UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES

PRIFYSGOL DE CYMRU

Finance

Research and Grants Officer (Ref: U008739)

Grade E, *£28,142 - £32,600 per annum

*appointment will be made to the minimum of the scale

Permanent Contract

Research and Grants projects are a key activity at University of South Wales, we are looking for a Research and Grants Officer to oversee the financial administration of a portfolio of projects including the University's flagship EU funded projects.

The Research and Grants team consists of 3 Research and Grants Officers and 1 Assistant reporting to the Finance Manager. The role requires officers to be proactive in providing support and guidance to Faculties and project teams ensuring funding claims are compliant.

A key element of financial administration is the timely and accurate maintenance of the University's accounting system to ensure project balances and transactions are correct and up to date.

The post holder will be required to provide financial and performance monitoring information to the senior finance team to ensure effective monitoring and risk management. Therefore candidates should demonstrate good analytical skills.

This is a wide ranging role and candidates will need to demonstrate good organisational skills and knowledge and experience of EU funded projects.

This position is based at Treforest Campus of the University of South Wales.

The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

CLOSING DATE: 28th September 2017

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title: Research and Grants Officer
Type of Contract: Permanent
Grade: E
Responsible to: Finance Manager – Research and Grants
Responsible for: Not Applicable
Main Purpose of the Job:
The post holders will be responsible for financial administration of a portfolio of research grants contracts and will support project teams in their administration of projects by providing financial advice, performance information and regulatory guidance.
Post holders will also be responsible for the production and analysis of management information for their portfolio of research and grants projects in order to support the University’s in its financial performance monitoring, budgeting and forecasting.
The post holder will be required to maintain a strong technical knowledge of different often complex funding regulations in order to provide advice and guidance to ensure projects are managed in compliance with funder specifications. The role requires engagement with internal project teams and external funders to build a strong network of working relationships to support robust project management.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Administration of a portfolio of research and grants projects:
  1. Monitoring and providing analysis of performance for a portfolio of research and grants projects, for example including (but not limited to):
  • commentary on financial performance against budget
  • commentary on actual financial performance with the identification and analysis of project over and under spends
  • commentary on performance against grant output requirements and potential impact of over or under achieving agreed outputs
  • identification and correction of miscoding
  1. Provide pre-award support and advice in conjunction with RISe for research and grant proposals e.g. fEC preparation, fEC review and budget input and review.
  2. Analysis and interpretation of the contractual terms and conditions related to awards and ensuring projects are managed in compliance with the external funder requirements.
  3. Update a central register of project status e.g. claim dates, monies received, monies due/paid to partners, staff allocations (grant funded) and staff allocations (match funded).
  4. Attendance and participation in project set up and progress meetings, providing guidance and gathering project information to inform research and grant portfolio analysis.
  5. Ensuring submission of precise and timely financial returns to external funders as required, ensuring all expenditure submitted is eligible in line with funder regulation and guidelines. Key tasks include (but not limited to):
  6. preparation of claims and/or more complex areas of claims to ensure compliance with funder regulations and grant applications are most optimal to the project profile, e.g. management of direct and match funds.
  7. ensuring analysis of project expenditure reconcile to underlying financial records and is eligible and auditable.
  8. verify partners’ financial information and agreed outputs to ensure it complies with funder regulations, challenging and seeking clarification as necessary.
  9. Review and/or preparation of partner payment calculations and ensure payments made on a timely basis.
  10. Key point of contact for auditors (internal and external), coordinating the provision of audit information requirements, dealing with queries and responding to audit findings.
Provision of expert advice and guidance:
  1. Developing and maintaining a high level of knowledge regarding external funder regulations
  2. Develop and maintain strong working relationships with external funders to ensure the University is kept up to date with policy and regulatory developments.
  3. Analysis and interpretation of external funder guidelines and regulations to the University to ensure external funds are managed in compliance with external funder requirements.
  4. Communicating external funder regulatory requirements and providing updates to project teams and other University staff.
Other Duties:
  1. Preparation and input into any returns/information requests the University is required to submit which falls under the Business Support remit e.g. TRAC and HEFCW information requirements
  2. Development and review of current processes and procedures to ensure they are designed to optimise the efficiency of the University.
  3. Any other duties as may reasonably be required

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Essential / Desirable
a)Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) – be able to build relationships and provide expert advice tailored to the knowledge and experience of the audience
b)Resilience - ability to work under pressure and flexibly to achieve prescribed deadlines.
c)Ability to work under own initiative, and with minimal supervision while also contributing as a member of a team
d)Ability to manage a portfolio of projects and changing priorities, with an organised, flexible and proactive approach to work.
e)Competent user of financial systems and ability to maintain sound and detailed financial records.
f)Ability to analyse and interpret different funding regulations and contract terms and conditions.
KNOWLEDGE
Essential / Desirable
g)Knowledge and awareness of research and grants funders’ regulatory frameworks, policies and regulations / h)Sound understanding of European funding regulations and procedures
EXPERIENCE
Essential / Desirable
i)Experience of working in a research environment providing management information and analysis on research projects.
j)Proven track record in providing professional advice and guidance to staff on research project management and compliance.
k)Experience in the administration of a portfolio of projects and dealing with a wide variety of tasks often to set deadlines.
l)Experience in the production of financial claims and reporting of agreed outputs for externally funded projects
m)Experience in the analysis and interpretation of funding regulations and contract terms and conditions.
TRAINING
Essential / Desirable
n)High level of financial literacy and numeracy including the ability to prepare and analyse financial information.
o)Competent IT skills particularly MS Excel and MS Word.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Essential / Desirable
p)Methodical and professional approach