SUPP111935

This role manages operational delivery across the University's busy Income and Payables teams and ensures efficiency and compliance of income collection, recording, debt management, and payment of suppliers. The team manages a high volume of incoming and outgoing payments across a range of payment channels, with peaks of activity at key times of the academic year. The Deputy Head of Transactional Services manages resources across the team to ensure adequate cover for these activities, collaborates with internal stakeholders to drive service quality, and identifies and delivers process improvements enabling resources to be re-focused on value-add activities.

What will you be doing?

You will be accountable for operational performance in line with key indicators agreed with the Head of Transactional Services. You will use workload planning tools and operational leadership meetings to plan activities and resources over the year, accounting for periods of peak demand, and ensure controls and month-end procedures are operating as designed.

Drawing on a broad knowledge of relevant accounting principles and the operational service areas, you will resolve complex escalated issues: considering University policies, regulatory landscape, and relevant risks, issues, controls and due diligence areas.

You will collate monthly performance information from across both service areas and collate detailed KPI dashboards, highlighting successes, risks, and issues and establishing appropriate action plans to address any adverse trends. Working with the operational managers, you will ensure the timely completion of these actions and track their impact on performance.

You will also identify, design, and drive the implementation of specific process improvements to reduce waste and inefficiency within operational processes, freeing up capacity and re-focusing resources on value-add activities.

You will line manage, coach, and develop four operational managers, and drive skills-sharing across the whole team and surface emerging development needs. You will also deputise for the Head of Transactional Services to cover leave or other absence, covering operational decision making and the management of issues and risks within the service area, managing the cascade of key information through the team, and representing the service areas at cross-University working groups.

You have a strong appreciation of the routines and methodologies within transactional services, the financial and strategic priorities of the University and HE sector generally, and relevant regulatory requirements. You are able to plan for the year ahead, anticipating the likely demands on resources from sector and institutional matters, and then adjust plans to accommodate business needs.

You are motivated by driving impactful and sustainable change for the benefit of the University, its students, and wider stakeholders; and have experience of leading successful continuous improvements alongside day-to-day operations, within a large and complex functional area. You are highly detail-oriented, with experience of designing and delivering improvements which are firmly grounded in the data, and willing and able to take bold yet considered action.

You have proven influencing skills and ability to work effectively with a wide range of customers, students, suppliers, and academic and professional services colleagues. You are a strong people manager, able to motivate others and effectively coach and support their development.