Management Accountant

Wild Bioscience Ltd; Abingdon; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading bioscience firm is seeking a detail-oriented Management Accountant to support their Finance Lead. Responsibilities include preparing monthly management accounts, assisting with budget forecasts, and providing project cost analysis. The ideal candidate is part-qualified in finance and proficient with tools like Xero and Excel. Offering flexible hybrid working options, this role is pivotal in ensuring accurate financial operations.

Benefits

Group life cover x 3 of base salary

Company Pension with 5% contribution

Private medical insurance

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Regular company socials

Complimentary refreshments

Team meals weekly

Training and development opportunities

Flexible working opportunities

Qualifications

• Part-qualified or fully qualified in Accounting.
• Strong communicator to explain financial performance.
• Ability to manage costs against budget.

Responsibilities

• Prepare monthly management accounts and variance analysis.
• Assist with annual budget preparation and quarterly forecasts.
• Support external auditors during year-end audits.
• Process R&D timesheets and provide project cost analysis.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Accounting software proficiency

Detail-oriented

Education

Part-qualified or fully qualified (CIMA, ACCA, ACA)

Tools

Xero

Excel

Job description

Who we are

At Wild Bio we are radically enhancing crops to feed the world sustainably and promote a wilder planet. Wild plants have had half a billion years to evolve natural solutions for thriving in almost every environment on Earth. Our proprietary genetics platform harnesses these wild innovations to enhance the world’s most important crops. Wild-enhanced crops would simultaneously boost farm yields and promote gigaton-scale carbon mitigation strategies. If you’re looking for a start-up that has enormous potential for impact on growers, consumers, and the planet, please read on.

Wild Bio is a well-funded, fast-paced Oxford University spin-out working from state-of-the-art labs and offices at Milton Park, Oxfordshire. We are about to enter an exciting phase of growth and are looking for a driven, and curious Management Accountant to join us and significantly contribute to delivering the change we believe in.

Our values:

Our work is guided by three core values that define who we are and how we approach our mission:

• Curiosity: We fuel our desire to explore the unknown, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and sparking innovation. We ask questions, seek answers, and embrace lifelong learning.
• Community: We believe in the strength and support gained through collaboration and inclusion. As part of a global community, we nurture connections to drive meaningful impact for both people and planet.
• Courage: We face challenges head-on, take calculated risks, and stand up for our beliefs. Our bravery propels us to take action, even in the face of adversity.

If these values resonate with you, we invite you to join our passionate team of innovators working at the cutting edge of bioscience.

The role

We are seeking a detail-oriented and adaptable Management Accountant to support our Finance Lead. This role will be instrumental in maintaining accurate financial reporting and budget/forecasting as well as help supporting day-to-day financial operations.

Detailed responsibilities

Core accounting

• Monthly Management accounts: The role will be responsible for preparing and the monthly management accounts and preparing variance analysis vs budget/forecast. This will also involves preparing and reviewing journal entries and performing balance sheet reconciliations.
• Budgeting and forecasting: assisting with the preparation of the annual budget and quarterly forecasts.
• Audit support: assist with year-end audits and liaise for external auditors as required.
• Bookkeeping support: While not a primary duty, the job requires assisting with bookkeeping tasks such as processing supplier invoices and preparing payment runs during busy periods or to cover absence.

Analytical and business partnering

• Project cost analysis: Process R&D timesheets and allocate costs across projects providing cost analysis for management.
• Stakeholder collaboration: The candidate must work with other departments to manage and control costs against the budget.
• R&D tax credits: The job requires assisting the Finance Lead with the preparation of the R&D tax credit claim
• Systems and processes: The candidate will support the development and implementation of financial systems and processes.
• Providing ad hoc analysis and project admin support.

Knowledge and skills

• Part-qualified or fully qualified (e.g., CIMA, ACCA, ACA).
• Strong organisational skills and able to focus on detail as well as see the bigger picture.
• A strong communicator, capable of explaining financial performance to non-finance colleagues.
• Technically proficient with accounting software, ideally Xero and intermediate Excel which must include pivot table and lookups
• Be a team player in a multi-disciplinary environment, building relationships, and gaining trust from others through honesty, compassion, and authenticity.
• Have a curious and courageous mindset, enjoy stepping up to try new things in a changing environment, and taking initiative where there is often ambiguity.
• Challenge established approaches with the aim of improving the system.
• Take initiative where needed with tasks that have not been assigned.

Benefits

• Group life cover x 3 of base salary
• Company Pension with 5% contribution from the business
• Private medical insurance
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Regular company socials
• Complimentary refreshments throughout the week
• Team meals including breakfast on a Monday and lunch each Friday, creating opportunities for informal networking and team bonding
• Training and development opportunities
• Flexible working opportunities

Location

We’re headquartered in Milton Park, a business and technology park in Oxfordshire. While we do offer flexible and hybrid working, we are also a small, fast-paced team working on cutting-edge science, and we believe the relationships forged and the work we do in-person will be crucial for our success. For this reason, we are asking that applicants be able to work on-site at least three days a week.

The successful candidate will be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK.