Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect:
Applications must be submitted by
06-03-2025
Vacancy for Senior Management Accountant
The role sits in the Innovate UK (IUK) Finance Reporting & Planning team and will lead on several critical workstreams that encompass IUK multi-year planning, cash management and technical accounting.
Watch our video "Why Join Innovate UK?" here
Title: Senior Management Accountant
Band: UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs)
Salary: £56,745 gross per annum
Reports to: Head of Finance - IUK
Location: Swindon (Hybrid Working)
Contract: Permanent
Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.
Job Purpose:
The role sits in the Innovate UK (IUK) Finance Reporting & Planning team and will lead on several critical workstreams that encompass IUK multi-year planning, cash management and technical accounting.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
1. Ownership of multi-year forecasting to support senior management with strategic planning and decision making. The role necessitates building a strong working relationship with the IUK strategy team and UKRI central finance. The role will require analysis and challenge of forecasts (consolidated from operational systems and business partnering team) and the development of new processes and reporting to ensure there is understanding across senior management of multi-year plans, including risks & opportunities.
2. Implement robust processes to ensure that IUK is operating in line with relevant accounting policies. Lead the development of testing and reporting on material financial adjustments (such as accruals) to provide confidence for senior management. Hold a strong working relationship with UKRI Financial Control team, NAO and other relevant stakeholders across the business.
3. Accountable for IUK cash forecasting - review and challenge of forecasts consolidated by the Finance team, explore efficiencies or new processes to improve accuracy, liaise with central colleagues to build a strong relationship with DIST treasury team.
4. Cross team support for Domain and SLT reporting.
5. Support continuous improvement, system implementation and other finance related projects (as required), both local to IUK and across the wider UKRI Finance function.
This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.
Shortlisting criteria
(S) - Assessed at shortlisting
(I) - Assessed at interview
(S&I) - Assessed at both shortlisting and interview
Person Specification:
Experience & Qualifications:
Essential -
* Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA) or Qualified by Experience (S&I)
* Competent IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel (S&I)
* Understanding of financial control (S&I)
* Experience of month and year-end processes and reporting, such as accruals and prepayment calculations and variance analysis (S&I)
* Preparation of budgets, forecasts, and financial plans (S&I)
* Experience of working as part of a wider-business, consulting with many stakeholders, showing an understanding of business priorities and working with partners to meet organisational and financial objectives (I)
* Experience in provision of written and oral advice suitable for senior level decision makers (I)
Skills & Abilities:
* Ability to build relationships with a variety of stakeholders (I)
* Line management skills (I)
* Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a proactive approach (I)
* Personal resilience and a confident, willing to apply good judgement to find solutions independently (I)
* Team working skills, able to form effective working relationships quickly (I)
* Ability to respond calmly under pressure and make well-considered judgments in different situations (I)
* Good organisational skills, able to manage and prioritise own and others' workloads and meet deadlines in a timely manner (I)
* Ability to see the big picture, having an appreciation for the wider context (I)
* Continuous improvement approach, with practical implementation of ideas (I)
Interview Criteria:
* Qualified Accountant
* Experience in financial management and analysis
* Strong Management accounting, budgeting & forecasting experience, including month end processes
* Numeracy and analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present financial information
* Clear, demonstrable relationship management, with ability to instil confidence within stakeholders
* Strong written and oral communication skills
* Personal resilience approach to solve issues in short timescales
Competencies:
All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:
Thinking and Problem Solving - Stakeholder management - Communication skills - Influencing - Self-awareness/self-management - Strategic awareness - Working with others- Project management
Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria's listed in the person specification.
Travel Requirements:
Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.
Equal Opportunities:
We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.
UK Research and Innovation:
Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/.
Employee Benefits:
We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days' annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.
Flexible Working:
We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.
Pre-employment Screening:
To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment. #J-18808-Ljbffr