provide your CV including the names and contact details of two references, along with a covering letter stating why you wish to work for the organisation, how your skills would add value to the board and any other relevant information.