Hybrid Internal Applicants Only - Finance Manager at 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 Manager - Student Finance and Bursaries
School of Healthcare Sciences

We currently have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and proactive Finance Manager to lead the Student Finance Team within the College of Biomedical Life Sciences. The post holder is responsible for the co-ordination and management of financial support for students primarily within the School of Healthcare Sciences, including the administration of the student funding schemes, NHS commissioned bursaries and other funding sources. The role involves significant contact with students, academics, professional services staff and external organisations.

This role will lead an operational finance team focused on meeting all the finance needs of students, including bursaries (NHS), expenses and accommodation whilst on placement. Leading a small team of four, this role is pivotal in ensuring that students finance needs are met whilst also engaging with important strategic partners, improving processes and supporting the ongoing financial management across the College.

The successful applicant should have prior experience of working in an operational finance environment; customer engagement; and process improvement. They should also be capable of leading a specialist team, possess advanced IT and communication skills and be proficient in influencing at a senior level. For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Dewi James ([email protected]) for further details.

This position is full-time (35 hours per week), open-ended and based at Heath Park West. 

The majority of roles at Cardiff University are currently operating under “blended working” arrangements, with staff having the flexibility to work partly from home and partly from the University campus depending on specific business requirements. Discussions around these arrangements can take place after the successful candidate has been appointed.

Salary: £40,497 - £45,413 per annum (Grade 6)

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

Closing date: Monday, 25 August 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

• To manage a responsive, agile, engaging and holistic student finance support team that promotes a positive student experience, supporting them with expenses, bursaries, placement accommodation and simple fee queries throughout the student lifecycle.
• Maintaining a high level of service performance for student finance operations, ensuring timely payments, addressing issues and continuously striving for improvement in process and structure.
• Engage positively with partner functions and organisations, supporting both positive operational engagement and developing strategic partnerships and solutions.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end process of timely payments for bursaries and the reimbursement of expenses, ensuring the accurate flow of information from multiple stakeholders to support these.
• Oversee the booking of accommodation to support students on clinical placement, working with procurement, partners and external stakeholders to maximise the value and simplify the experience for students.
• Ensure the team maintain a customer-focused engagement with students, offering periodic drop-in sessions, clear written communications and a promptly managed inbox for issues and queries.
• Manage the recovery of overpayment of bursaries, including setting up repayment plans
• Lead the development of a new expense process for student expenses, engaging with central teams to ensure the appropriate accounting controls and logistics are in place
• Reconcile financial accounts and provide timely invoices and information to partner organisations
• Take the strategic lead for bursaries, engaging with partner organisations to champion change, both operationally, such as the new bursary system, and strategically, by applying learnings to inform the future of NHS bursaries in Wales.
• Develop the expenses and accommodation framework for students, engaging with Learning in Practice Committee and external stakeholders to deliver both operational clarity, through clear and accountable decision making, and strategic development, through influencing for change.
• Foster a continuous improvement culture within the team, developing processes to enhance the student experience.
• Ensure the delivery of the team’s service level agreements, adapting these according to changes in workload and customer requirements.
• Gather and analyse data to inform decisions, establishing basic trends and patterns in data and creating reports as appropriate. e.g., trend of student financing
• To act as an authorised signatory for student payments and as the lead for all student finance related matters across the School.
• Develop networks across the School, College and University to ensure the success of the team’s objectives and long-term plans, sharing best practice and developing a broader understanding of student finances
• Work with the School Finance Manager on broader finance activities, including alignment of reporting and support for the financial planning calendar of activity (budget; forecast; Medium Term Plan)
• Manage the performance, induction and development of the team and setting key objectives.
• Undertake the training of others in areas relating to the team’s work.
• Undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance performance.
• Support and guide team members in welfare issues, escalating as necessary to specialist support areas.

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.

45,413

Grade 6

40,497

Accountancy & Finance

Managerial, Professional and Specialist Staff – MPSS