Financial Analyst (Funding for professional accountancy qualification included)
Salary or salary range: £42,001 - £44,151 Plus generous defined benefit Civil Service Pension
Contract type: Full-time
Location of position: Bristol
Application deadline: 23:55 15 September 2024
We are the independent regulator of higher education in England.
We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We also care about supporting and developing our staff, working together to achieve more than each of us can do alone.
We’re proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination. We particularly welcome applications from people with a disability or impairment, those who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender, and those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background, as these groups are under-represented within our workforce.
We’re looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education. Join us and you’ll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people.
Job Summary
Would you like a finance role without the same monthly accounting processes again and again? Then this role in our Financial Assessment team might be the role for you! You will learn and apply the OfS' approach to assessing the financial viability and sustainability of higher education providers, joining a high performing team of accountants that help and support each other to get the work done. You will enjoy a variety of work, where each assessment is different, and no month is ever the same! Furthermore, if you are part-qualified we will support your accountancy training by providing you funding for a professional qualification (CCAB) courses and day release to attend these if you need it.
The main purpose of the role is to undertake financial analysis based on complex data supplied by the regulated providers, information available about them in the public domain and the general knowledge regarding macroeconomic conditions in which the providers operate, to make judgements on their financial strength. This analysis is key in supporting the OfS’s regulatory decisions, so the postholder will write evidence-based assessments that are intelligible for non-experts and deliver crucial financial insight and recommendations to decision-makers. The role therefore requires engagement with internal stakeholders, but it also involves interactions with external stakeholders, when necessary to support the decision making. In addition, the role will provide an opportunity to input into improving the systems and processes that deliver services to providers.
The Key person attributes to fulfil this role are:
• Qualified or part-qualified accountant (or equivalent finance background)
• Ability to communicate complex financial issues effectively, orally and in writing
• Ability to understand, interpret and identify risks in financial performance in diverse types of organisations
• Ability to reach and convey reliable and challenge-proof judgements to non-specialists on the basis of complex and imperfect information
• Ability to work with high levels of complexity and ambiguity
• Experience and expertise in financial analysis is desirable
• Experience of higher education sector or in another regulatory role is desirable
• Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly in a complex environment to deliver the team’s functions
Enablers
The Office for Students currently uses enablers to evaluate your strengths and ask that your application describes what you’ve done and how you’ve done it. The enablers for this role are:
Knowledge and Learning
• Maintains a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the regulatory context for the OfS’s work and shows desire to continue their learning.
• Maintains the professional knowledge necessary to deliver the team’s financial assessment functions
Planning
• Works collaboratively with others to resolve competing demands, and copes with changing priorities in a flexible and proactive way Identifies risk to plans and delivery
• Demonstrates a readiness to contribute to decision-making and to take the initiative and originate action in circumstances where norms are already established
• Continually volunteers for new work and projects.
• Demonstrates ability to work under pressure or to tight time scales.
Communication
• Provides written financial assessments and is able to verbally explain financial matters to non-financial colleagues.
• Provides actionable technical and professional feedback to colleagues on financial assessment matters
• Writes in a clear and concise manner, using appropriate grammar, style and language, which is tailored for the reader. Writing will set out financial assessments in a way that is evidence-based, intelligible for non-experts, and provides confidence to decision-makers
• Communicates clearly and fluently to individuals and small audiences, using appropriate style and language, and with good presentation skills
Relationships
• Demonstrates a confident and co-operative style and deals effectively with people at all levels to build positive working relationships
• Maintains credibility with other teams in the directorate and with external contacts
• Maintains effective work behaviour in the face of setbacks or pressure and remains calm and professional in such circumstances
Working for us
The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.
We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working, apply to this role.
Closing date for applications: 15 September 2024
Interviews: 30 September 2024