Finance Assistant (Business Partnering) - Finance Office - 107492 - Grade 5 in Birmingham

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,062 to £31,900, with potential progression once in post to £35,883

Grade: 5

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 10th June 2026

Our offer to you:

• People are at the heart of what we are and do.
• The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.
• We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
• We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.
• Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements.
• You will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme.

Department overview:

The Finance Business Partnering team sits within the Financial Services department which also includes the FP&A and Corporate Accounting teams. The team are responsible for running a reliable and responsive Financial Business Partnering function that provides the CFO, Deputy Director of Finance, the Senior Management Team across the university with incisive, value-add financial support and analysis which facilitates effective decision making.

Role Summary:

Reporting to a Senior Finance Business Partner, this role will support the Finance Business Partnering team in providing management information to a range of Colleges and Professional Services. It is responsible for the preparation and consolidation of monthly accounts and communication of that information to key stakeholders.

Main Duties:

• Support in preparation of the relevant College or Professional Departments budgets and forecasts, including preparing data and analysis, liaising with budget holders and producing commentary.
• Produce data on resource allocation, cost optimisation and staffing decisions.
• Review balances and variances to ensure the income and expenditure for the budget area is reported accurately and consistently against the budget set and to agreed accounting principles.
• Responsibility for the preparation of accounts ensuring all deadlines are met and that budget holders are adhering to financial regulations and accounting practices.
• Highlighting where spending is in line with budget or plans.
• Liaising with budget centre contacts and Finance Office staff to resolve day to day queries or issues identified through monitoring and producing ad-hoc financial data as deemed necessary.
• Undertake balance sheet reconciliations.
• Understanding and interpretation of management information for use in business decisions related to finance level initiatives and reviews.
• Support discussions and answer questions about data and reports across Finance and relevant budget centres.
• Support the management, development and implementation of operational processes and systems.
• Delivering improvements to the monitoring of financial performance indicators to ensure targets are set.
• Identifying inefficiencies in ways of working and support in identifying effective process improvements.
• Providing knowledge and advice on best practice relating to all aspects of accountancy, financial processes and management information.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience:

• Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of grade C/4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent.
• Experience of working in a similar accounting role.
• Part-qualified accountant and either actively, or a willingness to, studying for a CCAB/CIMA qualification.
• Ability to work with different stakeholders.
• Experience of producing financial reports.
• Team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills, able to work with a diverse and broad range of stakeholders across the organisation.
• Good communication skills, able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, to both finance and non-finance specialists.
• Highly proficient IT skills, especially the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work flexibly with conflicting demands so that work is scheduled in order to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.

DBS required. The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.