Finance Policy Officer (Grade E2, Maternity Cover)

Key Responsibilities

• Working as part of a team and reporting to the Deputy Director and support the development and implementation of Finance priorities.
• Plans and co-ordinates the complete lifecycle of the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) process, encompassing project management, organisation, initiation of commissions, establishment of data quality assurance protocols, and maintenance of robust governance processes to ensure successful delivery of the ARA.
• Manages capacity and workload, actively planning workstreams and areas of activity to support effective project management and delivery within the team.
• Provide advice and guidance and support and develop close working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. Working across groups in SFC on various policies, programmes, and projects.
• Promotes team collaboration and open communication across roles, flagging opportunities to improve effectiveness and/or efficiencies of work.
• Provides and facilitates data analysis and makes recommendations to inform decision making at senior levels.
• Produces reports and papers as necessary for Senior Management, committees, and other stakeholders.
• Contributes flexibly to the work of the wider Finance directorate and other groups in SFC as appropriate.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent) or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Project experience including initiating, planning and managing a variety of projects, taking a proactive approach with the ability to identify gaps or shortfalls in information and search for sources of information to fill these.
• Ability to plan work and co-ordinate implementation across a wide range of stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the tertiary education sector and an understanding of the university and college funding cycle.
• Working knowledge of activities across SFC and an ability to grasp how these contribute to SFC’s wider mission.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to plan and prioritise effectively, with an awareness of the directorate’s business plans and priorities.
• Ability to deal with confidential matters with discretion.
• Proven ability to exercise resource, judgement and initiative appropriately, drawing on experience and expertise to design practical solutions to problems.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to motivate others.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team, with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Good IT skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office applications e.g. Microsoft Project, Word, Excel, SharePoint, Outlook, Teams.
• Ability to sustain a high standard of performance under pressure and when working to deadlines.
• Ability to analyse, interpret, and explain information, including numerical information, to audiences with varying degree of expertise.

Terms and Benefits

About
We are the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, more commonly known as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).We are Scotland’s tertiary education and research authority and our purpose is to sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that enables students to flourish, changes lives for the better, and supports social, economic and environmental wellbeing and prosperity.We do this by investing around £2 billion of public money to deliver:Tertiary learning and teaching.Skills and apprenticeships.Student support and participation.Research, innovation and knowledge exchange.Data collection and dissemination.National quality assurance and enhancement processes.Capital and digital infrastructure for the sector.Strategic change, responsive provision and research priorities.As a non-departmental public body established by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005, we are directly accountable to Scottish Government Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. We work across many government portfolios and are sponsored by the Lifelong Learning Directorate.We hold colleges, universities and other funded bodies to account for their delivery of required outcomes. We are also the statistical authority for colleges, and work closely with the UK-wide Higher Education Statistical Authority (HESA), to provide data and statistics for government, decision-makers, and the wider public.We work in partnership with a wide range of partners and bodies, including those we fund, across all aspects of our remit.General information for applicants for SFC rolesYou must already be eligible to work in the UK to apply for these roles.  SFC do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skills Worker License and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. We are pleased to support applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, socio-economic background, gender, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, as well as those who have skills in Scottish Gaelic or British Sign Language, who have the right skills for the job.  We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and actively encourage interviews through the scheme.  Further information about SFC is available on our website Scottish Funding Council home page (sfc.ac.uk).   Additional information about our recruitment process can be found at Recruitment Information and Tips | Scottish Funding Council Careers (sfc.ac.uk).