Financial Accountant

Financial Accountant, GIY Ireland CLG

Location:GROW HQ, Waterford

Reporting to:CEO

Contract:Full-time, permanent

Salary:€50,000–€55,000, depending on experience

About GIY

GIY is a social enterprise and movement for real food. Our mission is to inspire, educate and enable people to grow, cook and eat more sustainably. From our home at GROW HQ in Waterford, we operate a diverse organisation spanning grant/donation-funded education programmes and GROW HQ's trading activities that include hospitality, retail, courses and organic food production.

We are now looking for an experienced Financial Accountant to take responsibility for the day-to-day management of the finance function across the organisation.

The Role

This is a broad, hands-on Financial Accountant position suited to someone who enjoys both the rigour of financial accounting and being closely involved in the commercial and operational life of an organisation.The Financial Accountant will have primary responsibility for the integrity of GIY's financial information, management accounts, cashflow, budgeting, compliance and financial controls, while providing useful and timely financial information to the CEO, management team and Board.

The role works across the GIY group of companies: GIY Ireland CLG and GIY Ireland (Activities) Ltd.A part-time bookkeeping resource provides support with agreed transactional and administrative finance activities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Management Accounts & Reporting

• Manage the month-end process and produce accurate and timely monthly management accounts.
• Prepare P&L, balance sheet and cashflow reporting for the organisation and relevant business units.
• Maintain and reconcile balance sheet accounts, including accruals, prepayments, deferred income and other key control accounts.
• Provide clear commentary on performance against budget and prior periods.
• Identify emerging financial issues, risks and opportunities and bring these proactively to management's attention.
• Prepare financial information and reports for management and Board meetings.
• Support managers in understanding and using financial information to improve decision-making.

2. Cashflow & Financial Management

• Maintain and regularly update short- and medium-term cashflow forecasts.
• Monitor cash position, working capital, debtors and creditors.
• Support the CEO and management team with cashflow planning and financial decision-making.
• Oversee banking, loan and other financing-related reconciliations and reporting.
• Maintain accurate records in relation to loans, loan notes and other financial commitments.

3. Budgeting & Forecasting

• Lead the annual budgeting process in conjunction with the CEO, management team and budget holders.
• Maintain forecasts throughout the year and highlight significant variances or changes in outlook.
• Work with managers to improve budget ownership and financial accountability.
• Support financial modelling and scenario planning for new projects, programmes and commercial opportunities.

4. Financial Controls & Compliance

• Maintain strong financial controls and ensure finance procedures are consistently followed.
• Oversee VAT returns and other relevant tax and statutory finance requirements.
• Ensure payroll information is accurately reflected and reconciled within the accounting system.
• Review and oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, expenses, banking and other transactional finance processes.
• Ensure appropriate separation of duties and financial controls across the organisation.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate and improve finance systems and processes.

5. Audit & Year-End

• Manage the preparation of year-end accounts and schedules.
• Act as the principal day-to-day contact with the external auditors.
• Coordinate audit information and ensure queries and outstanding matters are dealt with promptly.
• Support the preparation of statutory accounts and other required financial returns.

6. Grants, Funding & Restricted Income

• Maintain accurate financial records for grants, donations and restricted funding.
• Ensure income and expenditure are appropriately recognised and allocated.
• Support the preparation of financial reports and claims for funders.
• Work with programme and fundraising colleagues to ensure financial reporting requirements are understood and met.
• Support budgeting and financial input into funding applications where required.

7. Commercial & Business Partnering

• Work closely with managers across GROW HQ, education, fundraising and other activities to improve financial performance and understanding.
• Provide analysis of margins, costs, labour and other key financial drivers.
• Support commercial decision-making including pricing, investment and new initiatives.
• Help develop useful KPIs and management information rather than simply reporting historic financial results.
• Bring a practical, solutions-focused approach to financial challenges.

8. Finance Team & Administration

• Oversee the work of the part-time bookkeeping/finance support resource.
• Ensure transactional processes including cash, tips, payroll inputs and routine bookkeeping are completed accurately and on time.
• Provide appropriate review and controls over work delegated to finance support.
• Maintain clear finance procedures so that key processes are documented and not dependent on one individual.

The Person

We are looking for someone who combines strong technical accounting skills with a practical, hands-on approach.The successful candidate will ideally have:

• A recognised professional accounting qualification — ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CPA — or be a suitably experienced accountant with equivalent capability.
• Minimum 3 years producing management accounts, balance sheet reconciliations, budgets and cashflow forecasts.
• Good understanding of financial controls, VAT, audit and year-end processes.
• Experience working in an SME or similarly varied environment where the finance role is broad and hands-on.
• Strong Excel and accounting systems skills.
• The ability to analyse financial information and communicate it clearly to non-financial colleagues.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing deadlines.
• A proactive approach — identifying issues and proposing solutions rather than waiting to be asked.
• High standards of accuracy, integrity and confidentiality.

Experience in one or more of the following would be an advantage:

• Hospitality, retail or another operationally intensive business.
• Charity, non-profit or social enterprise environments.
• Grant-funded programmes and restricted income.
• Organisations with multiple legal entities or business units.
• Payroll and labour-cost analysis.
• Improving or automating finance systems and processes.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first six months, we would expect the Financial Accountant to have:

• Taken full ownership of the monthly finance cycle and management accounts.
• Established reliable and timely management and Board reporting.
• Maintained clear visibility over cashflow and financial commitments.
• Developed a strong understanding of the financial drivers of the different parts of GIY.
• Built effective working relationships with managers and budget holders.
• Ensured key financial controls and procedures are documented and operating effectively.
• Established an effective working relationship with the bookkeeping resource, with an appropriate division between transactional work and accountant-level responsibilities.
• Identified practical opportunities to improve the efficiency and quality of GIY's finance systems and reporting.

Why Join GIY?

This is an opportunity to take real ownership of finance within a purpose-led organisation.The role offers significantly more breadth than a traditional Financial Accountant position. You will work directly with the CEO, board and senior management and have visibility across commercial operations, education programmes, fundraising, food production, hospitality and organisational strategy.

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