Finance and Administrative Officer United Kingdom
Job description
The School for Cross-faculty Studies at the University of Warwick is looking for a new member of staff to join its growing team of professional support services personnel. We are a new kind of academic department at Warwick offering courses in subject areas that you might not have heard of – courses which don’t fit into the academic boundaries of traditional disciplines. Our courses are innovative, expansive and challenging and focus on contemporary issues and problems such as Climate Change, Social Justice, Equality, Sustainability, Food Security and Consumption. Take a look at our website to find out more..
Our undergraduate programmes are attracting increasing numbers of students and we’re expanding into postgraduate, online, professional development and other exciting markets. As such we need more administrative staff to support our growth.
Now, we need someone who can take responsibility for carrying out the day-to day financial tasks that ensure the smooth running of the School. Specifically, we are looking for a person who:
- likes dealing with numbers and understands processes such as purchase ordering, invoicing and expenses claims.
- has experience of using finance-based systems to monitor budgets and run reports.
- can keep records of goods bought and monies paid.
- is able to communicate effectively with people whose strengths are not numerical to explain procedures and rules to them so that they can understand and follow them.
This is the role of the Finance and Administrative Officer in our School. It’s a part-time time post of 22 hours per week and its possible to work these hours on a flexible basis to suit your circumstances. You could work partly at home and partly in the office as the University is now practising hybrid working.
For more information about the job, you can contact Julia Gretton, Senior Departmental Administrator ([email protected]).
Interview Date: TBC.
Our School holds the Athena Swan Bronze award which means that we’ve proved that we operate policies and procedures that aim to ensure family-friendly working and transparent recruitment and promotion systems and that we support gender equality.
What’s more, the University offers a generous annual leave entitlement and you can save on the costs of travel, dining out, shopping and entertainment with the discounts offered by partner retailers. You can even join our state-of-the-art gym at a special membership rate for staff!
Job Description
JOB PURPOSE
The purpose of this role is to be responsible for all of the everyday finance-related work in the School.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Procurement
Much of the job involves ordering equipment and supplies for the School and its staff via the University’s online shopping platform called OPeRA. Computers and stationery goods are common items that need to be bought.
Once orders have been placed, you’ll need to keep records to show if and when the items are delivered – check them to make sure that the correct goods have been received - and then process the invoices from the suppliers so that they are paid promptly.
If there are any queries from the companies supplying the goods or from the University’s Finance Office, you’ll need to respond.
Asset Register
We have a list of all of the equipment (such as computers, screens, video cameras) that we have bought and this needs to be kept up to date. When something breaks down and we have to dispose of it and buy a replacement, this Asset Register should be updated to show what has happened.
Making Travel Arrangements
Our staff and students sometimes need to travel abroad in order to attend events or carry out research. You will be responsible for making some of these bookings using the University’s approved travel agent.
Expenses
Often connected to the trips, are expenses as staff claim back the money that they’ve paid out for meals, hotel stays etc. You will check these claims, (which are made through the University’s online system), to make sure that they are valid and comply with the rules around expenses and then authorise reimbursement to the member of staff.
Financial Reporting
This means keeping an eye on the various budgets that are set for different areas by running reports on the financial system, reviewing them and identifying any issues which could cause problems of over- or under- spending of the budget.
Payroll
Helping to make sure that temporary staff get paid the right amount at the right time. This could involve authorising time sheets submitted by the staff or completing and sending to the Payroll Office forms asking for people to be paid.
Be a Champion!
As our School’s ‘Financial Regulations Champion’ you will provide guidance to staff and students about the University’s financial processes, systems and procedures. To do this, you’ll have to know all about the Regulation and Procedures yourself and keep abreast of any changes to them so that you can explain the rules to other people.
We may ask you to do other things as well, but these tasks will always be appropriate for your job and its grade and the skills and experience that you bring.
For further information about the University of Warwick, please read our University Further Particulars.
For further information about the department, please visit the departmental website.
As for our School, it is small but growing rapidly! We are split into four Divisions which are:
Liberal Arts - there are five academic members of staff here and one dedicated administrative role which supports the team. The undergraduate course in Liberal Arts has around 100 students on it, and we are in the process of launching or new postgraduate course in Liberal Arts.
Global Sustainable Development (GSD) – here there are 13 academic staff plus two administrative posts that support the undergraduate courses and two staff to support the relatively new postgraduate programmes. We run 24 first degree courses in GSD and now a postgraduate taught programme as well as a postgraduate research course leading to a doctorate in GSD. There are about 430 students on the undergraduate courses and 40 on the postgraduate courses.
Institute for Global Sustainable Development – this is a research centre that employs 9 people who conduct research into the issues that affect how the way in which we live affects our planet both now and in the future. They try to find answers to how we can ensure both our survival and the survival of the world. They work with other academic staff in the University of Warwick and from elsewhere, including people from industries, governments, charities and other organisations from across the UK and the world, aiming to work out how we can sustain life. The Institute has a Manager and Project Officers that support the academic researchers.
Design for Sustainable Innovation (DSI) - this is our brand-new Division only launched a few months ago and still in the phase of employing staff and developing the courses that it will offer. Those courses will am to train a new wave of designers who have an ethical, responsible approach to design that will help to build sustainable products, services and systems for the future.
The Finance and Administrative Officer will be the School’s expert and will take responsibility for all of the processes related to buying and paying for goods and services and for paying temporary staff. They will be the person who knows all the rules and procedures around anything to do with day-to-day financial transactions and can apply them, as well as explain them to others, where needed. So, we are looking for someone who understands, and is comfortable with, following financial processes, can use computer packages to make transactions, keep records of them and produce reports to monitor expenditure. You’ll need to be able to meet deadlines too, as the work often involves making sure that things happen by specific points, for example at the end of the quarter or financial year. An eye for detail will be an important skill to possess in this job as you’ll be checking reports and other finance-related records e.g. expenses claims, so will need to be able to spot any errors or anomalies and take action to address and resolve issues.
The Officer will be part of a team of administrative staff which looks like this:
A Senior Departmental Administrator – oversees all the administration in the School and supports the professional services staff.
A Postgraduate Programmes Manager – supports the development, launch and administration of the School’s postgraduate provision.
A Programme and Evaluation Manager – this person works for the Institute for Global Sustainable Development which is a research centre that sits in the School. They provide support to the researchers based in the centre.
An Employability and Placements Manager - supports students to develop their employability skills so that they have a better chance of getting a job when they leave University.
A Recruitment and Communications Officer - uses a variety of media to convey the unique spirit of the School and its courses to others.
An Executive Officer – provides operational support in a number of areas to ensure that the School functions effectively.
Programmes Officers – undertake day to day administration related to the School’s undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
A Finance and Administrative Officer - this post.
We expect to have more staff as the new DSI Division grows.
Our School and the wider University are committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity. We aim to promote a welcoming, diverse and inclusive working and learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued. So, where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential.
This means that we welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, and sexual orientation.
Warwick is committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity, promoting a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive working and learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.
We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages here.
The University of Warwick holds an Athena SWAN Silver award; a national initiative to promote gender equality for all staff and students. Further information about the work of the University in relation to Athena SWAN can be found at the following link: Athena Swan (warwick.ac.uk)
The University of Warwick is one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University alliance, whose aim is to become by 2025 an open, multicultural, confederated operation of connected campuses.
Right to work in the UK
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa in the UK points-based immigration system please click on this link which contains further information about obtaining right to work in the UK and details about eligibility for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa.
Benefits and Rewards
Please refer to this link for a full list of our employee benefits here at Warwick here.
