Assistant Finance Business Partner - Finance Office - 58286 - Grade 7 at University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

15 Jun, 26

Salary

46049.0

Posted On

17 Mar, 26

Experience

2 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Financial Information Provision, Budget Holders Guidance, Stakeholder Management, Financial Advice, Accountancy Best Practice, Management Information, Financial Planning, Budgetary Control, Financial Reporting, Data Analysis, Interpersonal Skills, Influencing Stakeholders, IT Skills, Literacy, Numeracy, Equality Act Knowledge

Industry

Higher Education

Description

Position Details Finance Office Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822 Grade: 7 Full Time, Permanent Closing date: 31st March 2026 Our offer to you People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens. Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/staff-benefits] Background Finance Business Partnering provides strategic financial support, analysis and advice to the Colleges and Professional Service budget centres. This includes modelling the financial impact of decisions, support in developing business cases for investment and development of in year and longer-term budgets and financial plans. The team will support College/PS Boards through the annual forecasting cycle working closely with HR and Strategic Planning colleagues as a joined-up business partnering team. Together with the Management Accounting team, the Finance Business Partners also ensure financial performance in year is accurately monitored and reported. Role Summary Working in partnership with Senior Finance Business Partner and / OR Finance Business Partner, you will be responsible for ensuring the effective provision of operational support to the business on a variety of financial matters. As a key point of contact, for a range of budget areas, you will provide advice and support on day-to-day financial matters. With the support and direction of the Senior Finance Business Partner, you will have responsibility for preparation of budgets, business plans, budgetary control and interpretation of financial information in order that budget holders can manage their budgets effectively. You will assist the Finance Business Partner in challenging processes and ways of working which will involve working with and influencing senior staff whilst also ensuring effective financial management, control and reporting at an operational level for all activities. The post holder will occasionally be asked to cover for the Finance Business Partner in some aspects of the service provided and as such will need to have the necessary interpersonal skills to operate at higher levels of the University. Main Duties * Responsible for providing Departments/Schools with financial information that is relevant and understood by the budget holders. * Provide advice and guidance on a wide range of financial issues using your knowledge of the Department/School to ensure it meets the needs of the business. * First point of contact for key stakeholders and using your knowledge of the Finance department and University able to signpost where appropriate. * Providing a responsive and solutions focussed approach that will meet the needs of the Department/School. * Provide knowledge and advice on best practice relating to all aspects of accountancy and management information both with stakeholders and colleagues in Finance. * Contribute to the evaluation and improvement of finance administrative support structures through evaluating existing procedures in association with other finance office staff, driving consistency, simplification and efficiency. * Understanding and interpretation of management information for a range of budget centres for use in business decisions related to finance level initiatives and reviews. This should be communicated to budget holders in a clear and concise way and guidance given on how to proceed. * Under the guidance of the Senior Finance Business Partner, support the creation of credible financial business plans for the Departments/Schools and be able to review outputs on a timely basis. * Work with the management accounting team to provide accurate and relevant information required. This includes provision of annual accounts as well as budgetary and forecast information. * Producing ad-hoc financial data, both of a routine and complex nature and including activities that require coordination across a number of areas. * Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture. * Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. * Any other duties commensurate with the grade. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience * Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience - where no equivalent qualification is held significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required. * Recently qualified or studying in final stages for professional accountancy qualifications like CIMA, ACCA or ACA. * Excellent communication skills and able to adapt style to deal with a wide range of stakeholders. * An aptitude for reviewing and interpreting often complex information. * Adaptable and flexible when dealing with complex situations and the unexpected. * Ability to generate innovative solutions in response to challenges to deliver change and to articulate these sharing both implications and benefits. * Resilient and positive in response to changes. * Able to work independently and organise workload. * The ability to influence a wide range of stakeholders. * Excellent IT skills with experience of using a range of systems. * Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data. * Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly. Informal enquiries to Mark O'Mara, email: m.a.omara@bham.ac.uk [m.a.omara@bham.ac.uk] View our staff values and behaviours here [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/our-strategy/our-values] Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. 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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/about/equality/index.aspx].

Responsibilities

The role involves providing operational financial support, advice, and guidance on day-to-day financial matters to various budget areas, acting as a key point of contact. Responsibilities include the preparation of budgets, business plans, budgetary control, and interpretation of financial information under the direction of a Senior Finance Business Partner.