Hybrid Internal Applicants Only - Finance Assistant en Cardiff University

This post is currently open to employees of Cardiff University only.  Please do not apply if you do not have a current contract of employment with the University.

Internal Applicants Only - Finance Assistant
Operations Finance Office
Cardiff School of Medicine

You will be required to assist in the smooth running of the School Finance Department and to work as part of a team to ensure an efficient, effective and quality driven service. Previous experience of working in a Finance Office, to include raising orders & processing invoices on a computerised finance system is essential.

For informal enquiries please contact Nicola Pearce, Finance Manager, [email protected]

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term to 8 June 2026 and available immediately.
 
Salary: £25,249 - £26,093 per annum (Grade 3).

Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances.

This role is eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you can also choose to spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 40 days annual leave (incl bank holidays), local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments within the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.

Closing date: 7 September 2025

External applications are currently not being considered for this post.  If the decision is made to open the post to external candidates, the strapline at the top will be removed and you will be given ample time to apply – please check back periodically for details.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age.   In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Job Purpose

Provide an administrative service to the School, engaging and completing a range of routine tasks to meet operational and customer service requirements. Providing an efficient and effective customer focused finance service with in the school, ensuring that the school finances are completed in accordance with University’s financial regulations.

This role is eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you can also choose to spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.

As the biggest university in Wales – and a major employer, with more than 7,000 staff – we are an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. We can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Duties

• Deal with a range of enquiries from internal and external customers in a professional manner, establishing their requirements and adapting the standard responses accordingly.
• Collaborate with others in order to make recommendations for developments of established processes and procedures.
• To act as a point of contact for financial enquiries with in the School Finance office and provide a customer focussed service taking account of the needs of the different customers.
• To initiate, receive, check and/or process all orders (ensuring the correct VAT treatments are applied), process invoices and transfer charges relating to School finance.
• To receive and process overseas travel requests, advances and claims, checking their compliance and cost effectiveness, and make all the necessary travel arrangements, if required.
• To raise sales invoices to external stakeholders and liaise with the Finance Division.
• To carry out a range of reconciliations, such as supplier statements, purchase cards and open orders.
• To be responsible for producing accurate financial reports and input and retrieve ORACLE to budget holders as required.
• Work closely with the Finance team by providing cover for other colleagues, contribute to team meetings, identify new ways of working that improve the service, and then look to share best practice across the School.
• To initiate and maintain contact with relevant suppliers and liaise with the Finance Division as required, specifically resolving discrepancies or problems with orders and invoices.
• To be responsible for cheque and cash banking, process cash receipts and initiate cheque payments including administration of petty cash, ensuring compliance with cash handling procedures.
• To develop, evaluate, maintain and supervise all electronic and other data and filing systems.
• To ensure analysis codes and account codes are used is a consistent way.
• Ensure all practices within the School are fully compliant with the University’s financial regulations and procedures.
• Establish working relationships with key contacts to help improve service levels.
• Undertake a variety of  administrative duties to support the team and department.
• Gather and analyse data to update administrative systems with accurate information, establishing basic trends and patterns in any data submitted.
• Contribute to the success of the team, leading others through example, and supporting the supervision and management of the team.

**Job Description Continues in Additional Information**

26,093

Grade 3

25,249

Accountancy & Finance, Admin / Clerical

**Continuation of the Job Description**

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties.
• Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

How we will support you in performing in this role

There are some things that you must have before you can start this role (see ‘Essential Criteria’ below), but other things can be developed either through training, or just by general on-the-job experience. We want to support and develop you once you have started in the role using a combination of the following to get the best out of you: 

• Regular one-to-ones with your manager
• An experienced and supportive team around you
• Supporting you through job-relevant training and development that you may require.
• A mentoring scheme

Administrative Support

We want to employ people with a wide variety of experiences. We welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We are particularly seeking applications from candidates who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented at the University, including people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

We are looking for a team player who will work with colleagues to provide a great service to staff and students. You don’t need to have worked for a University before; this is an opportunity to show your potential and start or continue your career at Cardiff University.

This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role or environment, showing your transferable skills and potential to be successful in the role. You should be enthusiastic about developing your knowledge and skills to become a valued member of the team.

Your application will be assessed against the following essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please copy and paste this section into a new document and give clear examples of how you can evidence meeting each criteria by writing under each one. You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life (e.g. work, home, education/qualifications or community life) as long as you focus on their relevance to the role.

Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOURNAME-BR NUMBER-JOB TITLE] and attach it to your application in the recruitment system, available here.

Please note that these are also the criteria shortlisted applicants will be assessed against at interview and/or by other means (e.g. a skills test).

Essential Criteria

1. NVQ 2/GCSE level A-C or equivalent
2. Experience of working in an administrative or office environment
3.The ability to set up standard administrative systems and procedures
4. Proficient in using common office IT packages (e.g. MS Office), especially Excel spreadsheets to a high standard
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a wide range of people, both in writing and verbally
6. Demonstrate a high level of accuracy and attention to detail 
7.The ability to work as an effective team member or using your own initiative when providing advice and guidance to other team members where necessary
8. Proven ability to deal with escalated requests for information or service, resolving customer issues where appropriate
9. Ability to plan, prioritise and organise own workload within established time scales with a minimum level of supervision
10. Ability to use initiative in solving problems and responding to queries ensuring compliance with standard procedures and practices

Desirable Criteria

1. Experience of working with in Finance environment and using financial systems
2. Experience of working in a Higher Education environment
3. Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.