Position Details
Finance
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Competitive salary
Grade 10
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 17th November 2024
Our partners at Trinity House Group are handling the applications for this role. To apply, please follow the link here, or contact applications@trinityhousegroup.com
Background
The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Finance is part of Professional Services, which put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work. As an employee you will influence all of this in return for a reward package incorporating pay and pensions, extensive leave, as well as a range of other benefits.
Finance is led by the CFO and a leadership team of 7, including 2 Deputies. A formal strategy for how Finance supports the ambitions of the University to 2030 is in place and we are working to become a valued partner delivering high quality and innovative service, which enables the University to achieve its vision of being in the global top 50. This is driving a period of significant change to achieve enhancement in our services, with a new enterprise system for Finance, Research support and HR in 2019 providing a catalyst. The Deputy Finance Director is key to enabling this vision to be delivered, with a focus on continuous improvement, simpler processes and functional coordination. It is an exciting time to join the University and Finance as we embark on the next stage of this journey.
Department Overview
The Deputy Finance Director (DFD) has overall leadership and management responsibility for the reporting and financial management areas of Finance which support and monitor the delivery of the University’s financial strategy. The teams act as key points of contact to provide expert advice on all financial accounting and reporting matters within the University as well as advising on strategic issues. The DFD has direct input into, and significant influence on, the University’s financial framework, with regular engagement with members of the Executive Board. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) they are often required to deputise formally for her at internal and external events, committees and fora.
Main duties
* Actively manage the day-to-day, operational, and tactical aspects of the team’s activity. This will include managing activity, reporting, projects, and team members to a high standard.
* Lead, motivate, and be accountable for the performance of the team (approx. 65 people); monitoring activity through appropriate key performance indicators and benchmarking; and operating appropriate feedback and development mechanisms in accordance with the Finance people strategy in a financial climate that is constantly evolving and subject to rapid and often fundamental change.
* Ensuring the University’s financial strategy and methodology for distributing resources across all areas remains fit for purpose and is understood at appropriate levels in all business areas and proposing improvements to enhance the relevance and integrity of the methodology.
* Deliver all aspects of the annual reporting calendar of the University and its subsidiaries relating to financial matters, both internal and external, corporate and value-added taxation, treasury, and investment management. Manage any associated audit and governance requirements and drive improvements in process, systems, timings and people to achieve this.
* Act as the financial reporting and accounting expert authority for stakeholders and the team to refer to.
* Devise financial processes and reporting to ensure compliance with relevant legislation, codes of practice, UK GAAP and University policies and procedures. Engaging with your network, deliver training and support for service users. In addition, devise feedback routes to inform Finance policy and procedures.
* Identify best practice and policies for financial activity which along with an ethos of continual improvement, will ensure a high quality of delivery across the team and the University.
* Develop and implement a culture (including policies and procedures) that promotes Equality and values diversity and inclusion.
* Develop internal and external networks with key and senior stakeholders, partners, and the wider community.
* Deliver agreed targets and on time in relation to all aspects of financial service delivery and reporting.
* Produce high quality written reports, data and analysis. Present to a range of audiences including University senior governance groups.
* Chair team, Finance, and stakeholder meetings, providing expertise, influencing and facilitating different opinions to reach consensus.
* Be accountable for managing resources and budget(s) allocated to your area and in support of Finance overall; responsible for ensuring delivery within budget, and for identifying any issues/trends and taking independent action to implement appropriate solutions.
* Work with senior members of the Colleges & Professional Services to identify and shape the strategic direction, operational plans, and key deliverables for a portfolio of major/complex strategic projects each of which is likely to be medium to long term. This will require you to use your expert judgement and offer financial guidance to make key decisions or to predict future impact of projects and influence future projects.
* Support the University’s sustainability agenda and activities in Finance.
* Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
* Educated to Degree level with a relevant Finance or Accounting qualification and experience of working in a complex organisation.
* Ability to exercise a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion.
* Substantial experience of leading and managing staff, possibly through intermediate managers, and acting as the expert authority in the area.
* Excellent literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write for different audiences and for different purposes, and to produce and analyse complex source material, information and data.
* Experience of financial reporting, regulatory compliance and managing external audits or reviews.
* Substantial experience of managing multiple large activities and projects.
* Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills.
* Proven experience of solving complex problems.
* Operational planning, management and business process skills.
* Experience of using expertise to influence a range of stakeholders and senior management.
* Ability to develop and implement an organisational strategy.
* Proven record of developing innovative and practical solutions to deliver.
* Experience of resource and financial management.
* Excellent general IT skills, with a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and preferably with ERPs.
* Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal and external stakeholders with experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues.
Role context
Roles at this level will be senior professionals with high-level expertise, exercising within financial areas with a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion, including the development and implementation of policies and processes. You will either lead a functional area or be a senior individual expert professional. You may have a deputising role for the most senior manager of the area. You are expected to resolve problems where there is a lack of precedent, requiring innovation and creativity to develop appropriate options. You will be responsible for setting quality and professional standards and managing service delivery against this or for providing professional expertise. Your work is likely to have a medium to long term horizon and you will typically work with a variety of people from several teams. You will also be able to make a major contribution to the longer-term strategic planning for your area, in line with the wider University strategy.
Core competencies/transferable skills
Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully demonstrate the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. You will be expected to take ownership for getting things done, including calling on others to join you in collaborative working groups as necessary. You will need to be flexible in supporting your department and wider University.
To apply
Our partners at Trinity House Group are handling the applications for this role. To apply, please follow the link here, or contact applications@trinityhousegroup.com
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.
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