InstructJob Title: Part-time Finance and Administrative Officer (24 hours per week, flexible working pattern)
Salary Scale: Pro-rata: £24,983 - £28,098 depending on experience
Main Purpose of Job: To manage day-to-day the financial and administrative activities of Instruct ERIC in accordance with European financial requirements.
Responsible to: Instruct Hub Coordinator
Responsible for: The post holder will have general responsibility for finance support for a number of Horizon 2020 projects and for general organisation, financial administration and support.
Instruct is a European Organisation offering technologies in structural biology to researchers around Europe. Instruct also provides scientific method training and other services to improve research outcomes. Instruct is coordinated and administrated from offices in Oxford, UK and has a busy team of 10 members.
Instruct is seeking a part-time (24 hours per week) Financial and Administrative Officer to manage the day-to-day activities of the office. The working pattern is flexible by agreement with the Instruct Coordinator. We seek a responsible, motivated and efficient person to undertake duties for Instruct.
Responsibilities/duties
· Responsible for the accurate and timely completion of monthly accounting procedures on the basis of appropriate supporting documentation. Tasks include reviewing and checking of documentation (recharges, expense forms, adjustments and journals) to ensure it is accurate and within approved parameters.
· Production of accurate and timely project reports, monitoring expenditure in comparison to detailed budget plans, investigating and alerting Project Managers and Senior Project Accountant to potential overspends where appropriate. Review and validation of project forecasts with reference to approved budget, actual spend to date, and future expectations.
· Work proactively with project 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, including the setup of accurate data, reviewing and checking with third parties where necessary and the entry of transactional information.
· Proactively liaising with third parties to provide or obtain information.
· Providing advice and assistance to all customers of the Finance team on financial issues, including the interpretation and explanation of financial data, rules and regulations.
· Providing information, where requested, to the Senior Project Accountant to assist with budgets and forecasts.
· Ensuring that financial records are kept in accordance with financial regulations and 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.
· Working with rest of the finance team to meet collective objectives and to amend processes or question operations where necessary.
· Assist project managers to develop realistic financial forecasts for current year and until the end of the project.
· Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as requested by the Senior Project Accountant.
Selection criteria
Essential
· Experience of working in a large accounting department, part qualified accountant or qualified by experience AAT or equivalent accounting qualification.
· 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. Review and challenge of financials with line managers.
· 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
· Previous experience and understanding of financial procedures, or 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.
The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.
Apply to M. Gallagher,
Oxford House,
Parkway Court,
John Smith Drive,
Oxford OX4 2JY UK
Tel: +44 1865 988639
Please include a short CV and evidence of your right to work in the UK.
Applications accepted until 1st August 2018.
If you would like more information on the post, please contact Madalena on the email or telephone number above.
