Office & Finance Administrator – AIM

Job Title: Office & Finance Administrator

Salary: £25,284

Hours: Full time

Terms: Permanent

Location: AIM office, National Waterways Museum, Cheshire / hybrid

Closing date: 5:00 pm, 05 Mar 2025

Job Purpose

Responsible to: Head of Programmes and Director (line managed by Head of Programmes)

Direct Reports: None

Other Staff: Director; Programme and Events Officer; Programmes and Grants Officer; Head of Communications; Marketing Officer; Membership Administrator

The purpose of this role is to play a key part in supporting a busy and friendly office at the heart of the museums, heritage and cultural sector.  You will contribute to essential finance processes and administration, provide executive support and help coordinate logistics for internal and external meetings and programmes, and lead organisational planning processes. As a newly created role, you will be instrumental in enhancing AIM’s capacity to support its members over the coming years. You’ll gain valuable exposure to a wide range of museums and heritage organisations, public funders, and influential figures across the sector. Whether you’re looking to start or grow your career in this field, or bring wider charitable or public sector experience, this role offers a unique chance to build networks, develop skills, and make a meaningful impact.

Place of work

The AIM office is based at:

AIM Office, National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4FW.

Most of the team currently attends the office together one day a week, with the remainder of the time working from home, although the office is available every day. Flexible working patterns are available.

You will also be expected to attend meetings and perform other duties at a range of locations throughout the UK and Ireland – travel will be limited and agreed in advance with appropriate expenses covered or reimbursed. They key event, which all AIM staff are expected to support, is National Conference, held over two days in June in a museum or heritage venue around the UK.

Salary and benefits

  • £25,284 annually per 37.5 hour week
  • 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays and 3-day office closure between Christmas and New Year
  • Training and development allowance

What we want you to achieve (Success Criteria)

  • Supporting timely and accurate grants administration, providing good customer service to members and assisting in ensuring funders are satisfied
  • Helping the Director and senior team to use their time effectively by taking over administrative tasks for day-to-day business, programmes, and small events (e.g. staff awaydays)
  • Helping the team to stay organised and owning our processes for planning ahead.

Summary of the role

  • Provide administrative support to the Director and on occasion other senior staff including helping with diary management (booking large meetings), booking travel, booking meeting venues and catering, and file management (including maintaining filekeeping structures, maintaining records about Board and staff and other stakeholders, gathering documents for purposes such as grant applications, and pulling together data for audit and other financial purposes).
  • Administer end-to-end grant processes, including creating and revising information packs for applicants, tracking incoming applications, carrying out eligibility checks, organising grant panels of 4-8 people to make decisions, taking notes at grant panel meetings, communicating with applicants about decisions, gathering information from successful applicants, collecting information from ongoing projects, assessing drawdown requests, and collecting final reports
  • Help manage at least one shared inbox and receive enquiries and expressions of interest about programmes and grants and acknowledge and advise as necessary
  • Own the team planning processes and ensure they are up-to-date with team priorities and activities
  • Process grants payment requests including assessing the claims against eligibility criteria and application materials and issuing the payment run to outsourced bookkeepers
  • Administer some organisational finance processes and keeping records, for example checking and sending Board expenses for payment, reviewing unreconciled payments and chasing receipts, reviewing and chasing late payments
  • Administer value for money organisational contracts and subscriptions (e.g. mobile, internet)
  • Act as a member of the AIM team at conferences, events and exhibitions
  • Work effectively as part of the AIM team, contributing to areas of work outside the postholder’s immediate responsibilities to ensure a joined-up approach to serving members.

What you’ll need (Experience, Knowledge & Personal Qualities)

  • Previous experience of general administration, team support, and finance processes and record-keeping, ideally in a public sector or charitable organisation
  • An interest in culture, heritage or museums is desirable, experience not essential
  • Experience of working with customers
  • An ability to use IT programmes (we can provide training) and good communication skills.
  • Confidence with handling numbers and financial material
  • Able to manage different priorities and switch with ease between different tasks and areas of work, including reacting to emerging needs
  • Experience of and/or able to work positively and collaboratively within a small team and to liaise with freelancers

This job description is designed to outline the main duties and responsibilities associated with the role but it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties performed.

How to apply

To make an application please send your CV and a cover letter to Margaret Harrison, Head of Programmes, on [email protected].

Closing date: 5pm Monday 3 March.