Senior Project Accountant

We are recruiting a Senior project Accountant to cover maternity within the team, for 12 months. This exciting role will give you an opportunity to be part of multi-million-pound projects that are strategically critical for the University. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Finance, you will be a senior member of the team, responsible for building complex financial models that will be used across multiple projects. Given the nature of the role, you will be closely working with the Strategic Projects Department within the University.

As the Senior Projects Accountant, you will play a key role in monitoring financial requirements for project areas, whilst proactively identifying areas where financial outputs can support achievement of the University's strategic business objectives and  optimum levels of governance are met across all projects. Using your strong technical and finance project skills coupled with  sound understanding of the business area and projects, you will collaborate and challenge stakeholders University-wide and provide advice and support to senior colleagues.

In this role, you will:

• Develop a deep knowledge of diverse business areas, their needs and priorities, making sure that the business understands the financial implications of decisions and available choices.
• Acting in an intelligent customer role to actively work with the business to understand cost drivers and performance priorities and interpret financial implications of decisions.
• Building, maintaining and influencing strong relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, acting as the link with colleagues, ensuring that variances, forecasts and planning assumptions are reported and understood.
• Supporting the financial analysis of business areas to prepare for the business planning processes.
• Identifying sustainable cost savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle, along with understanding and articulating the impact of reforms and their ultimate effect on the business.
• Supporting on the construction of business cases through financial challenge and the identification of commercial implications of options considered.
• Building financial and commercial awareness of non-finance staff within the business

The ideal candidate will be:

• A demonstrable leader with experience of leading the work of a team and multiple projects, with the ability to think strategically.

• An excellent communicator, particularly when dealing with complex financial information and a non-financial audience.
• Able to influence the behaviour of senior managers to ensure they deliver the expected financial performance for their area of responsibility.
• Good at networking, both internally and externally, and building relationships at all levels of the organisation.
• Able to analyse large amounts of data and producing summaries which provide clear insights.
• Commercial in their approach to finance, balanced with a clear understanding of the non-financial objectives of the University.
• Able to work autonomously across a large and complex organisation.
• Hold a first degree or equivalent qualification and/or be a ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW or equivalent qualified accountant.

 Supporting the university in a series of increasingly demanding and competitive environments, our work sees us involved in a growing number of partnerships and communities, across the city but also nationally and internationally. Our team play a key role in helping shape our strategic direction, making a key contribution to the long-term financial sustainability of a great global university. The work is intellectually challenging, exciting and hugely rewarding. If you would like to join our people and share our ambition, we would love to hear from you!

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