Project Administration And Finance Officer - Living Coasts

The Role
What you’ll do
Who you are – Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge and Skills required
How to apply
Benefits
Employment Visa

The role

An opportunity has arisen for a Finance and Administration Officer to support delivery of the UKRI/STFC fundedLiving Coasts project in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences (DGES), Aberystwyth University. Living Coastsis an ambitious and exciting initiative that is investigating how Earth observation (primarily satellite) data can be used to inform proactive planning of coastal zones around the world such that short to long-term needs and requirements of humans and nature can be better addressed. As well as staff from Aberystwyth University, the Living Coasts Team includes partners from Australia (CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, Newcastle University) and the research is focusing initially on sites in Oceania, the UK and South America.

This is a fixed term contract linked to the project’s funding duration (until 30th April 2025). The post reports to the Living Coastsproject lead by Professor Richard Lucas. The successful candidate will be responsible for administrative and financial duties required by the project and providing general support to the project coordinator on other aligned projects.

Candidates should have financial and administrative experience and ideally project management and be enthusiastic; and be highly organised and able to work with minimal supervision; committed to learning new tasks and developing skills; self-motivated; an excellent team player with good communication and user engagement skills; and have an ability to prioritise work in a busy and demanding work environment.

To make an informal enquiry, please contact Professor Richard Lucas at rml2@aber.ac.uk.

Appointments are normally made within 4-8 weeks of the closing date.

Further Particulars

This job description is subject to review and amendment in the light of the changing needs of the University, to provide appropriate development opportunities and/or the addition of any other reasonable duties.

About Living Coasts

Encompassing ~ 4 % of the Earth's total land area, the coastal zone typically consists of mosaic of interconnected land and seascapes. However, many coastal zones are threatened by increasing population growth and urbanisation, poor upstream land practices, conversion and modification of habitats, and environmental impacts from industry, pollutants and over- exploitation of resources. Informed management and use of the coastal zone is therefore becoming increasingly critical, particularly given the additional pressures arising from climate change.

Living Coasts will adapt existing capacity (developed jointly by Australia and the UK) that allows landscapes to be consistently characterised, mapped and monitored from satellite data to support the co-design and implementation of plans for maintaining, recovering and/or enhancing major components of the coastal zone (natural resources, biodiversity) and monitoring progress towards goals and ambitions. This information will be used to inform decisions relating to the planning of future landscapes, including within a transformational framework that focuses on imagining, harmonizing viewpoints, valuing different landscape components, and informing the realism of visions. A major output will the provision of generic capacity to spatially visualise proposed or predicted landscapes and components (values) under a range of economic and/or climate scenarios, quantify associated benefits and risks, and monitor progress towards co-designed plans primarily through Earth observations.

User engagement is critical to the success of the proposed project, and will be undertaken in association with international organisations, national governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academic and research organisations, business and commerce, space agencies and citizens. Approaches will vary depending on whether these are directing, leading, initiating or funding or assisting and responding.

This complex project requires an experienced Project Administration and Financial Officer to facilitate implementation and support management to ensure Living Coasts delivers its specific outcomes and to support the project team (and particularly the coordinator) through the lifetime of the project.

What you’ll do

This job description is subject to review and amendment in the light of the changing needs of the University, to provide appropriate development opportunities and/or the addition of any other reasonable duties.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Administrative and other Duties:

• Providing support to the project coordinator to ensure continuity in general and specific project management tasks associated with Living Coasts, including assisting the management of pressures from other aligned projects (e.g., Living Wales).
• Actively liaising with the academic lead/project coordinator and project partners, taking and reporting minutes of meetings and compiling progress reports that will be submitted to internal and external advisory boards and STFC/UKRI in line with the claims.
• Compiling necessary evidence to monitor project deliverables against targets and indicators.
• Supporting the organisation of workshops, conferences and other events (including internationally).
• Managing correspondence, collating, organising, preparing, editing and amending material (e.g., powerpoint presentations for international conferences, reports, scientific papers, website material and other written products) in line with the specific needs of the project.
• Providing financial knowledge, support and underpinning for Living Coasts, working closely with Research Grants and the RB&I QA Manager to develop and apply standardised finance procedures relating to STFC/UKRI funded projects.
• Organising travel nationally and internationally, including in relation to field work (including internationally), and other activities outside of the university campus.

Financial Management:

• Monitoring costs and ensuring that the project remains within budget and reporting any areas of concern with regard to overspend or underspend to the Project leads and Project Coordinator.
• Processing all finance claims made by the project team, ensuring all procedures and paperwork follow STFC/UKRI rules and comply with audit requirements.
• Liaising with the University’s approved travel agencies/suppliers to obtain written quotations and make bookings for project travel and subsistence, in line with STFC/UKRI and AU guidelines.

Financial Compliance and Reporting:

• Compiling all evidence necessary to provide a full audit trail for each item of expenditure in line with STFC/UKRI and AU requirements.
• Ensuring all purchases follow University procurement procedures and comply with STFC/UKRI procurement requirements.
• Maintaining regular contact with administrators in DRBI, FELS, DGES and elsewhere in the University to ensure the project is compliant with STFC/UKRI procedures.
• Compiling and submitting claims on behalf of Aberystwyth University as required by STFC/UKRI, and liaising with colleagues in CSIRO (Australia) to ensure claims are processed to the required template and submitted to agreed timelines, usually quarterly.
• Liaising with AU Finance Office to crosscheck all financial submissions to the STFC/UKRI.
• Working closely with successful suppliers to ensure the timely delivery of services and goods.
• Compiling monthly financial reports for Living Coast activities at Aberystwyth University and liaising with finance colleagues at the lead partner CSIRO.
• Managing, arranging and leading audits of claims, including STFC/UKRI audits along with STFC/UKRI Management Verification Checks and other audits and providing evidence as requested in the timeframe provided.

Other Duties:

• Undertaking health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
• To be committed to the University’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post.
• To be committed to your own development and that of your staff through the effective use of the University’s Effective Contribution Scheme.
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

Who you are – Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge, and Skills required:

Essential

Desirable

• More information on Welsh Language Levels can be found at:

https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/policy-and-procedure/welsh-standards/

How to apply

To promote a flexible workforce, the University will consider applications from individuals seeking full time, part time, job share, or term time only working arrangements.

Applications for this role must be made through jobs.aber.ac.uk. You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally.

Benefits

• Flexible working policy
• 36.5 – hour week for full-time roles
• Generous leave entitlements – 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays and university closed days
• Commitment to Professional Development
• Enhanced contribution to our workplace pension schemes
• Staff recognition and reward schemes
• Opportunity to learn the Welsh language for free
• Staff relocation bursary
• Maternity, Paternity, Parental and Adoption Leave
• Staff discount for gym facilities, hospitality, and retail on campus.

Please keep reading

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities and, those that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. This includes but is not limited to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, candidates with disabilities, and female candidates.

We are a Bilingual Institution which complies with the Welsh Language Standards and is committed to Equal Opportunities. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the institution, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally.

Employment Visa

Under the UK Government’s points-based system scheme, this role does not meet the criteria to be sponsored by Aberystwyth University (AU) for a Skilled Worker Route (SWR) application.