Research Finance Manager

UCL; Greater London; In loco; GBP 60.000 - 80.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

41 Days holiday (including 27 days + 8

CARE pension scheme

Descrizione del lavoro

UCL is seeking a Research Finance Manager to lead the Post Award Operations team, overseeing financial administration for a diverse portfolio of research awards across funders, including international awards and foreign currencies.

Two opportunities exist: a permanent role and a fixed-term maternity cover, with a focus on strengthening financial oversight, risk management and compliance across the lifecycle of awards to support world-class research at UCL.

Competenze

• Significant experience of post-award financial management within a research-intensive university.
• Experience managing a broad portfolio of research and innovation awards from a range of funders, including international awards and foreign currency management.
• Strong financial and analytical skills: reconciliation, forecasting, detecting trends and exceptions, resolving discrepancies.

Mansioni

• Lead a team of Research Finance Administrators responsible for financial administration and management of a portfolio of awards.
• Provide expert financial guidance on post-award matters and build relationships with academic departments and funders.
• Oversee reconciliations, claims, budgets and forecasts, financial reporting and funder compliance; ensure timely financial closure of awards.
• Strengthen financial processes, controls, management information and continuous improvement of the service.

Conoscenze

Post-award financial management

Forecasting

Reconciliations

Financial analysis

Funders terms & conditions

Descrizione del lavoro

About us

UCL is a world-leading research-intensive university, with one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of externally funded research and innovation in the UK.

Research and Innovation Services (RIS) supports UCL's academic community across the research and innovation lifecycle, providing specialist expertise in research funding, contracts, compliance and award management. Within RIS, Award Services works in partnership with academic and Professional Services colleagues, collaborating organisations and funders to support the effective management of research funding throughout the project lifecycle.

The Post Award Operations team plays a critical role in supporting the financial stewardship of UCL's extensive research portfolio, helping to ensure research funding is managed effectively, responsibly and in accordance with institutional and funder requirements. Through its work, the team helps safeguard funding, support world-leading research and enable researchers to focus on delivering impactful outcomes.

About the role

Please note we have two opportunities available one a permanent role and one a fixed-term maternity cover which will be around 12 months.

As Research Finance Manager, you'll lead a team of Research Finance Administrators responsible for the financial administration and management of a portfolio of research and innovation awards.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting one of the UK's largest and most complex research portfolios. You'll work across a broad range of funders, disciplines and award types, helping to ensure effective financial management while supporting UCL's strategic research ambitions. As research funding continues to grow in scale and complexity, you'll contribute to strengthening post-award operations, enhancing financial oversight and improving the services that support our academic community.

The role combines team leadership, financial oversight and stakeholder management, ensuring awards are actively monitored throughout their lifecycle and that financial risks, compliance requirements and operational issues are identified and addressed effectively. This includes oversight of reconciliations, claims, budgets and forecasts, financial reporting, funder requirements and the timely financial closure of awards.

Alongside managing and developing a team, you'll provide expert advice on complex post-award matters and build strong relationships with academic departments, faculties, funders and colleagues across UCL. You'll also have the opportunity to contribute to service development and continuous improvement initiatives, helping to strengthen financial processes, controls, management information and ways of working across a service that is evolving to meet the changing needs of a growing research portfolio.

About you

You'll bring significant experience of post-award financial management within a research-intensive university, with experience managing a broad portfolio of research and innovation awards from a range of funders. This should include international awards and foreign currency management.

Strong financial and analytical skills are essential, including experience of reconciliation, forecasting, identifying trends and exceptions, and resolving financial discrepancies. You'll also understand the importance of funder terms and conditions, institutional policies and regulatory requirements within research funding.

An experienced people manager, you'll be comfortable setting service standards, developing colleagues and creating a supportive, high-performing team environment. You'll be able to explain complex financial information clearly, provide specialist advice to a range of stakeholders and build trusted relationships with colleagues at all levels.

Strong organisational and digital skills, attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities will be important, alongside a proactive approach to identifying solutions and continuously improving the service provided to UCL's research community.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/