HR & Finance Manager (interim)

King's College London; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university in the United Kingdom is seeking an Interim HR and Finance Manager to provide operational leadership across HR and Finance. This full-time role offers the opportunity to manage teams and support critical financial operations until July 2026. Ideal candidates will possess strong financial management skills and experience in team leadership within a busy environment. The position may allow for hybrid working arrangements.

Qualifications

• Experience managing teams and giving performance feedback.
• Strong interpersonal skills to communicate effectively.
• Ability to work under pressure with high attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the full employment cycle of staff from recruitment to performance management.
• Support School Finance operations with management accounts oversight.
• Manage a team of 4 and co-manage another 4 members.

Skills

Significant knowledge of business operations

Experience of financial management

Strong communication skills

Excellent numeracy skills

Experience of managing teams

Knowledge of regulatory policies

Excellent task-management skills

Experience in report production

Tools

Enterprise Resource Management software

Job description

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About Us

The School of Basic & Biomedical Sciences is seeking an Interim HR and Finance Manager to join the team. This post is available as a secondment or fixed term period up to 31st July 2026 in the first instance.

The School, based at Guy's Campus, London Bridge, is home to academics and researchers who explore human health from the molecular mechanisms underlying disease to clinical trials and medical applications. We are part of the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, which has a broad spectrum of research interests spanning fundamental biology, disease, and physiology.

You will join a vibrant team of over 20 Professional Services staff who support all our academic activities.

About the role

The HR and Finance Manager is a pivotal role which offers the opportunity to provide operational leadership and strategic support across Human Resources and Finance within a vibrant, research-focused school.

In this role, you will work closely with the School Manager to oversee the full employment cycle of all types of staff from recruitment and onboarding to performance management, promotion and recognition and ensuring integration with research operations. You will support School Finance operations, with oversight of the School’s management accounts.

The post holder will be an integral member of the team, with direct line‑management responsibility for 4 members of the team and co‑manage 4 others. They will ensure delivery of day‑to‑day processes to ensure the smooth running of the School and support key initiatives to create a welcoming and supportive culture for staff and students.

The role is very varied and represents the opportunity to develop a wide range of leadership experience and skills within a supportive and friendly environment. It will suit a highly numerate and IT‑savvy candidate with excellent organisational skills who can work accurately, with close attention to detail in a busy environment with tight deadlines. The successful candidate will be comfortable working proactively across multiple projects and areas and will be a confident communicator, able to build and maintain effective working relationships across the School’s Core Professional Services team, academics and researchers as well as colleagues across the rest of the University.

This post is ideal for someone who excels at multitasking, project delivery and managing intricate workflows. The post offers individuals a wide variety of experience and skills in a dynamic environment where your skills in problem‑solving and stakeholder engagement will thrive.

This role will be a full‑time post (35 hours a week) and you will be offered a fixed‑term contract until 31st July 2026.

Following the training period, this post is available as a full‑time on‑campus post, a hybrid working post (with 60% on campus 40% remote working), or with flexible working in agreement with the line manager.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Significant knowledge and skills of business operations and systems acquired through relevant posts, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding work/roles, and the acquisition of appropriate professional or specialist knowledge.
2. Experience of financial management, including budget management and finance management software such as Enterprise Resource Management software and procurement systems.
3. Proven strong communication and interpersonal skills in order to receive, understand and relay specialist or professional ideas or complex information to various groups.
4. Excellent numeracy and experience of using analytical skills to inform strategic decisions and procedures.
5. Experience of managing teams and giving feedback on performance, training and coaching.
6. Working knowledge and experience of applying regulatory policies and procedures in a large organisation.
7. Excellent task‑management skills and ability to work under pressure in a busy environment with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, delivering on time and within budget.
8. Experience producing reports, documents, information and/or business cases/planning for senior management to underpin strategic decisions & procedures, and implementation thereof

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working within a Higher Education or Research Institute
2. Qualification or practical understanding of UK employment law and/or financial regulations and the underlying principles
3. Experience of change management and/or managing process improvement.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our 'How we Recruit' pages.