Senior Finance Assistant (Business Partnering) - Finance Office - 7534 - Grade 6 in Birmingham

Position Details

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 7th June 2026

There are 2 positions available

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. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

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. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, 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. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

Achieving the global ambitions of our University strategy depends on our people - and we are proud of our highly talented and engaged professional services colleagues. Our culture is ambitious and high-performing, but also supportive and inclusive. Career progression is encouraged, and you will have the opportunity to take responsibility for your own professional development and wellbeing. We actively support collaboration within and across disciplines and roles. Our staff have high levels of engagement and pride in the University.

Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice across a range of activities and/or will lead and manage a diverse team(s) and resources. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought is therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University.

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. To deliver an effective and efficient financial service across a range of financial and management accounting activities the post holder has responsibility for ensuring that the data provided is accurate, timely and consistent and that reports provided are clear and easily understood. Working within the business partnering teams the role holder will gain an understanding of the business to ensure the integrity of data and information provided to budget holders enables them to manage their budgets effectively and support financial decision making. They will also work closely with the FP&A and Corporate Accounting Teams to ensure finance data is consistent and accurate for both reporting, but also to ensure the accounting treatment is correctly applied.

Main Duties

• Using multiple systems and reports to collate financial information for the relevant College or Professional Departments budgets and forecasts.
• Provide financial analysis and guidance to budget holders on resource allocation, cost optimisation, staffing decisions, and program financial viability.
• Responsibility for ensuring 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.
• Ensuring spending is in line with budget or plans and advising on implications if it is not.
• Preparation of variance statements and commentaries of variances against targets.
• 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 and review complex balance sheet reconciliations.
• Review and correct balance sheet reconciliations completed by Finance Assistants.
• Producing ad-hoc financial data from a range of data sources including finance systems and other systems.
• Reviewing the financial position of areas under their control, interpreting and analysing information and communicating these in a clear way to key stakeholders.
• Understanding and interpretation of management information for use in business decisions related to finance level initiatives and reviews.
• Discussing and reviewing outputs and reports across with colleagues in Finance and relevant budget centres.
• Delivering improvements to the monitoring of financial performance indicators to ensure targets are set.
• Identifying critical areas of financial performance and focussing time on those areas where improvements can be affected.
• Providing knowledge and advice on best practice relating to all aspects of accountancy, financial processes and management information.
• Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) - where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Experience of working in a similar accounting role.
• Part-qualified accountant and actively studying for a CCAB/CIMA qualification.
• Business partnering skills.
• Strong decision support background.
• Experience of producing management reports.
• Experience of creating business cases for projects.
• Team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills, able to work with a diverse and broad range of stakeholders across the organisation.
• Demonstrable ability to influence.
• Good communication skills, able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, to both finance and non-finance specialists.
• Strong influencing skills, able to challenge stakeholders at all levels when needed.
• Ability to work flexibly with conflicting demands so that work is scheduled in order to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the wider MS Office suite of programmes including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to understand financial processes and procedures, but also to recommend improvements and implement changes.
• Ability to plan and organise own workload effectively and get things done.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries to Martin Byrne, email: m.byrne@bham.ac.uk

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy.