Accounts Officer Job at Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Main Purpose of Job:
The British Government’s Embassy in Washington has an exciting opportunity for a process driven and detail-orientated person to join the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Finance Team as an Accounts Officer. This opportunity is a rewarding role directly supporting His Majesty’s Government’s (HMG) activities conducted through the embassy, consulates and other United Kingdom (UK) Government establishments in the USA.
The US Network offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme. It also promotes a culture of flexibility which enables people to better maintain wellness through an excellent work/life balance approach that encompasses hybrid working, including working from home and flexible hours, where possible. In this role you would be working in a diverse international environment within a close knit team to support the FCDO, activities and staff and the wider HMG platform of the US Network. The Network provides a platform for approximately 30 UK Government departments and UK Partners (approximately 900 staff) with a rich and diverse background, skill sets, and experiences to conduct their work in the United States.
This is a chance to directly contribute to a high volume, fast passed five person team, within the larger Corporate Services Section based in the embassy, to support the US Network. This will be achieved, in part, through good financial management processes, accounts payable and receivable activities, collaborative team work (in Washington, across the USA and with UK colleagues), by providing an excellent customer service and ensuring that FCDO financial regulations are fairly and equally applied. This role has no management responsibility and will report to the Head Of US Network Finance.
The ideal candidate will be someone who can work closely and collaboratively within a team, understand and apply FCDO financial guidance/regulations, work independently when required and communicate clearly and effectively (written and verbally) with colleagues/customers as needed.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Manage local payments including cash and bank account monitoring
- Ensure purchasing and supplier maintenance processes are followed, to manage the timely handling of invoices and payments through the FCDO payment system, dealing with any escalated issues at post
- First point of contact for suppliers on operational queries
- Process outgoing payments in compliance with financial policies and procedures
- Perform day to day financial transactions, including verifying, classifying, and recording accounts payable data
- Verify and investigate discrepancies, if any, by reconciling vendor accounts and monthly vendor statements
- Facilitate payment of recoveries due by sending bill reminders and contacting clients
- Understand expense accounts/Cost Centers/General Ledger
- Understand compliance issues around accounts payable processes
- Support other colleagues within corporate services as and when necessary and ad hoc duties as required
- Ensure commitments to service level agreement within the Corporate Services Charter are met
- To build and foster working relationships with UK and US colleagues on finance processes within the FCDO’s standard framework/policies
Resources Managed:
No. Resources, staff/budgets, are directly managed by this role, however there is an overarching requirement to safeguard UK taxpayer’s resources by ensuring value for money and utilising effective/efficient financial process.
- Must have background/understanding of accounts payable/receivable functions/processes
- Must be proficient in use of standard office equipment e.g. IT (laptops), scanners, photocopiers etc.
- Competent with IT applications such Microsoft excel, word, email, teams. Prior Oracle experience would be desirable, but not essential
- Have a good/high standard of reading, writing and speaking in English
- 3 to 5 years of background in an accounts payable/receivable environment, a degree is not essential
Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office. Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work. *A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.
Learning and Development Opportunities:
The British Embassy and its US Network is committed to all employee’s ongoing learning and development needs. We offer a comprehensive platform for personalised learning for everything from soft skill development (communciating with impact, handling difficult conversations, time management) to more technical or professional skills necessary to complete your job (software training, formal qualifications etc.).
Working Patterns:
This role and the Finance Team are able to accommodate a varied working pattern and a job share will be considered.
This role is 40 hours (full time) a week, and does not require set working hours each day; flexibility around the embassy’s ‘core’ hours is available.
The British Embassy and its US Network embraces hybrid working, allowing its staff to typically work from home 2 or 3 times a week. We are an organization that also recognises the critical value of team work and we embrace and endorse collaboration by ensuring that all staff attend the office flexibly yet regularly.
Working flexibly around the embassy’s core hours allows for time-zone differences between the East Coast and UK (UK is 5 hours ahead), as well as the consulates on the West Coast (3 hours behind) and the consulates in Central time.
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