Interim Director of Commercial Finance

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Executive Director of Finance, the Director of Commercial Finance, will be responsible for leading the strategic and operational development of the University's commercial activities, driving commercial value, growth and income for the University which supports its strategic objectives.

The Director of Commercial Finance will shape and drive the University's commercial activities to maximise the year-round returns from the University's physical assets and its commercially traded services. The Director of Commercial Finance is a new role which has been created to deliver a step change in the institution's ability to deliver improvements in commercial returns and provide finance support of planned expansion in economic development and international proposals.

The scope and impact of the role is University wide and will have significant interaction at senior levels both internally but also externally with funders, customers and potential partners. The role holder will be expected to design the requisite support structure consistent with the long-term needs of the institution operating in a matrix structure with a blend of dedicated colleagues, external support and the broader finance team.

Income from commercial sources is greater than £100m per annum and is set to grow as the institution invests in further commercial operations and opportunities and seeks to partner with others to develop commercial and economic development impact in and beyond Glasgow. As part of this growth, the role holder will build a team to provide strategic financial leadership to structure, negotiate and deliver this growth working with relevant business partners.

As a member of the Finance Leadership team, the role holder will contribute to the development and execution of the University's finance strategy, wider finance related initiatives and people development, and will represent the service on the University's Economic Development Board and Transnational Education Board.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

1. Develop strategies for the delivery of the University's commercial activities, including income generation and diversification to increase revenue and maximise business growth, optimising commercial margin for the institution.

2. Identify new and emerging opportunities, lead commercial due diligence processes and ensuring that commercial decision-making is supported by data/evidence-based business cases.

3. Working closely with other senior leaders including the Director of Economic Development, Development of Property Joint Ventures lead financial negotiations, working in conjunction and to deliver commercial and economic development opportunities.

4. Build, establish and develop an effective team to leverage internal and external support to provide the University with the necessary skills and capacity to manage future investment and deal pipelines.

5. Apply a commercial, entrepreneurial and ambitious approach to the delivery of services, focused on the delivery of service excellence and outstanding customer service through effective and efficient operating models.

6. Introduce new ways of working and new commercial activity based on robust business cases which clearly identify a return on investment for the University.

7. Develop robust processes to track commercial performance and ensure appropriate KPIs and strategy are set and measured across the institution.

8. Strategically lead on the development of commercial policies and procedures to provide a framework to manage commercial risk and return.

9. Develop new and innovative delivery vehicles for commercial activities, including the establishment of mutually beneficial agreements with partner organisations.

10. Oversee the formulation of high-profile contract specifications and tender processes and contracts, ensuring that clear quality standards are established, maintained and monitored.

Knowledge/Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Educated to degree level.

A2 Membership of a recognised CCAB accounting professional body.

A3 Expert knowledge of project financing, contracts and structures.

A4 Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

Skills

Essential:

C1 Well-developed commercial negotiation skills in multi-million-pound long term deals.

C2 Strong leadership and management skills with a demonstrable ability to develop high performing teams.

C3 High level influencing and interpersonal skills, able to quickly build credibility and deliver impact at all levels.

C4 Strategic thinker, ability to develop strategy and policy and implement effectively.

C5 Ability to drive forward and deliver change in line with strategic and operational objectives and priorities.

C6 Ability to constructively challenge the status quo, influence change and present arguments based on sound professional judgement and expertise.

C7 Well-developed report writing and presentation skills with the ability to present and translate…