Work with us

• Home
• Work with us

---

We are currently looking for a Finance & Development Lead at the London Museum of Water and Steam

Finance & Development Lead

Introduction

We are looking for a proactive Finance & Development Lead to join our team at the London Museum of Water & Steam. This is a new and transformative role for the Museum, providing greater financial management, commercial thinking and scenario planning. It is a key part of the team, leading on the delivery of fiscal operation, planning and reporting. You’ll be delivering the annual Museum Accounts and month by month financial reporting and tracking as well as future planning and proofing.  The role is also responsible for development planning, including donor and legacies management, highlighting funding opportunities, and commercial partnerships and vendor management. Working closely with the Museum Director, together you’ll generate a sustainable model, fit for the future.

Hannah Harte

Museum Director

About the London Museum of Water & Steam

The London Museum of Water & Steam is an outstanding independent Museum based in an historic site, a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London.  We tell the story of a city’s mission for clean water and the innovative steam pumping methods used to distribute it to millions.

The site was saved from demolition by volunteers in the 1970s. We are home to a unique collection which tells the story of water from Thames to tap, including some of the largest pumping engines in the world. The pumping station has been an important part of West London since 1838 and this continues today.

We’re a Museum with ambition.  We can have big impact on some of the most important issues today.  We are centred on water, a critical commodity that needs our voice, and energy, and the future of energy is a current conundrum that the whole planet needs to solve.  In this context, we want to broaden our historical stories, anchoring them in the present and demonstrating their relevance to the future.  We make our history accessible to a wide range of people from families with small children to specialist enthusiasts and everyone in between, inviting them to join our community and share our story. Our Museum is special and we want to spread the word.  We want to extend our reach, engaging with more people and more diverse groups and preserve our Museum and site for future generations.

We are still a majority volunteer organisation with over 50 volunteers and just 12 staff members who look after 24,500 visitors per year, including over 4500 primary school pupils.

The Museum is a charity and a membership organisation with an energetic and enthusiastic team of trustees leading the way.

The Team

The London Museum of Water & Steam is a small, focused team. The role reports to the Museum Director and is a senior role.  The successful candidate will also work closely with the Site & Collections Lead, Front of House Officer and the Engagement & Interpretation Officer and manages the Marketing & Events Officer.

The team is assisted by a team of Duty Managers and freelance team members supporting funded projects and our learning offer.  The part time staff team works alongside a dedicated team of over 50 volunteers and liaises closely with our Museum Trustees.

The Museum’s Collections

The Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of stationary steam engines, including four rotative and five Cornish Beam engines. We also have a steam fire engine, a waterworks railway with two locomotives and an archive.

We want to look after our collections and inspire our visitors and community with their ingenuity and relevance today. We want to help people access the collections and connect them to their own lives in a way that helps to achieve positive impact for people and the planet. We want to work with our volunteers to enable the archive to be accessible and inform our interpretation and the stories we share in a deeper way. We’re maintaining the running of our engines, in the most sustainable way possible so we can continue to share them with all our audiences and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Produce the annual and monthly management accounts, including detailed analysis, to enable the Director to make strategic decisions.
• Provide timely, accurate and user focused financial reports to stakeholders and budget holders to support budget management, reporting and decision making.
• Proactive cost control.
• Maintain monthly reconciliations of transactions and reporting on staff, project and day-to-day expenses.
• Review actual and forecast results against budget, obtaining and recording variance explanations from budget holders, identifying material financial issues and mitigating actions.
• Supporting the Director with financial planning, future planning, and budgeting.
• Supporting the Director on fundraising scheduling, donor and legacies management and highlighting funding opportunities.
• Supporting budget holders to understand their responsibilities and keep on track throughout the year.
• Analyse and explain performance using a range of tools and techniques.
• Maintain monthly reconciliations for legacy and grant transactions ensuring that the correct income recognition treatment is applied and supporting documentation is collected.
• Own the fixed asset register, ensuring that correct postings are made in the accounting system.
• Act as a focal point for all financial performance enquires.
• Play a lead role in the annual audit process.
• Prepare reports for a range of Boards, Committees and other stakeholders.
• Ensuring month end payroll is actioned.
• Ensuring correct recording of financial transactions on a monthly and year end basis
• Positively promote the London Museum of Water & Steam and our core values.
• Any other daily duties which are relevant to the role.

Team Contribution and Culture

The role is part of a small team who lead the operation and development of the Museum in association with our Volunteers and Trustees.  In this respect you will be expected to:

• Work alongside and support colleagues to achieve the Museum’s vision, values and objectives.
• Ensure the Museum adopts an audience-focused and socially and culturally inclusive approach to its work.
• Promote equality of opportunity in the delivery of services.
• Contribute to a positive, forward-looking, and result orientated organisational culture

Person specification

We are looking for enthusiastic and proactive person who brings with them:

• A recognised accounting qualification (CIMA or ACCA preferred) Qualified or Finalist.
• Experience of preparing and advising on commercial business plans.
• Experience of successful financial management and control.
• Experience of financial reporting, management accounts and budgets.
• Effective oral and written communication skills; able to explain complex financial information clearly and accurately to non-financial people at all levels.
• Excellent team working and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced EXCEL, including preparing financial models and business plans (minimum: comfortable creating pivot tables and using V-Lookups)
• Ability to influence at different levels.
• Solution-focused; able to show a practical approach to problem solving.
• Working knowledge of public finance and/or charity accounting.
• A willingness to learn and grow in the role as we learn from our communities and volunteers.
• A willingness to try new ideas and create possibilities, remaining up to date with current museum and cultural heritage thinking.
• Experience of working and engaging with a range of stakeholders and audiences.

Personal qualities

• Detail focused, coupled with an ability to see the bigger picture.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills.
• A love of collections and the heritage environment.
• Excellent listening skills and approachable nature.
• Responds positively to change and new challenges.
• A keen team player, happy to work and learn alongside a team.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Good humour, enthusiasm and emotional intelligence.
• The ability to represent the Museum as an ambassador.

Terms of appointment

This is a part-time post: 22.5 hours (3 days) a week. We are flexible and can negotiate how the hours are allocated but it will include some irregular weekend work and is based on-site.

Salary £35,000 pro rata (£21,000 actual salary)

The successful candidate will be engaged as an employee and receive a pension contribution, holiday pay and other benefits.

How to apply

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter succinctly outlining your experience and skills to Hannah Harte, Museum Director, at [email protected]. Please ensure that your covering letter fully addresses the appointment criteria in the person specification.

We are an equal opportunities employer and if you have any accessibility needs please get in touch so we can make adjustments to the recruitment process. 

Closing date: 23:59 Sunday 5^th May 2024

Interviews will take place on Friday 10^th May 2024

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or wish to have an informal discussion, please contact: Hannah Harte, Museum Director, at [email protected]

Please visit our volunteering page to discover other ways to get involved.