Finance Manager

As our Finance Manager, you will play a crucial role in delivering this mission and will step into a pivotal leadership role within the Department. Directing a dedicated, professional and empathetic finance team and reporting directly to the Business Operations Manager, you will serve as the principal financial business adviser, partnering with our world‑leading scientists and executive leadership. You will hold accountability for a substantial, fast‑growing multi‑million‑pound research budget of over £120m, supporting applications and development opportunities to ensure that our world‑class education and research environment remains agile, stable, and positioned for sustainable growth.

This role offers an exceptional opportunity for a sophisticated finance professional to thrive within a complex, fast‑evolving landscape. You will navigate diverse funding streams, produce 5‑year financial forecasting models, manage a large team and maintain control over an active portfolio of high‑value research grants. This requires a blend of rigorous technical expertise and a consultative, relationship‑driven leadership style to lead and deliver the service required, whilst confidently communicating financial models to world‑class academics.

You will be well supported with these challenges, but will be expected to be comfortable self‑starting work, as well as delivering organisational priorities.

• Strategic Financial Modelling & Leadership:
  Design, translate, and execute robust 5‑year financial forecasts that translate academic vision into sustainable financial strategies, integrating closely with the University's overarching goals.
• Comprehensive Portfolio Control:
  Oversee application and award financial management and provide strategic guidance on costings for over 300 competitive grant applications annually, interacting with UK Research Councils, global charities, and industrial partners.
• Robust Operational Governance:
  Drive the department’s month‑end and year‑end ledger routines, accounts payable activity, purchase workflows, and ensure compliance with University Financial Regulations.
• Team Mentorship & Professional Development:
  Lead, inspire, and elevate a dedicated departmental finance team, optimising daily workflows and championing a culture of continuous operational improvement.

• An Expert Practitioner:
  Educated to degree level (or Level 7 vocational qualification), backed by a recognised Chartered Accountant qualification (ACCA/CIMA/ACA) or equivalent deep professional mastery.
• A Proven Leader:
  Substantial financial management experience, possessing a verified track record of navigating complex accounting systems (such as Oracle Financials/CUFS, Worktribe, Concur, or Cognos).
• Analytically Rigorous:
  Possessing an expert‑level understanding of complex financial environments, including relevant specific funding frameworks and educational/medical VAT regimes.
• An Influential Communicator:
  Exceptional interpersonal skills and a proven ability to distil dense financial realities into clear, compelling narratives for non‑financial academic stakeholders.

Positioned at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the Department of Clinical Neurosciences is leading medical discovery into neurosciences. Our mission is both profound and urgent: to improve the lives of people with neurological illness and injury through discovery, innovative treatments and training of the next generation.