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General Manager

Job Description

Job Title: General Manager

Hours: 22.5 hours per week (0.6FTE)
Salary: £43,000 FTE (£25,800 actual)
Location: PPP office, Queen Mary University of London Mile End campus.
Hybrid homeworking is available, and there will be an occasional
requirement to attend events or meetings elsewhere.
Reporting to: Executive Director (ED)
Supervising: Administration &Finance Officer (A&FO)

Key Purposes

• To lead on the Financial Accounting & Management, Human Resources, and Administration functions of People’s Palace Projects (PPP), working closely with the Directors and A&FO.
• To support the operations of PPP’s Board of Trustees, including managing the business planning process.
• To manage statistical monitoring and funder reporting.
• To contribute to PPP’s overall strategic development as a member of the Governance Group (senior management team).

 

Duties and Responsibilities

Financial

  • Work closely with the Directors, Trustees, and QMUL Financial Accounting team to ensure agreed financial systems are delivered and developed appropriately; take responsibility for PPP’s general financial management.
  • Work closely with the ED and Governance Group to draft and agree annual budgets, and 3- or 5- year projections/budgets, for review and approval as necessary.
  • Oversee the A&FO’s preparation of (currently) two monthly payrolls, including calculation of HMRC payments (including Apprenticeship Levy).
  • Oversee the bookkeeping, invoicing and payments work of the A&FO, providing holiday cover as needed (PPP makes prompt payment to all suppliers and project partners wherever possible).
  • Ensure that PPP’s accounts in Agresso are kept up to date and that monthly BIFF transaction summaries are reviewed and income and expenditure (I&E) reports/balance sheets checked in liaison with QMUL Financial Accounting.
  • Complete monthly reviews of core and budget income and expenditure and aged debtors with the ED, producing budget reforecasts and liaising with QMUL Financial Accounting/Governance Group as needed.
  • Produce management accounts, including quarterly management accounts and budget reforecasts with notes for Board meetings.
  • Work with the A&FO to issue monthly project I&E reports and conduct a monthly budget review with each Project Manager, identifying any risk areas and agreeing appropriate mitigations in liaison with the ED/Governance Group.
  • Ensure all PPP staff with financial or budget management or budget drafting responsibilities are appropriately trained and supported, with access to templates and systems. Support the financial skills development of colleagues within Governance Group as they take on greater strategic responsibility.
  • Meet regularly with companies and organisations that are close collaborators of PPP, including weekly/fortnightly meetings with PPPdoBrasil’s Executive Director and (separately) with Museum of Colour’s General Manager to ensure all budgets and accounting records between companies are up to date and financial transfers are timely.
  • Develop and maintain a positive relationship with QMUL colleagues in Financial Accounting, School of the Arts, Research Management, and other teams with whom PPP works closely.
  • Monitor and manage PPP’s cashflow and advise the ED/Governance Group on any needs arising.
  • Ensure PPP has appropriate arrangements in place for banking, credit card, overdraft/loan if needed, money transfer, allowance card arrangements and interest-bearing accounts or secure investment arrangements to meet the needs of the Charity.
  • Be responsible for PPP’s liaison and reporting to HMRC and tax authorities; review and monitor PPP’s VAT status as necessary, including monitoring and advising on any liabilities arising under the VAT reverse charge regulations; undertake corporation tax reviews and any other tax/statutory requirements as appropriate or required.
  • Work in close liaison and with the support of the QMUL Financial Accounting team (which appoints and pays PPP’s auditors) to prepare PPP’s accounts and take main responsibility for supporting PPP’s audit process, working with the A&FO to respond to all samples and queries as needed and draft the Annual Report narrative.

Human Resources

  • Work with the Governance Group, Executive Director, and A&FO to ensure a positive working environment where all PPP staff and freelancers can thrive; support PPP’s business plan aim to ‘strengthen HR processes to make PPP an employer of choice, with excellent retention’.
  • Oversee PPP’s HR policies and processes, with regular review to ensure that PPP is operating within the boundaries of employment law. Working closely with the Governance Group and individual line managers, take responsibility for the review and development of PPP’s staff handbook, codes of conduct, guidance and templates for staff team, recruitment and induction, appraisal and training programmes. 
  • Act as PPP’s central point of contact to oversee/advise and support line managers, deliver processes directly, or support the Directors or Board as needed, to ensure all HR processes are delivered in accordance with legal requirements and PPP’s own policies and best practice guidelines.
  • Work with the Executive Director, A&FO and board remuneration committee to conduct annual salary benchmarking exercises and ensure that PPP’s pay scale remains in line with the sector and with the responsibilities and levels of each role.
  • Manage PPP’s statutory pension arrangements for employees.
  • Oversee the work of the A&FO to ensure that:
    • HR records are kept up to date;
    • Contracts are issued in a timely manner;
    • Legal and statutory checks for employees’ right to work in the UK are carried out;
    • HMRC checks are run for all employee and freelance contracts to ensure the correct contract status and payment procedures are used; and
    • DBS checks are conducted and renewed where necessary.
  • Liaise with companies and organisations that are close collaborators of PPP, including with PPPdoBrasil’s Executive Director and Museum of Colour’s General Manager, to ensure memoranda of understanding, co-production contracts, contractual and working arrangements for any seconded personnel, etc., are put in place.

Administration

  • Ensure that PPP has appropriate organisational and management structures to serve its aims and objectives and to meet statutory requirements.
  • Work with the A&FO and ED to draft contract templates, advise colleagues on negotiations as necessary and draw up all employment, co-production and collaboration, funding and service contracts for PPP; ensure that partnership agreements are in place for all projects and ensure that all contractual obligations are fulfilled to the highest standard.
  • Coordinate regular Board processes, meeting arrangements and reporting, drawing up papers as needed in close liaison with the Chair of Trustees and colleagues on Governance Group.
  • Ensure all reporting requirements of Companies House, the Charity Commission and other statutory bodies are met.
  • Ensure that PPP’s insurance requirements are met, either by its cover under the QMUL policy as a subsidiary, ensuring all reporting is up to date, or through separate insurance if necessary.
  • Ensure all UKBA requirements are met in relation to PPP’s Sponsorship Licence.
  • Liaise with QMUL’s IT and Security teams as appropriate to ensure all staff are provided with access cards and IT/email accounts and that PPP’s data storage systems and backup (provided by QMUL) are fit for purpose.
  • Scope and procure appropriate administrative systems within available core budget.

Funder and Stakeholder Reporting

  • Manage the collection of statistics on activity and staff/workers and prepare PPP’s financial, quarterly and annual reporting to funders and stakeholders, ensuring it is accurate and submitted on schedule, especially Arts Council England (NPO quarterly reporting, Annual Survey, audience/Illuminate and environmental/Julie’s Bicycle reporting) and QMUL (annual processes including Professorial Review, Research Activity Surveys, HEIF, REF and ResearchFish reporting).
  • Manage the drawdown of research funding through QMUL internal mechanisms and financial reporting on internal grants.

General

  • Line manage the A&FO, ensuring the delivery of their duties, supporting their performance and professional development.
  • Contribute to the review of PPP’s policies, planning and strategic thinking as required.
  • Maintain a sound understanding of HR, finance, and management and administration in the arts charity sector, keeping up to date with best practice and emerging thinking.
  • Represent PPP at relevant and appropriate events and opportunities, contributing to a public profile that reflects the spirit of PPP and advocates the work and ethos of the company.
  • Consistently undertake the responsibilities of the post with due regard to PPP’s policies including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, policies and procedures relating to Health and Safety in the workplace, safeguarding policies, and confidentiality of electronic data in line with the GDPR and relevant data protection legislation.  
  • Undertake any other duties appropriate to the responsibilities and seniority of the post as directed by the Directors.

 

Person Specification

Knowledge

  • Extensive understanding of operational and financial management.
  • Strong working knowledge of financial, organisational and administrative processes.
  • Clear understanding of bookkeeping and charity accounting.
  • Knowledge of third sector governance processes.
  • Understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.

Experience

  • Line management, including supporting staff learning and development.
  • Recruitment, contracting and administrative systems.
  • Audit processes and procedures.
  • Reporting to Arts Council England.
  • Developing and managing stakeholder relationships.
  • Working in close consultation with senior management and Board members.

Skills

  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
  • Computer literacy, with high proficiency in Microsoft 365 and Google Suite.
  • Ability to prioritise a busy workload.

General

  • Commitment to the aims, work and ethos of PPP.
  • Commitment to equitable and inclusive working practices.
  • Right to work in the UK.

Desirable

  • Full or partial relevant qualification.
  • Knowledge of and interest in the arts and cultural sector.

 

Application Process

Diversity Monitoring

People’s Palace Projects is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England. As part of our funding agreement, we are required to send ACE diversity monitoring statistics for all our staff and all freelancers/contractors we work with. As part of our internal equality monitoring, we also monitor the diversity of candidates who apply for advertised roles, those who are shortlisted for interview, and those who are successful.

The information you supply will be kept anonymous. When we receive the survey back from you, we will give it an alphanumeric code and separate it from your written application, which will be assessed without reference to the information disclosed on the survey. A list of names with codes will be kept securely for later analysis. Thank you for your participation.

People’s Palace Projects is a Disability Confident Committed employer. 

  • All candidates disclosing a disability and who demonstrate that they meet all the essential criteria of the Person Specification will qualify for an interview.
  • At the point of inviting candidates for interview, we will ask about any additional needs or adjustments that would be required to support your participation in the process.
  • Our current staff includes people who have disclosed disabilities.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please submit an application form at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NNLSHB2 

  • Application deadline: Monday 8th September, 9.00am
  • First interviews: w/c 15th September
  • Second interviews (if necessary): w/c 22nd September

We regret that it will not be possible to inform applicants who are not shortlisted. If you have not heard from us by 12th September, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.

If you have any questions or issues with submission, please contact [email protected].

Thank you in advance, and we look forward to hearing from you.

 

About PPP

People’s Palace Projects (PPP) is a research-led arts charity based at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) of Arts Council England (ACE). We develop collaborative arts-based projects with artists, activists, academics, policy advocates, and audiences to address social and climate injustices in the UK, Brazil and beyond. Over the past 28 years, PPP has gained national and international recognition for extensive work exploring the power of creative practices and partnering with marginalised communities to drive change.

The next five years (2025-2030) will focus on expanding research supported by leadership transition, strengthening capacity, and strategic development, while maintaining core values of collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation. At this exciting moment, PPP is seeking a new General Manager (part-time) to deliver and develop the financial, administrative, and HR systems that anchor our energetic programme of arts research activity and support our committed team to flourish.