Post-Award Finance Manager

Durham University; Waldridge; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Durham University is seeking an experienced post-award professional to lead the Post Award management team. You will oversee a portfolio of complex research awards, provide expert funder advice, and line manage staff to ensure compliance, service quality and continuous improvement.

Reporting to the Senior Post Award Finance Manager, you will contribute to policy development, staff training, and cross-unit collaboration while representing Durham in regional and national networks.

Responsibilities

• Line manage staff within the Post Award function, providing leadership and development.
• Provide training to new and existing staff and mentor the team on financial policies.
• Manage a portfolio of high-value, complex research awards with strong financial oversight.
• Advise on project set-up, approvals, virements, funder claims, invoices and closures.
• Provide a senior check of the team's calculations and reporting.
• Develop and deliver training sessions on Post-Award procedures.
• Contribute to policies, standards and systems for post-award management.
• Represent Durham in regional and national networks to share best practice.
• Deputise for the Senior Post Award Manager when required.

Job description

The Role and the Department

We are seeking an experienced post-award professional with strong research finance expertise to join the Post Award management team. Reporting to a Senior Post Award Finance Manager, you will play a key role in the leadership and delivery of post-award support across the University's externally funded research portfolio.

The role combines specialist post-award knowledge with operational and people management responsibilities. You will be responsible for supporting a portfolio of complex and high-value research awards, providing expert advice on funder requirements and research finance matters, and line managing a team within the Post Award function. Working closely with colleagues across Research Operations and the wider University, you will ensure compliance, promote best practice, support continuous service improvement, and contribute to the development of post-award processes, systems and ways of working. Through this work, you will help deliver a high-quality, customer-focused service that supports the University's growing and increasingly complex research portfolio.

You will have the following key responsibilities;

• Line manage staff within the Post Award function, providing leadership, guidance, support and pastoral care to ensure high levels of performance, engagement and professional development
• Provide training to new and existing staff members as appropriate and mentor team members to ensure a thorough understanding of university financial regulations, research related policies and external funders.
• Manage a portfolio of high-value, complex and strategically important research awards, ensuring effective financial and project management throughout the award lifecycle.
• Provide advice on project set-up, start certificates, recruitment and appointment approvals, project reviews, virements and change requests, funder claims and invoices, final claims, project closure activities, and complex funder and academic queries, ensuring compliance with funder and University requirements.
• Provide a senior check, where appropriate, of the team's work to ensure accurate calculations and reporting.
• Develop and deliver training sessions to relevant university staff on Post-Award procedures.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and monitoring of new policies and quality standards, procedures and systems for the post award management of Durham's externally funded research activities to ensure effective working and continuous improvement.
• Actively participate in regional and national networks and working groups to represent Durham and share best practice across the sector in research project management, ensuring that Durham is actively engaged in relevant consultations and well positioned to understand and, where appropriate, influence funder policy.
• Deputise for the Senior Post Award Manager as required