Description Position Details Finance Office Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822 Grade: 7 Full Time, Permanent Closing date: 26 th March 2026 Our offer to you People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens. Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham Background Achieving the global ambitions of our University strategy depends on our people - and we are proud of our highly talented and engaged professional services colleagues. Our culture is ambitious and high-performing, but also supportive and inclusive. Career progression is encouraged, and you will have the opportunity to take responsibility for your own professional development and wellbeing. We actively support collaboration within and across disciplines and roles. Our staff have high levels of engagement and pride in the University. Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice across a range of activities and/or will lead and manage a diverse team(s) and resources. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought is therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University. The Corporate Accounting team sits within the Financial Services department which also includes the Business Partnering, Finance Planning & Analysis, tax and treasury teams. The team are responsible for the financial integrity, compliance, and strategic oversight of the university’s financial control operations. This function leads the external audit process, manages financial consolidation across multiple entities, and ensures accurate and timely financial reporting in compliance with the relevant accounting standards. Role Summary Reporting to the Financial Controller within the Corporate Accounting team you will provide support for a broad range of basic accounting duties. You will be able to use your wide range of skills, both technical and administrative, and have the opportunity to lead on specific tasks and projects within the team. This role focuses on the consolidation of the group results and production of certain key notes in the group financial statements such as staff costs and fixed assets. In order to flexibly use resource, you may be given the opportunity to work in different areas of the department or wider University. Main Duties Monthly balance sheet and cashflow reporting and associated commentary for the University (working towards regular consolidated reporting for the group). Monitoring the completion of all balance sheet reconciliations for the University, advising on best practice and conducting sample audits throughout the year to ensure compliance with University policies and procedures. Reconciliation of balance sheet and expense codes relating to payroll accounts – working closely with payroll, HR and the FP&A team to improve and simplify processes. Producing the consolidation file for all subsidiary entities – liaising with subsidiary Finance Managers and the Subsidiary Accountant to ensure the timely submission of results. Eliminating all intercompany trade and balances due/receivable – working with the Senior Assistant Accountant to resolve any differences. Producing consolidated financial statement notes for inclusion in the statutory accounts pack in a timely manner. Production of the staff costs note for the University including VC remuneration, highest paid staff, key personnel and pay multiplies in accordance with the SORP and OfS guidelines. Production of the fixed and intangible assets note and lease commitments for the University. Production of the pension notes for the University – liaising with the actuaries as required. Maintaining process notes for relevant areas. Respond to auditor queries and requests for financial information, working closely with the Corporate Finance Manager and Subsidiaries Accountant and other team members to provide timely and accurate responses. Reviewing, advising and approving statutory accounts. Managing the audit and accounts production for Pritchatts Park Investment Company and Pritchatts Park Holding Company. Working as a member of the People Development Theme to support learning and growth within financial services, consider how best to recognise and reward performance, improve recruitment, induction and retention of the best talent and to help make the University as a great place to work. Work on financial services projects to improve, simplify and standardise processes – focusing initially on subsidiary processes (specifically within the University of Birmingham Enterprise and to include managing the transition of the business park rental business to the University’s primary ERP). Being a key member of the team managing the transition to the 2026 Higher Education SORP. Actively engage and collaborate with, as well as support the other members of the Financial services team including providing cover for the Subsidiary Accountant as required. Production of data for the year end external audit. Continuous development of self through coaching and training, both formal and informal, to develop and embed a strong financial controls environment. Actively engaging with the wider Finance function to support the Finance Strategy. Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. Any other duties commensurate with the grade. Person Specification or Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience - where no equivalent qualification is held significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required. Professional accounting qualification (ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ACA) and evidence of continuous professional development. Experience of working in a similar role and producing consolidated accounts and performing complex balance sheet reconciliations. Strong decision support background through provision of analysis and insight. Experience of producing management reporting. Team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills, able to work with a diverse and broad range of stakeholders across the organisation. Good communication skills, able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, to both finance and non-finance specialists. Strong influencing skills, able to challenge stakeholders at all levels when needed. Ability to work flexibly with conflicting demands so that work is scheduled in order to meet changing priorities and deadlines. Ability to plan and organise own workload effectively and get things done. Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required. Experience of working in a large, complex organisation and preferably higher education. Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data. Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly. Informal enquiries to Russell Brown, email: r.brown.12@bham.ac.uk View our staff values and behaviours here Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .