Instruct-ERIC has an opening for a Finance and Administration Officer to deal with the day-to-day financial management of a European scientific organisation at Grade 5 point 1 salary £25.941 p.a. The job is for one year fixed-term in the first instance as full time employment, however, we can consider a minimum of 30 hours per week as part-time if required.
Key Relationships
The post holder will manage all general bookkeeping and financial procedures for the organisation and have general responsibility for finance support for a number of European projects.
Responsibilities/duties
The postholder will be responsible for:
· The accurate and timely completion of monthly accounting procedures on the basis of appropriate supporting documentation. Tasks include payroll, reviewing and checking of recharged costs, expense forms, adjustments and journals.
· Preparation of information for financial reporting, monitoring expenditure in comparison to detailed budget plans, investigating and alerting Managers and Senior Project Accountant to potential overspends where appropriate.
· Working proactively with managers to provide support in the financial management of projects, responding quickly to issues raised and resolving these satisfactorily and in a timely manner, escalating where appropriate. e.g. Alerting impending project end dates, potential budget overspends.
· Maintaining correct information on the Instruct Finance system.
· Proactively liaising with third parties to provide or obtain information.
· Providing advice and assistance to all customers on financial issues, including the interpretation and explanation of financial data, rules and regulations.
· Participating in Audits, Health Checks and Self‐Assessment reviews, as required.
· Ensuring any risks, issues or discrepancies are brought to the attention of the Senior Project Accountant.
· Supporting the continuous improvement of finance procedures, suggesting improvements and facilitating their communication and implementation.
· Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as requested by the Senior Project Accountant.
Selection Criteria
Essential
· Educated to at least A Level standard (or equivalent) including Mathematics.
· AAT qualification or equivalent, or part-qualified accountant.
· Fluent spoken English, and clear evidence of numerical ability.
· Experience in producing and interrogating budgets and forecast.
· Excellent IT skills, including MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) particularly the ability to create and manipulate pivot tables and manage large volumes of data; databases and the ability to learn specialist software (e.g. Xero, HSBCNet).
· Experience in preparation of management accounts and the analysis of variances.
· Evidence of attention to detail (e.g. experience of distributing complex or confidential information without requiring review).
· Excellent communications skills, in writing and in person, able to communicate clearly and appropriately at all levels, including with senior staff across the Consortium and with a wide network of contacts across the wider European education and research sector
· Experience of handling confidential information, and the ability to manage personnel matters with tact and discretion.
· Strong interpersonal skills, the ability and willingness to work and co‐operate effectively with people from different organisational levels, both internally and externally as may be required.
· A flexible and resilient approach to work, able to use initiative and a proactive approach to problem solving.
· Ability to organise and prioritise own workload and work to deadlines in the presence of conflicting priorities.
· Capacity to work independently, with minimum supervision, and a willingness to resolve situations, as well as knowing when to refer issues to others.
Desirable
· Experience in a similar role and working environment.
· Experience of providing support as a finance officer.
· Experience working with grant funded projects.
· Experience of working with Xero.
How to apply
If you consider that you meet the selection criteria, please send a supporting statement which explains how you meet the selection criteria for the post and an up-to-date CV including details of two referees. You must provide evidence of your right to work in the UK.
