Finance Administrator

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it’s where we go next that makes things really interesting. In our strategic vision: Archives for Everyone, we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive.

Do you have a passion for finance, excellent organisational skills, and a keen eye for detail? Are you a good communicator who would enjoy working with digital teams in a busy department? The National Archives collects and secures the future of the public record, preserving it for the nation and making it as accessible and available as possible. Our collection is one of the largest in the world, containing over 11 million historical records from medieval parchment to modern papers, digital documents, datasets and tweets. The records we collect are increasingly created, managed and transferred to us digitally.

You will work within a vibrant Digital and Technology Directorate supporting managers whose teams are creatively engaged in the transformation of our digital archive and services. You will assist managers to monitor their budgets, create reconciliation reports, and track spend. You will support managers in breaking down and managing invoicing for contracts with external suppliers. You will be the purchase order requisitioner for the Digital and Technology department and will liaise with the finance payments team to ensure timely invoicing.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application Process:

• Interviews will be held on-site in July 2026. The interview will be a question and answer session.
• Applications: You will be asked to provide your work history, and answers to 2 questions relating to the following key requirements for the role:
• Proven experience as a Finance Administrator or similar role.
• Good knowledge of invoicing, accounts payable or budget management.

We ask candidates to write about 800 words total. Selection for interview will be based on the above ‘essential’ requirements so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements. In the event of a high volume of applications we will conduct an initial sift based on the following essential criteria:

• Proven experience as a Finance Administrator or similar role.

During the interview, candidates will be assessed on all of the essential criteria shown in the job description below.

Role and Responsibilities:

We are looking for a finance administrator to work within a Digital and Technology Directorate supporting a programme manager, departmental managers and their digital/IT teams to ensure smooth running of supplier invoicing and monitor expenditure. You will:

• Raise and process purchase requisition orders for the department and ensure good record-keeping of all incoming invoices and orders.
• Liaise with suppliers and finance accounts payable to ensure that invoicing queries are resolved swiftly and invoices are submitted promptly so that monthly deadlines are met.
• Provide assistance to managers to help them to plan in advance to manage invoicing for delivered work, in accordance with supplier’s contracts.
• Provide financial support to managers by tracking commitments, monitoring expenditure and preparing reconciliation reports against purchase orders.
• Assist managers by maintaining a detailed record of categorised budget and expenditure for programme/project spend.
• Ensure that all processes are carried out in compliance with our financial policies and relevant legislation.

Working Conditions:

• Normal office environment
• Display Screen Equipment user

Essential criteria:

• Proven experience as a Finance Administrator or similar role.
• Good knowledge of invoicing, accounts payable or budget management.
• Advanced knowledge of Excel.
• Solid data entry skills with an ability to identify numerical errors.
• Good organisational and time-management abilities.
• Excellent communication skills.

Desirable criteria:

• A qualification in Finance, Accounting or a relevant field.
• Awareness of Workday (for invoicing).

Benefits:

• Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development.
• Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

Reasonable adjustments:

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Security:

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements:

This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Contact point for applicants:

Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team
Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk