Welcome to Freebridge Community Housing

Recruitment Pack for the role ofProject Accountant

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Dear candidate,I am delighted that you are considering joining Freebridge.

Freebridge is a truly great place to work. We are a Times Top 100 company and employee satisfaction – along with customer satisfaction – are the main drivers of our business.

We are a values-based organisation and our people truly live our values of Working Together, Customer Focus, Empowerment, Enthusiasm and Integrity. We use our values in recruitment, appraisals, performance planning, recognition and how we work each day.

We are committed to motivating, recognising and rewarding our employees in a range of ways, including:

Nearly a quarter of our workforce are trained in coaching and mentoring skills, and as an employee of Freebridge, you would be able to access coaching support;

We are committed to supporting employee wellbeing and we offer access to a variety of support, including an Employee Assistance Programme and counselling. We also run an annual Week of Wellbeing which includes a wide variety of activities to support wellbeing;

We involve our employees in what we do, asking for their opinions on everything from our Business Plan to the social activities we run;

We offer a range of benefits, including the fantastic Freebridge Together website where employees can access discounts and get cashback;

Our employees can also choose the three charitable causes they would like to support each year, and they take the lead on fundraising. Last year alone, our employees efforts raised around £2,000 for good causes;

And we have a range of ways to recognise and reward our colleagues, making sure that great work doesn’t go unnoticed.

This is a really great place to work. If you would like to join us at Freebridge, then please do let us have your application.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Hall Chief Executive

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About Freebridge Community HousingFreebridge Community Housing is the largest provider of affordable housing in West Norfolk. We were set up in 2006 when 77% of voting tenants opted for the transfer of properties from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk.

Today we have around 7,000 homes and 17 sheltered schemes in West Norfolk. We cover a vast area which includes rural and urban communities. Half of our homes are located in King’s Lynn with the rest are dispersed throughout the rest of our district.

We employ around 210 employees across a range of teams including Housing, Customer Services, Property, HR, ICT, Communications, Finance and Legal. We also have our own Property Services team who support our customers’ homes. We are committed to developing our employees so they can maximise their potential and access opportunities. We also run a successful apprenticeship programme and several of our apprentices have gone on to win awards in recognition of their development.

We are investing around £8m a year in our local communities, meaning we are in West Norfolk for West Norfolk. We also work with local partners to deliver a range of projects and schemes which benefit the local community. Some of the exciting things we do include:

We are working on Hillington Square, a £30m regeneration project which will transform the heart of our community. We have worked with Hemingway Design and the Behavioural Insights Team on this impressive scheme;

We have bought Providence Street Community Centre and are working to develop this into a valuable and important community resource for local people;

Since 2010, we have invested £20k in local projects through our Community Fund;

And, in 2014, we made the Sunday Times Top 100 Not-for-Profit Companies list for the first time. In 2015, we were placed 62nd on the list.

Our VisionOur vision is A Better West Norfolk. Everything that we all do - whether it be in the ‘day job’ or through our projects and initiatives – contribute towards this aim.

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Some of our team at the launch of Millfleet Court, part of our £30m regeneration scheme in the heart of the community

In 2014, our employees showed us what our vision means to them in film and in a series of adverts. You can see this here: http://www.freebridge.org.uk/News/news141.html

Our MissionOur mission is ‘Developing Homes and Creating Opportunities for People Within West Norfolk.’ Through this mission we are providing good quality homes, and facilities and services for local communities. This includes Providence Street Community Centre which we own and which provides an important resource for local people.

Our ValuesAt Freebridge, you will hear about our values often. They are Working Together, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Empowerment and Customer Focus and they guide everything we do. We use the values to recruit and appoint new starters, we assess employees against the values in performance appraisals, and we set performance objectives built around the values.

What’s it like to work at Freebridge?So what’s it like to work at Freebridge? Well, who better to tell you than our great team of employees who took part in a film about Working at Freebridge.You can view this here: http://www.freebridge.org.uk/Work-for-us.html

Some of the other things we do here are:

CoachingWe are very proud that a quarter of our workforce is trained in coaching skills and coaching is an important part of our culture. We offer formal coaching sessions, and we have coaching conversations all the time with our colleagues. If you join us, you will also be able to access coaching yourself.

Customer ServiceThe Mary GoberMethod™ is at the heart of how we deliver customer service and every single employee has been trained in this method. This approachfocuses on the thinking behind good customer service and gives us tools to deliver better customer service, for our internal and external customers. Since we introduced this approach, our customer satisfaction has increased impressively. If you join us, you will be fully trained in this approach.

Equality and DiversityWe treat everyone fairly. We promote equality of opportunity and value the differences between our customers and everyone who works for Freebridge Community Housing. All our staff, contractors and consultants must treat colleagues

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We offer coaching to all our employees

and customers with politeness, tolerance and respect, regardless of their age, colour, disability, ethnicity, sex or gender identity, marital status, nationality or national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, caring responsibilities or any other unjustifiable reasons. We will not tolerate unfair discriminatory behaviour of any kind and we encourage the reporting of any such behaviour. We will act upon all complaints  appropriately. We have a diverse range of customers and colleagues and provide appropriate services to suit different needs and preferences.

WellbeingWe really care about our employees and we truly believe in a good work/life balance. We offer a range of tools to support your wellbeing at Freebridge – including counselling, the Employee Assistance Programme and Headspace, the online meditation tool. We also hold an annual Week of Wellbeing when we offer a range of events and activities to support wellbeing.

We will also offer you: Generous stakeholder pension Car allowance Generous holiday allowance Annual performance appraisal linked to salary

increase Flexible working Company sick pay (qualifying period) ‘Freebridge Together’ online employee discount site ‘Skillgate’ online training site Investment in Personal Development/Training High spec ICT equipment Employee Assistance Programme Professional membership fees paid Eye tests Occupational Health Access to counselling and other wellbeing support.

Working in West NorfolkIn West Norfolk, you will find everything you need for a great quality of life. Beautiful coastline, sprawling countryside and all the facilities of a large town in King’s Lynn, West Norfolk has it all. And from our offices in King’s Lynn, you are just 40 miles from Norwich and from Peterborough, and just 50 minutes by train to Cambridge and less than two hours to London.

There is so much to discover. The Queen’s estate of Sandringham occupies glorious countryside and is the scene for the annual flower show which attracts visitors from far away. In the northern part of West Norfolk there is a long stretch of coastline which is extremely attractive, containing a substantial number of wildlife reserves. Parts of the coastline are within the Norfolk Coastal Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The seaside town of Hunstanton in the north and the market town of

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Rock Choir was part of our Week of Wellbeing in 2014

Downham Market in the south provide different services and facilities for local communities. And the main town King’s Lynn combines heritage and the arts with more modern facilities. Each year the town hosts the hugely popular Festival Too music festival which features a range of artists and bands. And the King’s Lynn Festival is a true celebration of arts and culture and offers ballet, opera, orchestral concerts, jazz, folk, classical recitals and children's entertainment.

Find out more about living and working in West Norfolk here: http://www.workinginwestnorfolk.co.uk/

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The beautiful Norfolk coastline

Dear Candidate,

I am delighted that you are considering applying for the vacancy of Project Accountant within my team.

This is a great opportunity to join a great team and make a contribution to Freebridge Community Housing.

So what’s our team like? We are committed to Working Together and if you join us, you would be supported and involved in what we are doing.

You would also have access to training and development opportunities and together we would develop a plan which allows you to update your technical skills and personally develop around our values as well.

This role is really interesting. Here are some of the things where I think you would be able to make a real difference:

Planning , controlling and delivering a complete financial service for the association’s largest capital project

Contributing similar services for other smaller capital projects some of which are being developed and others are in the planning stages

Helping ensure that the Property Services Team including the in house Maintenance service deliver Value for Money in everything they do

It’s a very busy role and ideal for someone who enjoys working in a supportive and collaborative organisation. We are looking for someone with property related experience who looks forward to coming to work everyday and I hope that could be you. As your manager, I would work with you to make sure that you are managing your workload, feel supported and are taking care of your wellbeing helping us deliver an outstanding service to our colleagues within Freebridge.

If you would like to know more about this role then please give me a call on 01553 667758 or email John.crowther@freebridge.org.uk

Hope to hear from you soon.

John CrowtherFinance Director (Interim)

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Team Structure

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title Project Accountant

Department Finance

Responsible to Director of Finance

JOB PURPOSETo primarily provide financial support to the Hillington Square project, Assets, repairs and Property Services Department. To implement robust financial controls and monitoring systems.

To promote efficiency, continuous improvement and Value for Money in these areas.Working closely with senior management across the organisation and in particular supporting the Director of Finance as necessary.

MAIN DUTIES

Financial tasks

1. To provide dedicated financial management support for Hillington Square project.

2. Making appropriate recommendations and advising of the impact on the business

3. Monitoring performance against budgets and financial plans, holding monthly meetings with managerial staff to discuss the financial position and agree any remedial action plans where required.

4. To implement and ensure robust financial controls and monitoring systems.

5. To maximise recovery of VAT, through improvements in property related transactions generally and Hillington Square project in particular.

6. To lead and assist in other capital projects and other areas of services provided by the Property Services Department providing both relevant and timely financial and commercial input.

7. To contribute to the financial planning processes (including Budget and financial plan).

8. To coach senior managers in the development of appropriate commercial and budgeting skills to improve the value for the money of services they provide.

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9. To provide financial and commercial input into Continuous Improvement Reviews as required.

10. To support the maintenance of the approved supplier database for the Association.

11. To monitor and assist in updating the Association’s Procurement Strategy, ensuring that linkages are made between procurement and all other strategic and business objectives.

Management tasks

To implement the Health & Safety policy ensuring that team members work without risk to personal safety.

Other tasks1. To fully contribute to and to promote the Freebridge Values of

Working together Empowerment Integrity Customer Focus Enthusiasm

2. To promote equal opportunities and diversity in service delivery.

3. To foster constructive and collaborative working relationships with stakeholders and partner organisations.

4. To participate in the continuous improvement of service delivery ensuring that policies and procedures comply with legislation and regulatory requirements.

5. To respect the need for confidentiality when processing personal/customer data.

6. Other such duties and monitor as may be required from time to time.

7. To monitor performance and activities against contracts and the Financial Plan. Providing input to Board and Management Team for business plan updates.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE Qualified accountant – CCAB or equivalent experience. Good experience working in a finance department. Relevant experience of financially managing a range of property related

contracts Comprehensive knowledge of budget and accounts preparation. Experience of using computerised accounting package.

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Excel – advanced, Access – basic, Word – basic

SKILLS Able to prepare and present complex, financial situations clearly and simply. Good time management skills to meet externally imposed deadlines. Excellent inter personal skills A team player

ATTITUDE Credibility Focused on the ‘internal customer’ concept. Flexible Analytical and logical thinker

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Occasional evening/weekends around year end deadlines. The position is mainly based in the town centre head office but will require

mobility to work occasionally at other sites, including our Property Services depot situated on the outskirts of town.

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