19752BR
Finance
Managerial, Professional and Specialist Staff – MPSS
Head of Finance Systems and Data
Cardiff University exists to create and share knowledge and to educate for the benefit of all. Our vision is to be a world-leading, research excellent, educationally outstanding university, which fulfils its social, cultural and economic obligations to Cardiff, Wales, the UK and the world. The role that Finance Professional Services plays in supporting this vision is fundamental in ensuring that our external and internal customers are at the heart of what we do, by delivering efficient and effective customer service at all times.
The Finance function is now embarking on a significant programme of transformation to achieve the vision, service and support needed by the business. The first phase of this includes the automation of our Purchase to Pay processes as well as the redesign of our chart of accounts, and development of phase 2 plans.
As the Head of Finance Systems, you will lead a team of analysts, functional developers and system administrators, to develop and deliver a new vision for Finance where we leverage data and technology to provide more efficient and insightful support to the business. You will bring thought leadership, strong collaboration and coaching skills, raising the capability of the team and the wider Finance function.
This involves managing and participating in systems development projects and overseeing the resolution of issues with current functionality, working in conjunction with colleagues across Finance, and in partnerships with IT.
You will work with the Finance Transformation Programme to develop a clear strategic roadmap for the University’s Finance system solutions, and take long term ownership of this, ensuring a culture of continuous improvement which takes advantage of new technologies over time.
The post is full time (35 hours per week) and open-ended.
Salary: £60,907 - £66,537 per annum (Grade 8)
This role is eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you may spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.
Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 37 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) pro-rata for part-time hours, local pension scheme, blended working (meaning you will be able to work from home for some of your time), a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments up the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.
Date advert posted: Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Closing date: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.
Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.
Job Description
Strategic leadership and development
1. Develop, own and lead the strategic roadmap for Finance systems and data, including oversight of the development and delivery of projects/plans, to support the Finance team to deliver cost-effective, technology-enabled finance service, aligned to Finance priorities and the University strategy.
2. Work with IT and other functional system owners across the University to ensure the development of a coherent and integrated systems and data strategy across the organisation, taking advantage of new opportunities as they arise and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
3. Keep up to date with changes in technology and evaluating opportunities to improve or impact on the University’s Finance system solutions, engaging and networking with relevant sector specialists and professionals.
4. Develop a deep and broad understanding of the University’s activities and business needs, undertaking focused user engagement to ensure their needs are met through the products and solutions in place, overseeing projects and improvements to accommodate new or changing business activities and priorities (undertaking critical evaluation of any proposed change).
5. Champion data and technology across the organisation, achieving a confident, engagement-led approach to planning & delivery.
Functional ownership
1. Ensure the full product set is appropriately supported and maintained, including managing patching or regular release cycles as needed, supported by a robust testing approach.
2. Ensure appropriate disaster recovery/ business continuity arrangement are in place.
3. Define and regularly report on key SLAs around the system, identifying issues and defining and implementing actions to address improvements needed.
4. Ensure that statutory accounting, tax, financial compliance and control issues are considered and incorporated for all process and system changes through consultation with relevant Finance teams, and that any new requirements can be met by the systems.
User support and training
1. Oversee the provision of first- and second-line support to Finance systems users across the organisation, ensuring calls are prioritised appropriately, and recorded on the helpdesk software with a knowledge database maintained as appropriate.
2. Ensure that appropriate system documentation and user guides are in place and available to users to support them in daily use of the system, including updates to reflect any changes or developments.
Staff management
1. Build the capability within the Finance Systems Support team, maximising performance and efficiency, and ensure the team has the skills to carry out their duties effectively and promote a high level of customer service for system users.
Person Specification
Your application will be assessed against the following essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please copy and paste this section into a new document and give clear examples of how you can evidence meeting each criteria by writing under each one. You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life (e.g. work, home, education/qualifications or community life) as long as you focus on their relevance to the role.
Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOURNAME - 19752BR - JOB TITLE] and attach it to your application in the recruitment system.
Please note that these are also the criteria shortlisted applicants will be assessed against at interview and/or by other means (e.g. a skills test) where applicable.
Essential Criteria
Qualifications and Education
1. Qualified accountant (CCAB) or other equivalent relevant qualification.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
1. Experienced finance systems professional with extensive experience of managing and administering financial systems in complex organisations, particularly core finance, purchasing and reporting.
2. Significant reporting experience with a good understanding of how to leverage chart of accounts, reporting dimensions and other data sets to deliver robust and meaningful analysis and insight.
3. Experience of leading an organisation through IT Transformation from strategy to delivery, working with stakeholders to advise and gain buy-in.
Customer Service, Communication and Team Working
1. Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach; able to achieve cooperation and results from others whether or not directly managing them (including external support partners) and ability to establish credibility across a range of stakeholder groups at differing levels of seniority to ensure best practice use of the system and adoption of new initiatives.
2. Staff management experience; able to motivate and empower staff members and to provide appropriate support to enable others to succeed.
3. Good communication skills both written and oral; able to communicate technical systems matters to non-financial and non-IT literate staff.
Planning, Analysis and Problem solving
1. Evidence of ability to research and solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identify and propose both practical and innovative solution.
2. Experience of identifying opportunities for improvement, and designing and implementing system improvements in order to meet business needs and developments in best practice.
3. Proven experience of successful project management of systems development and upgrade work including development of specifications and designing and undertaking testing.
Desirable Criteria
1. Experience of leading change and transformation projects.
2. Experience of working in a Higher Education environment.
3. Experience of Oracle EBS, SAP Concur and associated reporting tools.
4. Experience of overseeing deployment of data framework and governance policies.
5. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral.
Salary Range Min.
60,907
Salary Range Max.
66,537
Job Category
Accountancy & Finance, Management & Executive
Grade
Grade 8 #J-18808-Ljbffr