Accountancy Assistant

Newcastle City Library; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent educational institution in Newcastle upon Tyne is seeking a proactive finance team member. The role involves supporting management accounting services and provides an opportunity to engage with university operations. Candidates should possess strong communication and IT skills, along with relevant experience. This is a fixed-term position until December 2026, offering a chance to work in a vibrant academic environment.

Benefits

Generous holiday package

Great pension scheme

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in the production of management accounting information is desirable.
• Ability to work effectively in a large and complex organization.

Responsibilities

• Monitor the Finance Support workload and financial transactions.
• Assist in the preparation of detailed annual budgets and forecasts.
• Provide financial advice to Faculty and Professional Services staff.
• Run month-end procedures to produce monthly/quarterly accounts.
• Supervise day-to-day tasks of the Finance support team.

Skills

High degree of literacy and numeracy

Strong communication skills (written and verbal)

Staff management and leadership skills

Recent relevant experience from a finance environment

High degree of IT literacy

Education

A Level standard or equivalent

AAT qualified or equivalent

Job description

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package, a great pension scheme and health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 11 January 2026

The Role

We are seeking a motivated, proactive individual to join us and work within the Finance Team based in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SAgE). As part of the team, you will have responsibility for supporting the provision of a full Management Accounting service across the faculty, ensuring successful devolved financial management.

The SAgE Faculty is an exciting and dynamic place to work, dedicated to world‑leading education and research. Being embedded within the faculty gives you the opportunity to be close to the academic, student and research community and innovative projects. You will also reap the benefits of being part of the wider University Finance Hub and the development opportunities and professional support this can bring.

It is an exciting opportunity to work across a wide spectrum of university services supporting the financial management of university accounts.

We are looking for a confident communicator and effective team player who can build positive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Good numerical and IT skills are essential, and we need you to be able to work accurately to tight deadlines and adaptive to change. To be highly successful in this role, you will need to be well‑organised and customer impact focused.

This will be a fixed term position until 22nd December 2026.

Interviews will be held week commencing 19 January 2026.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, organise and monitor the Finance Support workload including the input of financial transactions and the delivery of reporting information.
• Assist in the preparation of detailed annual budgets and forecasts.
• Produce a standard suite of reports and performance indicators to an agreed timetable.
• Provide advice and guidance on financial issues to Faculty and Professional Services staff.
• Liaise with Finance and Planning and other Professional Services where necessary to ensure best practice is adhered to at all times.
• Be responsible for the creation and amendment of master data (e.g. SAP accounts) as required in order to maintain the most effective structures for use across the Faculty.
• Identify areas within the Faculty/Unit where best practice could be strengthened by the application of University policies and procedures.
• Run month‑end procedures to facilitate the production of monthly/quarterly accounts in accordance with the accounting timetable.
• Supervise other members of the Finance support team on a day‑to‑day basis.
• Undertake any other duties of a relevant nature as required by the Deputy Head of Faculty Finance.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• High degree of literacy and numeracy
• High degree of IT literacy
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
• Staff management and leadership skills and experience
• Recent relevant experience from a finance environment
• Experience of the production of management accounting information
• Experience of working effectively in a large and complex organisation to enable successful collaboration between the Finance, Faculty, School and other University roles (desirable)

Attributes and Behaviour

• Reviews and revises plans to meet changing circumstances
• Develops and implements new ideas
• Is supportive of others during change
• Builds on others’ ideas and suggestions
• Willing to change ways and policies in light of new information
• Clarifies understanding of others to avoid misinterpretation
• Chooses communication tools appropriately (e.g. selective use of emails and other channels of communication)
• Tailors content of communication to the audience, changing style, tone and format appropriately
• Maintains flexibility in work plans to allow for changing circumstances
• Works in a planned and structured way
• Plans workload and tasks in a systematic way
• Uses systems and tools to ensure records and audit trails are clear and up to date

Qualifications

• Educated to at least A Level standard (minimum of 3 grades A–C) or equivalent standard by experience
• AAT qualified (Association of Accounting Technicians) or equivalent (desirable)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education (REC). We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.