School/Department Finance
Based at Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Hours of work 37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered.
Contract type Permanent
Salary £33,309 to £37,127 per annum with additional performance related pay up to £46,409 per annum
Apply by 31/01/2021

Role Description

Cranfield University Finance department welcomes applications from experienced Assistant Accountants.

As the UK’s only exclusively postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships is creating leaders in technology and management globally.  Our distinctive expertise is in our deep understanding of technology and management and how these work together to benefit the world.

Our people are our most valuable resource, and everyone has a role to play in shaping the future of our university, developing our learners, and transforming the businesses we work with. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here. Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here. 

The academic activity of the University is supported by a wide range of service departments. The role of the Finance Professional Service Unit is to ensure that all financial data is processed to enable payments to be made and received accurately and timely and that relevant, timely and reliable information is available to all stakeholders. The Professional Service Unit is also responsible for monitoring financial growth of the University and identifying at an early stage any potential detrimental variances and to then work with all relevant stake holders to put plans in place to address these issues.

The post holder will be responsible for the ongoing post award administration of an allocated portfolio of key research and consultancy projects for parts of the University and some of its subsidiary companies.  This is a more senior and supervisory role within the team that supports the Research Monitoring and Claims Accounts Assistant in their day-to-day role. The role will also include the production of more complex invoices and claims, the coordination of project audits where these are a condition of funding, reviewing contract work in progress and escalating any variances or issues as appropriate.  The post holder will also assist the Research Monitoring and Claims Accountant with other duties such as financial budgeting and forecasting of research, consultancy and large project income and expenditure.

You will be AAT qualified (or equivalent) or be able to demonstrate relevant prior work experience. You will also have least five years’ experience in a large complex organisation or Higher Education institution. The post holder must have the ability to read and understand the legal requirements of commercial contracts and grant agreements to ensure that cost claims can be correctly calculated in accordance with the terms and conditions of funding.

At Cranfield we value Diversity and Inclusion and aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together harmoniously with dignity and respect and realise their full potential.

Our equal opportunities and diversity monitoring has shown that women and minority ethnic groups are currently underrepresented within the university and so we actively encourage applications from eligible candidates from these groups.

We actively consider flexible working options such as part-time, compressed or flexible hours and/or an element of homeworking, and commit to exploring the possibilities for each role. Find out more here.

For an informal discussion, please contact Gavin Oliver, Head of Research Account Monitoring and Claims on email gavin.p.oliver@cranfield.ac.uk