- Senior
- Optionales Büro in Oxford
The Finance Director is responsible for overseeing the College’s operational finances, ensuring that strong systems and processes are in place to record and manage the finances, cash flow and financial assets. The FD informs decision making and financial planning across the College to deliver robust compliance and strong governance. The role is supported by the Finance Bursary team, which consists of 6 staff: a Financial Controller, Payroll Manager, Assistant Accountant, Junior Accountant and two Finance Assistants.
The College is complex, with many different functions and processes. The Finance Director has a vital role in ensuring the flow of financial information across the College, identifying issues or areas for potential improvement and working proactively with the relevant people of all levels across the College to ensure that the College’s systems and processes are robust, efficient and effective.
In addition to the Bursar and the Finance Bursary team, key working relationships are with the Senior Tutor, Director of Development, HR Director, Domestic Bursar and IT Director.
Key Responsibilities
1. Accounting, Reporting and Financial Planning
- Consolidated financial accounts for the College, prepared under FRS102 Charity SORP and in accordance with collegiate university agreed formats (including full fund accounting)
- Company accounts for the trading subsidiary
- Summary of management accounts, prepared monthly, and presented termly to Finance Committee, with a detailed narrative
- Overseeing the College’s annual budget and working with the Bursar to develop five-year financial strategies
- Cash flow forecasting
- Detailed staff budgeting
- Charity accounts for the Hulme Fund
- Ad hoc reporting for college officers and committees
2. Operational Financial Management
Services delivered by the department, and managed by the Finance Director
- Billing for student fees and all residential charges
- University fee funding reconciliations
- Conference and Events Sales Ledger
- Credit control for student, senior member and commercial accounts
- Donations accounting and reconciliation with college fundraising records
- Payroll comprising of over 200 permanent staff and an average of 115 casual staff per year
- Pensions management
- Disbursement of grants and awards to students
- Purchase ledger
- Management of academic and hospitality budgets for academic staff
- Liaison with external, corporate land agent, including reconciliation of transactions and reporting
3. Investment and Cash Management
- Administration of the endowment portfolio, which is managed by the Bursar and Finance Committee, as advised by the Investment Advisory Committee
- Cash flow forecasting
- Investment transaction reporting and liaison with external advisors
- Management of cash calls & distributions
4. Tax and Compliance
- VAT returns in complex partially exempt environment for college and subsidiary
- Liaison with VAT advisors
- Corporation tax returns
- Gift Aid returns
5. Systems
- Responsible, in coordination with IT department, for Finance System iPlicit (installed in 2025, GP having been the prior system) and payroll system Cintra
- Work closely with operational Department Heads regarding any necessary systems developments and interfaces that relate to the Finance team such as financial aspects of student, residential and donor databases (NetSuite, Kinetix and Raisers Edge)
6. Collegiate University cooperation
- Membership of Association of Oxford Finance Directors/College Accountants (AOCA), which provides technical support and inter-collegiate peer network. It is hoped that, as the post holder develops in the role, they will play an active part on the AOCA through working parties and subcommittees.
7. Team Management
- Leadership of the Finance Bursary team of 6
- Direct line management support of 3, including performance appraisal
8. Student Organisations
- Support for treasurers of student common rooms
- Support the student bodies with their review of the annual report and accounts of both undergraduate and graduate common rooms (the Junior Common Room and Hulme Common Room), and submission to Finance Committee
9. Student Funding
- Individual queries, advice, support, and signposting for students with funding of financial support queries and issues, including liaison with OU Student Funding and College Office
- Support the Bursar (who is accountable for individual decisions about student hardship) by providing first point of contact for students, and making recommendations to the Bursar on each case
- Close liaison with College Academic Administration, Development Office and University departments in relation to the planning and administration of graduate studentships.
10. Legal and statutory
- Charity Commission annual returns
- Liaison with college lawyers in relation to mortgages and other legal work
- Management of all college insurances
- Oversight of pension scheme regulatory requirements
- Oversight of private health insurance scheme requirements and membership
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Essential
- Recognised CCAB accounting qualification with a strong breadth of financial accounting knowledge and experience
- Strategic financial leadership with the ability to develop and implement financial strategies aligned with organisational goals
- Financial planning and analysis, able to oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial modelling
- Leadership & team management with experience of leading finance teams, mentoring staff, and fostering cross-functional collaboration
- Process and system development, able to identify and prioritise issues, develop solutions to complex tasks and work across the College to achieve improvements collaboratively and flexibly
- IT skills including a wide variety of accounting systems and excel, confident in learning new financial operations (FinOps) platforms
- Organisation skills, with ability to prioritise complex competing tasks and complete with a high degree of accuracy
- Communication Skills with a clear and approachable communication style to financial and non-financial stakeholders.
Desirable
- Experience of higher education and/or the College environment
- Knowledge of Charities SORP is highly desirable
- Experience and knowledge of Iplicit would be desirable but not essential
Summary of Terms and Conditions of Employment
Appointment: This is a full time, permanent post. There will be an initial probationary period of 6-months. The appointment will be conditional on verification of the successful candidate’s ‘Right to Work’ checks and subject to the receipt of satisfactory references and medical clearance through the University’s Occupational Health Services.
Salary: The salary will be paid on Leadership Scale Grade 10: Spine points 47 – 52 (£64,228 - £74,191 – includes £1,500 Oxford Weighting) + £4,000 responsibility allowance.
Hours of work: 35-hours per week, Monday to Friday. This role is mainly office based, but some home working will be allowed once the necessary training is complete and by manager approval.
The post holder will be required to work the hours necessary to fulfil the job requirements and subject to operational needs. A willingness and ability to adopt a flexible approach to working hours and duties is essential according to the requirements of the College.
Benefits
- Pension - Eligibility to the USS Pension. The successful candidate will be entered into this scheme automatically on joining, but on-going membership of the scheme is optional.
- Salary Exchange Scheme - Staff who join USS will also be enrolled into the Salary Exchange Pension Contributions Scheme on or around three months after joining Brasenose staff. This scheme is financially advantageous both to the employee and the College as the employer.
- Annual leave - The paid holiday entitlement for an equivalent full-time contract for a year is six working weeks (30 days) of annual leave (5 days to be taken over Christmas break when College is closed) plus 8 Statutory Bank Holidays. Annual Leave shall be taken at mutually convenient times agreed in advance with the Bursar. The holiday year begins on 1 January and ends 31 December. For part years of service the entitlement will be calculated as 1/12th of the annual entitlement for each completed month.
- Meals - Employees are entitled to take lunch free of charge in Hall when the kitchen is open.
- Welfare Support - Employee Assistance Programme; a free confidential telephone helpline and online medical guidance. Free annual flu jab.
- Travel Pass Loan - a discounted travel scheme is available with monthly deductions from salary.
- Cycle to Work Scheme/Bike Loan - monthly deductions from salary.
- Sports Facilities - access to the University Sports club.
- University Card - for discounts in shops, cafes and restaurants and University leisure facilities.
Recruitment Monitoring: This post is subject to recruitment monitoring to ensure that the selection process is consistent with the law and the College’s Equal Opportunity Policy and Code of Practice. You are asked to complete the Recruitment Monitoring Form which is completed through the online application process. The information supplied on the form will play no part in the selection process and will not be seen by any members of the shortlisting panel.
Data Protection: All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post and will be held in accordance with the principles of the General Data Protection Act 2018. In accordance with the GDPR regulations 2018 please see the relevant privacy notice on the website.
https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/downloads/GDPR/PrivacyNotice_AcademicandNonAcademicStaffApplicant.pdf
Brasenose College is an equal opportunities employer.
Data Protection: All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post and will be held in accordance with the principles of the General Data Protection Act 2018. In accordance with the GDPR regulations 2018 please see the relevant privacy notice on the website.
https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/downloads/GDPR/PrivacyNotice_AcademicandNonAcademicStaffApplicant.pdf
Brasenose College is an equal opportunities employer.
