You are a multi-skilled operations and finance professional who is passionate about using the law as a tool to address the climate and ecological crises.

Salary: £17,000 per annum on a part-time basis

Location: Remote, with access to London-based co-working space

Contract type: Contract through April 2025, with possibility of extension

Hours: Part-time (0.4 FTE)

Closing date: 1 November 2024

This is an opportunity for a talented operations and finance professional to join our small, dynamic team at the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (“CCLI”).

About us

The CCLI is a UK-based non-profit legal research and stakeholder engagement organisation founded in 2015 by participants from the Oxford University Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, environmental NGO ClientEarth, and the then-Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), and commercial law firm MinterEllison. The CCLI was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee in February 2019 and became a registered charity in June 2023.

The CCLI was founded to analyse the fiduciary obligations of company officers and directors and pension trustees around the world to incorporate climate change risks and opportunities into their strategies, oversight, and disclosure requirements. Since its founding, CCLI has developed a strong reputation for careful, objective analysis, producing its own reports and commissioning independent legal opinions from leading legal practitioners and academics in Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, the UK, and the US, as well as a global navigator on directors’

duties and climate change.

The CCLI’s work has expanded to cover directors’ duties to consider risks from

biodiversity loss, with papers on this topic being published in 2020 and 2022, expert opinions commissioned in Australia and the UK, and work on a commissioned opinion in Canada ongoing. Our aim is not to litigate, but to empower officers, directors, and trustees to take climate change and biodiversity risks and opportunities seriously in their decision making given existing legislative frameworks.

We convene conferences and stakeholder events to disseminate these messages and build capacity and

connections across the corporate, regulator, academic and civil society ecosystem.

The role:

This role will provide finance and operations support across all strands of the CCLI’s work as part of a small, dynamic and tight knit global team that works virtually across jurisdictions, under the supervision of the executive director.

You will work closely with the CCLI core team in London, and the board. You will lead on the charity’s finance systems, HR administration and day-to-day management of the organisation.

This position is based in the UK. The CCLI is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK. This is a fixed-term contract commencing as soon as possible and running to the end of April 2025, with the possibility of extension subject to the CCLI obtaining further grant funding.

As the CCLI is still a relatively new organisation, this position requires a proactive individual who is willing to take on a diverse workload and to adapt and embrace new challenges.

Key responsibilities:

Finance
• Be able to manage the financial, operational and administrative resources of the CCLI in order to ensure a financially secure service, which delivers value for money.
• Execute bookkeeping and banking activities, maintaining up to date computerised records.
• Ensure the accurate processing and payment of all invoices.
• Maintain financial systems that record and report on financial activities and provide information and projections to allow strategic and operational decision-making.
• Assist with funding applications, relationships and reporting.
• Support the development of the annual budget and periodic cash flow forecasts.
• Ensure the ongoing adherence and management of these budgets/forecasts.
• Provide financial reports as required including for board meetings, and ad hoc purposes.
• Participate in managing the relationship with accountants and auditors and input into the year-end process, external audit, preparation of annual financial statements and signoff from relevant stakeholders.
• Manage the outsourced payroll service, ensuring employees are paid in accordance with contractual agreements and legal requirements and liaise as required with HMRC and pension providers.
• Manage the workplace pension scheme and relationship with other organisations contributing to the total remuneration package of employees.

Governance
• Work with the board chair to ensure robust governance systems and policies are in place.
• Assist with ensuring that the CCLI complies with statutory and legal requirements, including statutory reporting, returns to Companies House and the Charity Commission and the maintenance of relevant registers and company books.
• Assist with preparation/co-ordination of the agenda and papers for board meetings.
• Maintain the risk register and conflicts of interest register for regular review.

Operations
• Support the board chair and executive director to oversee the smooth running and internal functioning of the CCLI and identify areas for growth and development of the CCLI.
• Together with the board chair and executive director, manage the performance, development procedures and annual salary review.
• Assist the executive director with recruitment or retention matters.
• Manage compliance matters, including data protection policies and procedures.
• Identify and implement operational solutions to scale the effectiveness of our small and global team.
• Assist in maintaining and ensuring the integrity of CCLI’s IT-based recordkeeping systems.
• Other duties as reasonably required to further the CCLI’s objectives.

Essential competencies
• Educated to degree or equivalent level in an appropriate subject.
• Be a part-qualified ACCA, ACA with at least two years’ experience or fully qualified AAT with at least five years’ experience, or other relevant accounting qualification and experience.
• Have experience of financial management, developing budgets and financial forecasts alongside processing of payments.
• Knowledge of statutory and legal requirements, ideally relating to a charitable organisation.
• Strong systems skills with an emphasis on finance system (for example Xero), its reporting functionalities, Excel, Google Drive, Microsoft Office.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain good working relations, both within an organisation and with external stakeholders.
• An understanding of the importance of and evidence of the ability to communicate financial and other complex information in a way that is easy to understand to non-financial users
• Excellent interpersonal skills to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels.
• Attention to detail.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, confident to suggest and implement changes.
• A committed team player who happily goes the extra mile.
• Organised and task oriented, with the ability to prioritise, multi-task and react positively in light of shifting and competing timelines.
• Able to work independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative manner.
• Passionate about making a difference.

Desirable competencies
• An understanding of and experience in the legal, financial or sustainability sector.
• An interest in the intersection of the law and business to sustainability issues.
• Ability to think strategically and break down strategies into outcome-orientated activities.

Benefits
• Holiday leave and pension contributions.
• Flexible working arrangements, with access to co-working space for four or ten days a month as desired.

Applying:

Please send a cover letter describing your motivation for applying for this role with a complete CV,

and the names of two referees (at least one of whom has been your manager in a previous role).

References will not be contacted until an offer of employment is imminent.

Your application should be sent by close of business on 1 November 2024 and addressed to Natalie Shippen ([email protected]) and John Purcell ([email protected]).