Finance Business Partner in Catcliffe

Overview

The University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) finance team develops and implements dynamic and future-focused financial strategies to support the University’s aims, whilst maintaining sound financial oversight and administration in managing the University’s financial affairs. The finance team has business partnering teams aligned to research groups and central professional service departments within the AMRC and wider University. We are looking to recruit a Finance Business Partner role for the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). The role will directly provide sound financial advice and support to departments, ensuring effective management and monitoring of departmental funds including operational budgets, research projects and other external activities.

Key tasks include budgeting, monitoring, reporting and forecasting for internal and external stakeholders, month-end, quarter-end and year-end routines, and oversight of a portfolio of large, complex activities.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with AMRC research groups and AMRC Professional Services departments to provide finance support and information, ensuring that the AMRC’s financial plan is sustainable and financial risks are identified, understood and managed.
• Provision of expert financial support, guidance and management information, with responsibility for excellent customer service.
• Prepare accurate income and expenditure forecasts on a monthly and quarterly basis, with analysis and explanation of variances against budget/forecast and recommendations for action or mitigation where appropriate.
• Prepare quarterly and year-end reconciliations as required, including reserves and other provisions, and coordinate year-end procedures across departments.
• Provide information and advice regarding budgetary control and activity forecasting across all types of external income (both research and other external funding), identify and offer solutions to minimise potential risk or conflict with University financial regulations.
• Review and/or prepare financial expenditure statements or award claims for all types of external funding, coordinate external audit of financial returns, and act as point of contact throughout the audit process.
• Support and enable finance staff to work to the highest professional standards and encourage a culture of continuous professional development.
• Lead colleagues in challenging activities and processes, identify and deliver improvements to maximise effectiveness.
• Have oversight of and plan, in collaboration with other Finance Business Partners and the Finance Manager, workload allocations across the team, ensuring all objectives and deadlines are achieved and productivity is optimised.
• Carry out other duties commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrate sound working knowledge of the key principles of financial management; skills and experience in financial forecasting, budget monitoring and control and month-end routines.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, relationship building and influencing skills, and the professional and personal credibility to operate as a finance leader and advisor, generating confidence in stakeholders.
• Ability to demonstrate leadership skills in managing, motivating and developing a team and to motivate high performance in others in line with the department’s vision and values.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret and evaluate financial and business information to inform business decisions with a clear view of the financial implications.
• Qualified or part-qualified accountant (part-qualified ACCA = Applied skills complete CIMA = Operational level plus case study, e.g. CIMA, ACCA or other equivalent qualification).
• Proven ability to communicate complex financial information to a non-financial audience, including the production of high-quality financial reports.
• Excellent IT skills, particularly with Microsoft Excel and experience of using finance systems as well as reporting solutions in an operational environment.
• Proactive with the ability to work to multiple deadlines, organise team resources and prioritise workloads.
• Part-qualified Advanced (CIMA = Managerial level plus case study and equivalent for ACCA).

Desirable Criteria

• An awareness and interest in the issues facing the Higher Education Sector and experience in the financial management of funding from external bodies.

Salary and Working Conditions

Grade: 7
Salary: £38,784 – £47,389 per annum
Work arrangement: Full time, 35 hours per week
Line manager: AMRC Finance Manager
Direct reports: Assistant Finance Business Partner

EEO Statement

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Baseline Personnel Security Standard

This role requires the postholder to undertake a Government baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) check as a condition of employment. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): Childcare disqualification, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Medical, Online and social media, Eligibility to work, Satisfactory references, Suitability to work with children.

Other Information

Our website: https://sheffield.ac.uk/finance. The University of Sheffield is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our staff and students. This role requires safeguarding checks in line with education guidance.