The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s great success stories. In less than fifty years since being founded we’ve become one of the country’s best universities, consistently in the top 10 of UK league tables and rapidly climbing the international rankings of world class universities. With a reputation for entrepreneurial spirit and a group turnover in excess of £500m, the University offers exciting career opportunities for ambitious accountants.
As a Finance Manager you will be responsible for providing accurate and timely management information to senior management, heads of academic and administrative departments and directors of commercial activities. You will support planning, decision making and financial control, and reporting to external stakeholders.
JOB PURPOSE:
Lead a small team to support the Head of Finance within the Commercial Group, including contributing to the development of financial and administrative management systems. Take the lead on accounting and the support of project management for research and related finances in a range of University departments and activities.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Contribution to the Commercial Group:
- Lead a small team within the Commercial Group to focus on a portfolio of departments and activities
- Contribute to the development of financial and management systems on within the Commercial Group in order to maximise operational effectiveness and the use of SAP and IT to improve the flow of management information
Promotion of financial control
- Review of agreements to ensure completeness, compliance with both the University’s Financial Regulations and funders’ rules, and their commercial acceptability.
- Providing expert guidance to applicants on the interpretation of, in many cases both varied and complex, funders’ regulations
- Reviewing agreement terms and conditions for contractual risks, and raise any issues with the department and Finance Office as appropriate
- Establishment, in liaison with project staff, of appropriate systems and procedures for the recording of both financial and non-financial project data
- Identification of the training needs of project staff in the area of project administration
- Dissemination to all project teams of best practice in project administration and of any changes in the funders’ rules or requirements
Financial management of research and related accounts
- Creation and maintenance of appropriate project codes and budgets on the SAP Finance System in line with internal reporting requirements and funder reporting arrangements
- Regular review of project finances and progress with subsequent liaison with project staff in order to discuss contract non-performance and variations to profile, and to agree corrective action
- Participation in Departmental meetings and the presentation of financial information
- Offer constructive advice to Departments and project managers on a variety of financial matters
- Establishment and maintenance of good working relations with project funders
- To act as a central point of contact for both project teams and funders and to liaise between the two with regard to project finance and administration
- To resolve contractual disputes between the University and partners/funders
- Representing the University at meeting with funders
- The management of the grant claims process in compliance with the contracted terms and conditions – coordinating the preparation of financial claims ensuring strict funder deadlines are met.
- The management of obligatory project audits, liaising with external auditors, funders, project managers, and partners in order to obtain clean order certification
- On project completion ensure that all required documents and audit trail is archived and is held on file for the contracted period
Financial planning:
- Contribute to the five-year planning process for a range of University departments and activities
- To work with a range of departments and activity managers in establishing financial strategies that will meet the University and departmental/activities’ long term objectives
Accounting:
- To manage the quarter end accounting process for a range of businesses, departments and activities. The accounts are submitted to a range of University committees and there is also a need to support the information requirements of Finance Office’s Departmental Services Team
- To review actual performance against budget with department and activity managers and agree upon corrective action where appropriate
- The provision of management information and financial data and reports