Faculty/Administrative/Service Department / Finance
Job Title / Finance Systems Developer
Job Family / Professional Services / Job Level / 4
Responsible to / Finance Change and Systems Manager
Responsible for (Staff) / N/A
Job Purpose Statement
To support and implement specific developments to the Finance Department’s IT systems, including but not limited to its main finance system Unit 4 Agresso. To implement systems developments and to support users in optimising the functionality of the system. To provide a range of services to support the use of our finance systems, including system administration and the specification of software development and management.
Key Responsibilities
1. To analyse and interpret user requirements and implement new system functionality. Review application functionality and features of new versions and upgrades; work with IT Services to ensure all upgrades and system changes are fully tested and signed-off by end-users before implementation.
2. To deliver staff training in relation to the University’s financial systems.
3. To develop and maintain system documentation for Finance staff and other users of the system.
4. To maintain an overall general understanding of the University’s financial systems.
5. To propose solutions to meet new and changing business needs and to assist in the specification of further systems developments.
6. To ensure that system problems are rapidly investigated and satisfactorily resolved.
7. To assist in the definition of procedures associated with the University’s financial systems.
8. To undertake other tasks associated with the development and maintenance of financial systems as identified by the Finance Change and Systems Manager
N.B. The above list is not exhaustive.
All staff are expected to:
· Positively support equality of opportunity and equity of treatment to colleagues and students in accordance with the University of Surrey Equal Opportunities Policy.· Work to achieve the aims of our Environmental Policy and promote awareness to colleagues and students.
· Follow University/departmental policies and working practices in ensuring that no breaches of information security result from their actions.
· Ensure they are aware of and abide by all relevant University Regulations and Policies relevant to the role.
· Undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your Manager.
· Work supportively with colleagues, operating in a collegiate manner at all times.
Help maintain a safe working environment by:
· Attending training in Health and Safety requirements as necessary, both on appointment and as changes in duties and techniques demand.
· Following local codes of safe working practices and the University of Surrey Health and Safety Policy.
Elements of the Role
This section outlines some of the key elements of the role, which allow this role to be evaluated within the University’s structure. It provides an overview of what is expected from the post holder in the day-to-day operation of the role.
Planning and Organising
· The post holder will be responsible for taking the lead on specific projects and system developments as they are approved and prioritised. Projects will range in size from relatively small improvements taking a few days effort up to large implementations that will cover the period of 12 months or more. In each case the postholder is expected to manage their time effectively to ensure project objectives are achieved whilst also maintaining effective levels of support for day to day operations.
Problem Solving and Decision Making
· The postholder will be required to provide advice and solutions to problems that occur within the specialist areas with which they are familiar, such as the setup and administration of specific modules within the Finance system. Resolution of these issues will usually be through reference to previous experience and technical knowledge of similar problems or through applying departmental policies and procedures. When faced with new issues, the post holder is required to identify the nature of the problem or issue through analysis and to apply reasonable personal initiative and judgement (where past experience does not apply) to identify a suitable and timely resolution. The post holder is expected to refer more complex issues or those outside of the remit of their role to the Finance Change and Systems Manager, or other senior staff within Finance for guidance and direction, but in these cases they are expected to have a high degree of involvement in finding and implementing resolutions to the issue.
Continuous Improvement
· The postholder will investigate and assess the functionality and features offered by the current finance systems and make recommendations for improvements in their use. This requires them to be an expert user of the application functionality and to utilise this knowledge and technical expertise to enable the University to use the applications to their full potential.
· The postholder is expected to develop formal proposals for consideration to ensure projects are prioritised appropriately, in particular for large and / or significant changes and to implement changes after consultation with the Finance Change and Systems Manager.
Accountability
· The postholder is accountable for implementing specific developments to the University’s financial systems ensuring they are exploited to their full potential. They are expected to take a proactive approach to determine how best to achieve the desired results and to work with process owners in developing solutions, provided these are consistent with set objectives and any guidance provided by the Finance Change and Systems Manager.
· The postholder is accountable for working independently and constructively, for organising and prioritising their work and for seeking advice from Finance Systems team colleagues and external suppliers, as appropriate.
· The postholder is accountable for the preparation of training materials and delivery of training sessions to staff for specific modules of the University’s financial systems. The post holder must demonstrate a confident communication style and be responsive to the needs of their audience in order to ensure the professional and effective delivery of information.
Dimensions of the role
· The post holder has no line management responsibility but is a key member of the Finance Systems team and reports directly to the Finance Change and Systems Manager. They will be an expert in specific modules of the Finance system for which they will provide training, advice, support and assistance to others in the team and to colleagues at all levels across the University.
· The postholder will have regular and frequent contact with end-users of the system, plus Finance, Procurement and IT staff as well as external consultants (primarily Unit 4 Agresso). This includes approximately 200 ‘client server’ users and 2,500 ‘web’ users.
· The postholder will be an active member of the Unit 4 Agresso Special Interest groups, will engage in user forums, attend meetings and share best practise, including the delivery of presentations on our use of the system to other HEIs.
Person Specification This section describes the sum total of knowledge, experience & competence required by the post holder that is necessary for standard acceptable performance in carrying out this role.
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
Professionally qualified with a relevant degree/postgraduate qualification, plus demonstrable experience in similar or related roles
Or:
Vocational and relevant experience demonstrating ability in an appropriate professional or specialist area, and success in similar or related roles, supported by evidence of significant appropriate specialist knowledge. / E
Qualified Accountant (CCAB or equivalent) / D
Technical Competencies (Experience and Knowledge) This section contains the level of competency required to carry out the role (please refer to the Competency Framework for clarification where needed and the Job Matching Guidance). / Essential/
Desirable / Level
1-3
Proven track record of successful software/application deployment and administration / E / 3
Relevant Agresso Business World experience / E / 3
Experience of developing reports from relational databases using SQL / E / 2
ARC and Excelerator skills / E / 2
Ability to communicate effectively with specialist IT staff (DBAs, software consultants) / E / 2
MS Office skills / E / 3
Experience of working in an HE environment / D / n/a
Understanding of service management concepts & disciplines e.g. ITIL version / D / n/a
Special Requirements: / Essential/
Desirable
The Finance Systems Team will support and develop all areas of the Agresso system. Individual members of the team will each be expected to demonstratetechnical competencies that complement the rest of the team to ensure all areas of functionality are provided for. / E
Core Competencies This section contains the level of competency required to carry out this role. (Please refer to the competency framework for clarification where needed). n/a (not applicable) should be placed, where the competency is not a requirement of the grade. / Level
1-3
Communication
Adaptability / Flexibility
Customer/Client service and support
Planning and Organising
Continuous Improvement
Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills
Managing and Developing Performance
Creative and Analytical Thinking
Influencing, Persuasion and Negotiation Skills
Strategic Thinking & Leadership / 2
3
2
2
3
3
n/a
3
2
1
This Job Purpose reflects the core activities of the post. As the Department/Faculty and the post holder develop, there will inevitably be some changes to the duties for which the post is responsible, and possibly to the emphasis of the post itself. The University expects that the post holder will recognise this and will adopt a flexible approach to work. This could include undertaking relevant training where necessary.
Should significant changes to the Job Purpose become necessary, the post holder will be consulted and the changes reflected in a revised Job Purpose.
Organisational/Departmental Information & Key Relationships
Background Information
· The postholder is a key member of the Finance Systems team who are responsible for the University's finance system (Unit 4 Agresso). A wide range of modules are now in use within the application, including core financials (General Ledger, Sales Ledger, Accounts Payable, etc) plus Fixed Assets, Expenses, eProcurement, Research Costing Pricing and Project Costing & Billing. The system has been live since 1 August 2005 and the last major upgrade was in April 2014.
· The University also uses a number of other finance systems and tools, including WPM, Parabilis and Paybase and the Finance systems are interfaced with a number of other corporate systems, including SITS (students), Archibus (Estates), PeopleSoft (HR) and Northgate (payroll).
· The Finance System has approximately 200 client server based users and up to 2,500 web based users.
Department Structure Chart
Relationships
§ The postholder is a key member of the Finance Systems Team and key contacts within Finance will be:o Research Finance
o Business Finance Managers
o Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)
o Financial Accounting
o Transactions Support, Processing and Student Finance
§ In addition, the postholder has regular and frequent contact with end-users of the Finance system across the University, in particular those from Research Finance and including senior academic and professional services staff involved in research at the University.
§ The postholder will also have regular contact with those external to the University, including:
o Unit 4 (Agresso software) consultants
o The postholder’s peers within other universities