Accounts Assistant

Ofwat; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension contributions

25 days annual leave

Access to exclusive discounts

Volunteering days

Shared parental leave

Job summary

Ofwat is seeking an Accounts Assistant to join its Finance Team in Birmingham. This role is pivotal in supporting financial operations and requires proven experience in accounting environments, particularly in accounts payable/receivable, together with strong Excel skills and familiarity with financial software like Oracle Fusion. The position offers a hybrid working model, excellent development opportunities, and benefits including generous annual leave and employer pension contributions.

Qualifications

• Experience in a financial accounting environment, particularly in accounts payable and receivable.
• Proficient in using Excel for data analysis and presentation.
• Solid understanding of core accounting principles.

Responsibilities

• Support financial control and accounting functions.
• Assist in month-end journals and bank reconciliations.
• Manage finance mailbox and respond to queries.

Skills

Financial accounting experience

Understanding of accounting principles

Proficiency in Excel

Familiarity with Oracle Fusion

Improving finance processes

Excellent communication skills

Education

Studying towards an accounting qualification

Job description

Join Ofwat’s Finance Team as an Accounts Assistant

This is a fixed-term appointment up until December 2027.

Office Location: Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working.

How to apply

Please submit your CV and a Personal Statement to [e-mail].

Use your personal statement to address how your skills and experience meet the 2 Lead Essential Criteria listed below. The personal statement should be no more than one page of A4.

The Role

We are seeking a skilled and detail-oriented finance professional to join our Finance team as an additional Accounts Assistant. The Accounts Assistant role is varied and involves providing essential support in financial operations and assisting in the effective management of financial resources.

This role will report into the Financial Accountant and will work with other team members to ensure accuracy, compliance, and transparency in financial activities.

As an Accounts Assistant, you will predominantly support the financial control and accounting functions including purchase ledger, sales ledger, bank reconciliations, month end journals, statutory and transparency returns, processing expense claims, managing the finance mailbox and all associated queries, and other ad hoc tasks to support the financial accounting team. This opportunity particularly suits candidates with an interest in government and public sector accounting.

Essential Experience, Skills & Knowledge

• Lead Criteria 1: Proven experience in a financial accounting environment, working within an Accounts Payable and an Accounts Receivable team.
• Lead Criteria 2: Solid understanding of core accounting principles and their application in month-end and reconciliation tasks.
• Studying towards an accounting qualification or qualified by experience.
• Familiarity with financial software and ERP systems used for financial reporting and ledger management e.g. Oracle Fusion.
• Proficient in using Excel, with the ability to use skills to analyse and present data with attention to detail and numerical accuracy.
• Experience of improving current finance processes, with the ability to solve problems whilst meeting the needs of the customer and the business.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to build and maintain excellent working relationships with a range of stakeholders.

Why You Should Join Us

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham offices.
• Good employer pension contributions.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.