Senior Administrator (Finance) in Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world‑class university. We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

We are seeking a well organised Senior Administrator (Finance) with excellent interpersonal skills to join the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS), a friendly and confidential service that supports disabled students and applicants, and the staff working with them. The key focus of your role will be the financial administration of support for disabled students. You will undertake ordering, invoicing, monitoring and reporting of disability support such as equipment, specialist 1:1 support and travel. The Senior Administrator (Finance) has specific responsibilities for reclaiming Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) costs for postgraduate research students (PGR) from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The role is customer focused, requiring excellent communication skills to collaborate regularly and effectively with students and colleagues. You will be able to forge good relationships with a range of external organisations who provide support and finance to disabled students. A confident and methodical individual, you are able to work proactively on your own initiative, with a high degree of accuracy in a fast‑paced environment. You are comfortable handling conflicting priorities and meeting key financial deadlines. You will have demonstrable experience of financial administration and managing budgets. You possess strong digital literacy skills and are confident working across a range of platforms including financial software, Google applications and Microsoft Office. You are comfortable handling sensitive and confidential information, and you are committed to supporting disabled students to succeed in their university journey.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the day‑to‑day financial administration of the Service including processing requisitions and purchase orders, processing invoices, managing staff and student expense claims and maintaining records for financial monitoring.
• Support the claims process for UKRI funded PGR students.
• Manage queries from students, external suppliers, colleagues and UKRI research councils.
• Liaise effectively with students, external and internal support suppliers, building professional and positive relationships, especially with our in‑house Support Worker Service around invoicing and budget management.
• Administer student taxi assistance including supplier liaison and financial monitoring.
• Purchase goods and services via purchasing card.
• Arrange transfers of costs (journals) between budgets.
• Monitor budgets and provide monthly budget reports to colleagues in DDSS and collaborate closely with budget holders.
• Provide quarterly reporting to University of Sheffield financial contacts and Head of Service.
• Plan and prepare documentation to meet key financial deadlines; financial year‑end and submission of financial claims for DSA to UKRI.
• Collaborate with colleagues on service development, and be flexible and adaptable to change.
• Maintain a register of departmental assets.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn’t match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Criteria

• Essential – Significant experience of financial administration and budget management.
• Essential – Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Essential – Excellent customer service skills with the ability to build strong working relationships with students, University staff and external providers and agencies.
• Essential – Demonstrable digital literacy skills – proficient in the use of financial software, standard software (for example, Microsoft Office and Google Workspace applications). The ability to adapt quickly to using a range of in‑house systems to support effective administration.
• Essential – Ability to handle sensitive financial and personal data appropriately, maintaining confidentiality and data protection standards.
• Essential – Ability to work proactively using own initiative, recognising when to refer matters to senior colleagues.
• Essential – Excellent team working skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with colleagues.
• Essential – Ability to work to a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail and experience of record keeping.
• Essential – Ability to manage own workload, prioritising as required to meet planned deadlines as well as to undertake unscheduled tasks.
• Essential – Well‑developed analytical and problem‑solving skills and the ability to implement changes to procedures.
• Essential – Experience of using SAP financial systems.
• Desirable – Experience of using SAP financial systems.

Further Information

Grade: 5
Salary: £27,319 to £31,236 pro‑rata
Work arrangement: Part time, 22.6 hours per week. There is some flexibility around the working pattern but one of the working days must be Wednesday. The role is hybrid, with a minimum 2 days on campus in Sheffield.
Line manager: Office Coordinator
Direct reports: None

For informal enquiries about this job contact Mary Jacques (Office Coordinator).

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place during the week of 27th April. The selection process will consist of an interview and a test. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage during the week commencing 20th April. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact Mary Jacques.

What We Offer

• A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes.
• A range of generous family‑friendly policies including paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies, support for those going through the menopause, paid time off and support for fertility treatment and more.

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. We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.