Finance Core Support Officer

The Open University UK; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

The Open University UK is seeking a finance professional to join the Finance Core Support team at Milton Keynes. The role supports data collation for external and internal reporting, prepares financial analysis, and distributes routine reports to Finance colleagues and BP Hubs.

You will assist with cost forecasting, project budgeting, and compliance with financial regulations. A hybrid working pattern is anticipated with some office presence in Milton Keynes.

Qualifications

• Minimum AAT intermediate or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in accounting environment, ideally within management accounts or business partnering function.
• Experience costing/budgeting/forecasting.
• Strong Excel skills for data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Support Business Partnering Hubs providing financial input and standard reports for budget managers to plan resources.
• Resolve ad-hoc and scheduled queries; triage and guide colleagues and stakeholders.
• Manage and resolve transactional audit queries and support colleagues as needed.
• Provide guidance on university financial processes, costing methodologies, and reporting/authorisation processes.
• Process staffing changes in finance workflow and complete SCF maintenance.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Time management

Team working

Education

AAT intermediate or equivalent

Tools

MS Excel (pivot tables)

ERP finance system

Job description

Salary: £32,080 to £37,694 (pro rata for part time)

Closing Date: 25 October 2026

Weekly Working Hours: 30 & 37

Contract Type: Permanent

Fixed Term Contract: End Date: See advert

Welsh Language: Not Applicable

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About the Role

This is a varied role within a busy team who provides high quality financial services within the Finance Core Support/Shared Service function of the Finance Business Partnering team, at The Open University.

The role supports collation of financial information for external and internal reporting, as well as projects. It assists with the preparation and organisation of relevant data, allocating to the correct reports, and coordinating submissions to the relevant external or internal stakeholders when complete.

Part of the focus for this role is around running reports and ensuring the smooth delivery of support to units, faculties, and BP Hubs (services include managing and answering queries, triaging, and responding to ad-hoc requests). This includes running and distributing routine financial reports to other Finance colleagues, running reports on fee income, tuition, staff cost forecasting and projects, as well as the preparation and compilation of financial analysis and tables for external returns and documentation.

The role can also support the general routine maintenance of the University’s unit/faculty projects (including research, commercial, and donations), adhering to the correct process and required regulation, reporting to key stakeholders, and providing support to audit where needed. This includes financial monitoring and reporting on externally funded projects budgets, forecasting, providing costings and financial monitoring, in compliance with both the University’s financial regulations and procedures, contracts, and the terms and conditions of the funders of the projects.

Interpersonal communication, problem solving, accuracy and strong attention to detail are key attributes for success as the role also covers the collation of necessary information for financial due diligence, credit checks, and maintaining the project register tracker.

We are currently recruiting for the following contracts:

• 1x Permanent, Part-time (30 hours per week; working pattern negotiable)
• 1x Fixed-Term Contract (6 months), Full-time
• 1x Fixed-Term Contract (12 months), Full-time

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting Business Partnering Hubs working with unit/faculty staff to provide financial input and standard reports that enable budget managers to plan and utilise university resource/budgets and inform future forecast and decision making as necessary.
• Resolving ad-hoc and scheduled transactional queries, proactively engaging with, assisting and guiding colleagues and stakeholders, and triaging when needed.
• Managing and resolving transactional audit queries and supporting colleagues when needed.
• Providing advice and guidance on university financial process and approach, appropriate cost/pricing methodologies, reporting and authorisation processes.
• Processing finance workflow for staffing changes when required.
• Completing SCF (Salary Cost Forecast) maintenance (informing rates, inflation etc.), updating/amendments to records in SCF and other systems.
• Support external and year-end reporting and collation of information including TRAC, HEBCIS, HESA, REF, TEF, KEF, plus Middle States accreditation.
• Working with project leads or managers completing SAP WBS project and donation set up, monitoring, maintenance (budgeting and forecasting), and closure.
• Checking project applications, supporting project staff cost analysis and reviewing claims and reports being submitted to various funders.
• Raising or reviewing sales orders/invoices including producing the supporting financial MI as required.
• Keeping up to date with funder and contractual terms and conditions as needed.
• Documenting, updating and adopting financial processes, principles, and approaches ensuring best practice, consistency and continuous improvement.
• Ensuring familiarisation with latest process and systems guidance, relevant policies, procedures and university financial regulations as necessary and supporting and advising colleagues when required ensuring compliance (internal and external).
• Providing flexible cover across the BP Core Support Teams as required.
• Training and development of University staff in finance process and systems as appropriate ensuring consistency.
• Liaising with specialist finance support teams.
• Completing other such other duties as may be allocated from time to time both within the team and in providing cover in other areas within the division if required.

About You

• AAT intermediate or equivalent.
• Relevant experience of working in an accounting environment, ideally within management accounts or business partnering function.
• Experience of costing/budgeting/forecasting.
• Sound knowledge of MS Excel (creating tables and charts, using financial Excel functions such as formulas and pivot tables, managing/manipulating large data sets).
• Experience of adhering to accounting conventions, financial regulations, and procedures.
• Experience of preparing/involvement in audits.
• Practical experience of managing others and training/coaching when needed.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to deal confidently with a range of people at all levels.
• Taking personal responsibility for getting things done, managing a wide variety of tasks; ability to plan, prioritise and manage own workloads.
• Experience of meeting critical deadlines and working under pressure.
• Ability to take ownership of a problem and resolve it, having taken full account of the facts.
• Can demonstrate how they successfully maintain attention to detail.
• Able to demonstrate strong team working and adding value to the team.
• Ability to build and maintain good working relationships within the team and the key stakeholders.
• Ability to take a balanced approach to hybrid working, both in person and virtually, using varied communication channels as appropriate.
• Experience of an ERP finance system would be desirable.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work Location

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect you to be in the office three days per week (Tuesday-Thursday).

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

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The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength.We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.