BCCS is a registered charity whose community counselling service is accredited by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). It aims to provide counselling to anyone over the age of 18 who lives in the London Borough of Bromley or surrounding areas. The service is for people who may be struggling with personal, emotional, or mental health difficulties and is geared to assisting them either to find new ways to make a fresh start in certain areas of their lives, or to come to terms with things that can’t be changed. Its mission is to provide high-quality, effective affordable counselling and support for individuals with a view to promoting self-awareness, psychological wellbeing, and mental health.

BCCS has its roots in the local community and has developed out of the needs of that community in response to its mental health requirements. This low-cost counselling service is BCCS’s flagship service and provides face-to-face or online counselling every week for up to a year. Its services includes couples counselling to provide a confidential intervention for partners which are in distress, low-cost cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programmes to address mental health issues, life coaching services aimed at people who wish to focus on achieving success or overcoming challenges, and free BSL counselling service provided by a highly experienced senior adult psychotherapist whose first language is British Sign Language.

The key responsibilities of the Treasurer are to oversee all financial aspects of the charity, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, and to ensure its short and long-term viability. They will also assist the Chair, other honorary officers and the Chief Executive in ensuring that the Board of Trustees fulfils its duties and responsibilities for the proper financial governance of the charity.

Duties and tasks to fulfil the key responsibilities, in partnership with the Director, are to:

• Ensure that the charity operates within the financial guidelines set out in current legislation, by the Charity Commission, in the charity’s constitution and by the Board
• Ensure that the charity has adequate financial and internal audit controls and that these are monitored and reviewed regularly
• Identify and bring to the attention of the Board, any financial risks facing the charity
• Ensure that the charity’s financial resources are sufficient to meet the charity’s current and future needs, and to advise the Board on the its reserves policy, and to ensure that this policy is reviewed and monitored regularly
• Scrutinise the proposed annual budget, and advise and guide the Board accordingly
• Scrutinise management accounts, performance against budget etc, and to advise the board accordingly
• Scrutinise and evaluate regularly the charity’s cash flow position, and to inform the Board of any concerns
• Ensure that funding received for specific purposes is separately accounted for and spent for the purposes for which it was given
• Ensure that all income due to the charity is received and that all tax benefits are obtained and all rating relief due is claimed
• Review longer term forecasts of capital resources and of income and expenditure, and to review and monitor financial trends within the charity and the sector within which the charity operates
• Meet the external auditor once a year
• Formally present the accounts to the annual general meeting, drawing to members’ attention all relevant matters, and to respond to questions

BCCS is looking for someone with senior-level financial expertise to become its new Treasurer. The successful candidate will have a solid understanding of financial, risk and corporate governance systems, gained by serving at a senior level in a UK-based organisation or charity, and will ideally have experience in accounting / be a qualified accountant. They will have the ability to advise and monitor the financial / accounting health of BCCS.

Candidates will also have a strong alignment with the vision and mission of the charity. The charity is open to receiving applications from those seeking their first Treasurer role, as long as as they have the ability to work collaboratively at a strategic level and foster constructive relationships.

For more information about the charity and its Board, please see here.

The time commitment for this role consists of roughly four Board meetings per year and ad hoc engagement regarding the preparation of the budget and financial accounts. This role is unremunerated, but pre-agreed reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed. The initial term would be for three years, with the opportunity to renew.

The successful candidates will be UK-based.