Finance Administrator

Animal & Plant Health Agency; Exeter; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 21,000; Part time

Job summary

The Animal and Plant Health Agency in the United Kingdom seeks a part-time Finance Assistant to join the TB Finance Team. You will provide administrative and transactional finance support for APHA’s TB eradication activity, ensuring payments, invoices, and records are processed accurately and in line with policy.

You will work 18.5 hours per week, primarily on Fridays (minimum 6 hours) with the remaining hours spread over two additional days, liaising with suppliers and internal teams to resolve

Job description

Ready to use your financial and administrative skills to support a nationally important animal health programme?Do you love working as part of a team, bringing an enthusiastic approach every day? If so, we would love to hear from you! The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions. We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups. We have an exciting opportunity within the TB Finance Team in the Customer Service Centre Directorate of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The team provides administrative and transactional finance support for APHA's bovine TB eradication programme, ensuring that compensation payments, invoices and related financial activities are processed accurately, efficiently and in line with organisational policies and procedures. The postholder will provide administrative and transactional finance support across APHA's TB eradication activities, ensuring financial transactions are processed accurately, customer enquiries are resolved effectively and financial records are maintained to a high standard. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the delivery of APHA's TB eradication programme and will be responsible for the following activities:

• To provide administrative and transactional finance support for all aspects of APHA's TB eradication activity.
• The postholder will undertake a range of financial processing activities, including TB compensation payments, invoice verification and payment, income handling, record management and customer support.
• They will contribute to the efficient delivery of services by maintaining accurate financial data, following established procedures and supporting colleagues in resolving financial queries.
• The role requires close collaboration with internal teams, suppliers and delivery partners to ensure financial transactions are completed accurately and within agreed timescales.
• The postholder will also support continuous improvement activities and adapt to changing business priorities where required.
• Process TB compensation payments, including supplier set-up, validation of valuation documentation and payment processing.
• Verify and process haulage, slaughter and valuer invoices, completing required quality assurance checks before payment.
• Maintain accurate financial records across SOP, SharePoint Online (SPOL), spreadsheets and other business systems in line with data handling requirements.
• Respond to finance-related enquiries from customers, suppliers and colleagues, providing guidance on established procedures.
• Monitor and review invoices on hold, duplicate payments and potential overpayments, escalating issues as appropriate.
• Support month-end and year-end financial activities by providing information and reports to colleagues.
• Identify and report suspected fraud, error or irregularities in line with Defra and APHA procedures.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives and support the implementation of changes to working practices.
• Liaise with suppliers, delivery partners and internal stakeholders to resolve financial queries and maintain effective working relationships.
• Support business continuity activities and undertake emergency purchasing responsibilities when required.
• Demonstrate flexibility by supporting changing business priorities and undertaking additional duties appropriate to the grade.

This is a part-time, 18.5 hours per week post. The successful post holder will be required to work Fridays (minimum 6 hours) due to scarcity of resources on this day, the remaining hours can be spread over any 2 days.