Finance Officer - Purchase Ledger

Finance Officer – Purchase Ledger at Alzheimer\’s Research UK

Application closing date: 2nd November 2025.

Overview

The Finance Team at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) is responsible for maintaining the financial records of the Charity and providing timely and accurate financial information. The team provides support and advice on all finance matters to staff within all other teams in the Charity and is responsible for ensuring there is a strong financial control environment.

This role is focused on the purchase ledger and working both independently and collaboratively to ensure that the purchase ledger is maintained accurately and promptly, as well as carefully following all controls and procedures in place.

Key Responsibilities

Management of purchase ledger

• Make day-to-day decisions about the purchase ledger such as prioritising payments and workload to ensure purchase invoices are paid within agreed timescales.
• Regularly review all purchase ledger accounts to ensure that there are no outstanding issues such as non-payment, missing invoices, mismatched or unmatched entries.
• Make correcting entries as required where errors are identified within the purchase ledger area.
• Regularly liaise with the Research team to ensure that the folder of invoices awaiting processing matches their records.
• Reconcile all debit balances on the purchase ledger and chase suppliers for any missing invoices.
• Identify and resolve any ad-hoc issues within the purchase ledger, escalating them to the manager if needed.
• Verbal checks of supplier bank account details where we are informed that details have changed, to safeguard against supplier fraud.

Processing of purchase invoices and credit notes

• Check purchase invoices received match purchase orders in BC.
• Where the purchase invoices match purchase orders, convert the purchase orders in BC to invoices, ready to be paid.
• Chase people responsible for raising purchase orders where they have not been raised previously, making sure they raise the purchase orders in accordance with documented procedures going forward.
• Investigate any discrepancies between purchase invoices and orders with the relevant budget holders.
• Check invoices for prepayments or fixed assets, clarifying with the person who raised the purchase order where needed, and post these in line with the documented procedures.
• Check purchase orders for administrative errors when converting to purchase invoices and correct where necessary.
• Post invoices and credit notes in BC, ensuring that prepayments and fixed assets are added correctly and advising others around the charity of criteria for these.
• Attach copy invoices to the purchase invoices in BC and ensure invoice filing is kept up to date for payment runs.
• Follow the documented controls and procedures to pay invoices via payment runs and make additional ad hoc individual payments if required.

Month end reconciliations

• Maintain Fixed Asset register in excel and reconcile to BC, checking that balances are correct.
• Post acquisition, depreciation, and disposal of fixed assets in BC.
• Maintain prepayments in excel and reconcile to BC, checking that outstanding balances are correct.
• Ensure purchase ledger is up to date for month end, i.e. all issues dealt with and balances correct or flagged to manager.
• Liaise with other team members to ensure clarity around purchase ledger cut off for month end postings.

Office administration

• Respond to purchase ledger related emails in the Finance Team shared inbox and ensure these emails are filed appropriately.
• Year end audit assistance, collating documents for auditors and answering queries about transactions, controls and processes.
• Checking and approving of payments made by others in the team, e.g. refunds and expenses.
• Maintenance of all purchase ledger filing (on paper, computer files and within BC) to ensure proper records are retained and documents/information can be easily found.
• Regularly update shared process notes to reflect current processes.
• Make payments, keep basic records of payments in excel and perform checks on bank details for our joint venture company as instructed.

Qualifications

• GCSE in Maths at a grade C or above (4-9) or equivalent.
• Knowledge of Excel functions and formulae.
• Previous knowledge of finance systems.
• Understanding of book-keeping and reconciliation work.
• Finance experience.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Able to pick up tasks quickly and effectively.
• Able to problem solve.
• Proactive and helpful attitude.
• Methodical approach to workload.
• Able to work with a wider team across the organisation.

Ways of Working

As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.

Office Location

3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD.

About Alzheimer’s Research UK

Alzheimer’s Research UK is the UK\’s leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure. Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope.

Working with the smartest minds globally and across the UK, with industry and academia, Alzheimer’s Research UK is uniquely placed to invest in the very best research identifying barriers to a cure and knocking them down so that there are more and better treatments for everyone with dementia. For the first time in history, we can see a future where people with dementia can get a swift and accurate diagnosis, and effective treatments that could slow or even stop their disease. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure.

Diversity & Inclusion

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented. Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.

As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and ensuring fairness and consistency in our selection process, we will handle your CV and application with the utmost confidentiality. While we strive to anonymise your CV where possible, there are certain sections, such as the application question, that cannot be fully anonymised. We kindly ask that you remove any personal information, including your name, when answering the application question. The hiring panel will not have access to your personal details, such as your name and address, until you are invited for an interview. Should you require any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, please contact us at recruitment@alzheimersresearchuk.org.

How to apply

Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.