Assistant Accountant

Cyber Security Academy Southampton; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Southampton is seeking an Assistant Accountant to join the Finance Department, supporting the Faculty of Arts and Humanities with financial advice, budgeting, and reporting across funded awards.

You will provide financial guidance to academic staff, prepare position reports, and assist with procurement approvals and invoicing. This role embraces a hybrid working approach and a commitment to value for money and best practices.

Qualifications

• Experience in finance administration and budget monitoring.
• Analytical mindset with strong planning and organisational skills.
• Excellent customer service skills and proactive staff support.
• Proficient in Word and Excel; comfortable with Unit4 ERP.
• Ability to prioritise workloads in a dynamic, complex environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide financial advice and support to academic staff with research and funded awards.
• Prepare financial position or summary reports and interpret findings for staff.
• Act as approver for procurement of goods/services and promote best practice.
• Handle invoicing and other accounting transactions as required.
• Respond to budget enquiries and communicate with funders on procedures.

Skills

Finance administration

Budget monitoring

Analytical thinking

Planning and organising

Customer service

Proactive approach

Tools

Unit4 ERP

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Accountant to join the Finance Department, supporting the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at a research and teaching-intensive university.

Working as part of a large and collaborative finance team, the successful candidate will provide financial support, analysis, and guidance across a diverse academic faculty.

The position will suit someone with proven finance administration and budget monitoring experience who can use their existing knowledge in this area to support a wide variety of staff and activities.

It is essential that you have excellent customer service skills, together with a pro-active approach in supporting staff and students.

You must be analytical and skilled at planning and organising and able to prioritise your own workload within a dynamic and complex environment.

You should be proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel as well as comfortable working with financial systems (specific training will be provided, the University uses Unit4 ERP)

About the Role

The prime responsibility of the post will be to provide financial advice and support to academic staff with research and other funded awards. The post holder will be part of a team with specific responsibility for a School or Dept within the Faculty. Responsibilities will include the provision of financial position or summary reports, the interpretation there of and advise accordingly; act as an approver for procurement of goods and services whilst promoting value for money and best practice; invoicing and other accounting transactions as required. You will also be required to answer budget enquiries, communicate with funders and advise on the use of appropriate procedures in given situations.

The University of Southampton's mission is to change the world for the better. As a world-leading, research-intensive university, with a strong and high-quality educational offering, it is renowned for its innovation and enterprise and sits within the top 1% of universities worldwide.

We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse culture at the University and creating an environment where people can balance successful careers with their commitments and interests outside of work. Our flexible working practices, including a hybrid working model, where employees can split their working time between the office and home, supports our belief that this balance brings long-lasting benefits for our institution as well as our people.

We believe equality and diversity are fundamental to making the University of Southampton a vibrant, proud and successful organisation.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applicants who support our mission of inclusivity.

This role does not qualify for Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship. To explore alternative UK visa options, see gov.uk .