Assistant Accountant

Coventry University Group; Coventry; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension contributions

Annual leave 30 days

Holiday purchase scheme

Life assurance

BUPA cash plan

Staff tuition discounts

CU Reward Scheme discounts

Cycle to work

Job summary

Coventry University Group is recruiting an Assistant Project Accountant to join the Research Finance and Performance team in Coventry. You will support forecasting, project costing, and financial reporting for externally funded projects, ensuring income is maximised and expenditure is fully supported.

You will work on grant claims, invoices, and maintain controls through audits, while building strong stakeholder relationships and meeting deadlines in a busy higher education environment.

Qualifications

• Part qualified accountant (CIMA/ACCA) or equivalent.
• Strong budgeting and forecast preparation background.
• Experience in management accounting and project costing.
• Experience in financial analysis and reporting on costings.
• Experience in Higher Education or research/public funding would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Assist in applying accurate accounting processes and review externally funded projects to maximise income and ensure expenditure is fully supported.
• Support financial management and governance of research and commercial projects, ensuring funder requirements and policies are followed.
• Monitor project finances, produce financial reports, analyse variances, and highlight risks and opportunities.
• Prepare and review grant claims and invoices, ensuring expenditure eligibility and timely income recovery.
• Maintain strong financial controls through audits, manage evidence, and ensure funder regulation compliance.

Skills

Budgeting

Forecasting

Management accounting

Project costing

Financial analysis

Reporting

Stakeholder management

Teamwork

Numeracy

Spreadsheets

Education

CIMA/ACCA

Equivalent qualification

Tools

Excel

Job description

Job Title: Assistant Project Accountant

Job Reference: 3700

Division, Department: CUCS Finance (FIN),GFPM Financial Performance - Research & Enterprise

Salary: Competitive starting salary range from £33,403 up to £37,606 per annum

(dependent upon experience) with the potential to progress. A discretionary range for candidates with exceptional experience can be discussed/considered

Mode: Full Time, Fixed Term Maternity Cover

Location: Coventry

Our Mission

Coventry University Group is a global education group with a mission of Creating Better Futures. We are driven by our passionate belief in the transformational power of education and research to enable and empower our students, colleagues and partners and to improve the world around them. Our people are key to our success and each role contributes to the Group’s ongoing progress in communities around the world.

The Role

12 month fixed-term maternity cover

As an Assistant Project Accountant within the Research Finance and Performance team you will assist in ensuring accurate accounting processes are applied whilst reviewing externally funded projects to ensure income is maximised on a timely basis and expenditure is fully supported.
You will support the financial management and governance of research and commercial projects, ensuring compliance with funder requirements and institutional policies. You will be responsible for monitoring project finances, producing financial reports, analysing variances, and highlighting risks and opportunities related to externally funded projects.
Your role will involve will involve the preparation and review of grant claims and invoices, ensuring expenditure eligibility, accurate documentation, and timely income recovery. A key focus of this role is to maintain strong financial controls through internal and external audit processes, managing audit evidence, and ensuring compliance with funder regulations.

Our Successful Candidate

You will be a part qualified accountant (CIMA/ACCA) or hold an equivalent qualification. You will have a strong financial and accounting background with experience in budgeting and forecast preparation, management accounting and project costing. You will also hold experience of financial analysis and reporting on financial costings.

Previous experience of working within the Higher Education sector and/or in research/public funding would be advantageous.

You will have strong stakeholder skills with the experience of being a collaborative team player and a positive attitude to investigating and resolving complex issues beyond routine tasks.

You will be proficient in numeracy and ICT, particularly with spreadsheets. You will understand and manage a portfolio of projects independently, prioritising tasks and meeting dynamic internal and external deadlines. A commitment to delivering results and driving continuous improvement.

The Benefits

As a staff member of CU Corporate Services, you will have a access to a wide range of industry leading rewards and benefits which includes:

Excellent Employers Pension Contribution 30 days Annual leave plus Bank Holidays New Holiday Purchase Scheme up to 5 additional days Life Assurance 4 x Salary BUPA Cash Plan 50% off Tuition Fees for staff dependants CU Reward Scheme - Discounts across a range of High Street/ Online Retailers Cycle To work scheme

Our Culture

As a global Education Group, equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded within the fabric of our organisation and are a key focus of our core values. We harness the power and potential of the diverse cultures, backgrounds, abilities, and experiences of our students, colleagues, and partners to create opportunities for all.

Closing date: Sunday 15th November