Senior Analyst - Financial Sustainability in Bristol

We are looking for a fully qualified CCAB accountant with experience of leading on the analysis and modelling of a range of financial and other data, from a variety of sources, providing high quality outputs for both internal and external stakeholders. The Senior Analyst - Financial Sustainability role is key in assessing the financial health and sustainability of the higher education sector at an overall level, including supporting the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) area of work.

We are the independent regulator of higher education in England. We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We’re proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. We care about supporting and developing our staff. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination. We’re looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education. Join us and you’ll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people.

The Senior Analyst – Financial Sustainability role will be based in the Sector Financial Analysis team, part of the Regulation Directorate. In this role you will play a key part in fulfilling the OfS’s statutory duty to monitor and report on the financial sustainability of higher education providers and financial patterns and trends across the sector. The post holder will contribute to a programme of analysis and modelling focused on the financial sustainability and risks facing the higher education sector. Working as part of the team you will be required to communicate the analysis in high‐quality outputs, including external publications which require a high level of accuracy.

You will be a fully qualified CCAB accountant with experience in analysing and modelling data, including financial data. You will also have an understanding, or a willingness to develop an understanding, of costing systems such as activity based costing. Experience of contributing your findings to high-quality outputs - for instance, non-standard written reports or similar documents - such as our Financial Sustainability of the sector publication, is essential. Strong team-working skills are also vital for success in this role. You will work closely with members of the Sector Financial Analysis team, as well as colleagues across the wider organisation, to achieve shared goals.

Essential experience required for this role:

• Experience in financial analysis and modelling.
• Providing professional finance analysis and costing expertise.
• Experience of working cross-functionally.
• Proven ability to contribute to high-quality reports and publications.
• An understanding of the Higher Education Sector and Public Sector finances.
• A CCAB accounting qualification with up-to-date CPD.

Desirable experience:

• Experience of working in the higher education sector.
• Experience of analysing the financial data of higher education providers.
• Experience of the HE sector costing methodology – TRAC.

As part of the initial application process you will be asked to respond to three questions. We will use your written responses to these questions and your career history and experience to shortlist candidates for interview.

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week.

If you would like to talk further to someone about this role, please contact us at: recruitmentteam@officeforstudents.org.uk.

Closing date for applications: Monday 8 June 2026 at noon

Interviews: from week commencing Monday 15 June 2026. As part of the interview process, candidates will be asked to complete an Excel based assessment. Further details will be shared with shortlisted candidates ahead of the interview.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you through the application stage, please contact us at recruitmentteam@officeforstudents.org.uk and we will be happy to help.