About Media Defence

Media Defence is a charity that helps media to defend their rights. We support independent media, journalists and citizen journalists who are under legal threat by making sure that lawyers are available to defend them. We engage in strategic litigation to improve the regulatory environment for media freedom, make grants to organisations in various countries to run media defence programmes, and build the capacity of the lawyers and organisations we work with on issues of media law.

Media Defence was set up in 2008 and has established itself as a leader in the field. To date, we have supported over 1,000 cases, helping hundreds of journalists in over 110 countries. Our work has helped prevent over 300 years of detention for media workers and avoided £500m in damages. We have supported 40 partners and have trained 144 lawyers.

About the role

In this role, you will provide finance, bookkeeping, and administration support to MD, processing and maintaining all financial records, data and payroll, helping us grow as an organisation while maintaining the smooth day-to-day running of the office.  

Main Responsibilities

Finance:

• Post MD’s day-to-day financial transactions including accounts payable, accounts receivable/grants claim, bank reconciliation, general accounting functions; update MD’s financial systems in a timely and accurate fashion using Sage 50 Accounts and other software as required.
• Support the Finance Manager with the preparation of donor reports.
• Support the Grants Team by reviewing financial reports and documents from partners, i.e. receipts, bank statements, invoices, payslips.
• Prepare and make payments to suppliers and MD partners on various payment platforms.
• Reconcile Credit Card statements liaising with staff to ensure all expenses are properly accounted for including supporting documents.
• Ensure payslips are sent to staff each month.
• Send out timesheet templates to staff on a monthly basis and collate and save the information under the Finance folder.
• Monitor the Finance inbox and respond to queries and emails in a timely manner.

Operations:

• Support the HR and Operations Manager in the premise management and ensure smooth and effective running of the MD office.
• Manage relationship with our operational suppliers (Vodafone, Spirit, DiversityTravel)
• Maintain the Fixed Asset register.
• Support the Legal Team with filings by ensuring they have the required resources.
• Responsible for the logistics (travel, meeting rooms & lunch) of our team days and board meetings.
• Monitor office supplies and stationery inventory and make purchases when required.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Degree in accounting / finance or studying towards a professional qualification (AAT, ACCA or CIMA)
• At least three years’ recent experience working in a similar role within the Charity sector.
• Proven experience with all aspects of Sage 50 accounts.
• Competent IT user, conversant in Excel and other Office systems.
• Highly organised with proven experience of working across teams and effectively managing conflicting priorities.
• Proven ability to work independently, accurately and pay attention to detail, including in record keeping and data management.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, fluency in English, excellent interpersonal skills and a pleasant, diplomatic manner in interacting with colleagues at all levels, and MD stakeholders.
• Able to work effectively in a team and on own initiative.
• Right to work in the UK.

Desirable:

• Experience of, and an interest in, international human rights, law, journalism.
• Good understanding of Sage 50 Payroll.
• Fluency in any of the following languages: Spanish, French, Arabic.

Benefits

• Pension: Contributory pension scheme (employer matched contribution up to max. 8%)
• Annual leave: 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Week off for Christmas and New Year
• Opportunity to carry over five days into the following annual leave year
• Days’ start/finish time is flexible
• Third Friday of each month off
• On joining Media Defence, all employees are automatically able to access professional support through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provided by Health Assured Limited and through a digital health app, Peppy
• We offer an enhanced maternity and paternity leave package
• We provide a range of training and development tools to offer support our employees to improve or develop skills and knowledge for the benefit of both the individual and the organisation

Equality and diversity are fundamental to our mission. We are committed to the recruitment and retention of individuals from diverse backgrounds and who reflect the diverse communities in which we operate.

The closing date for applications is Monday 4th December 2023 by 5pm.

Interviews will be held virtually in the w/c Monday 11th December and will comprise of a test.