Project Accountant; Reporting and Compliance

Salary - £38,939 - £41,321

Location:

Any of our four sites:
Bangor (Wales), Edinburgh, Lancaster, Wallingford (Oxfordshire)
Hybrid working (50/50)
1-year Fixed Term Appointment
We reserve the right to close this advert early if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early.

A 1‑year fixed‑term opportunity has arisen for a Project Accountant to join our Finance team  this role, you’ll play a key part in post award monitoring and submission of final expenditure statements for our UKRI‑funded research projects – supporting vital work that addresses some of the biggest environmental challenges of our time.

Reporting to our Head of Project Accounting, you’ll take the lead on implementing finance project reviews with our project managers. This is a key role at the heart of UKCEH’s research funding ecosystem – one that ensures our world‑leading science is delivered with integrity, accountability and financial excellence.

As our lead for UKRI grant reporting, you’ll play a pivotal part in safeguarding the smooth running of our funded projects, enabling researchers to focus on tackling major environmental challenges. Working closely with project managers, project accountants and research funders, you’ll act as a trusted expert who guides colleagues through complex reporting requirements and drives continual improvement in our financial project management processes.

Your main responsibilities will include:

Lead and deliver UKRI grant reporting

• Act as UKCEH’s lead for UKRI grant reporting, ensuring accurate and timely submission of Financial Expenditure Statements (FES) via the Joint Funding Service portal.

• Co‑ordinate and schedule all UKRI reporting activity.

• Serve as the primary contact for audit documentation, managing queries from auditors and research council on UKRI grants.

• Provide backup cover for JES submissions and administration.

• Work collaboratively with the Project Reporting and Compliance Lead through weekly progress meetings.

Support wider funder reporting and audits

• Review cost statements for a range of external funders, such as UN and UNEP projects, ensuring clarity and compliance.

• Prepare funder reports where required e.g. UNESCO projects, and support the EU Reporting Lead as needed.

Lead on finance project reviews

• Schedule and deliver financial project reviews using existing tools, working closely with senior Project Accountants.

• Develop and embed a formal project review framework, including start‑up reviews, pre‑closure checks and risk‑based scheduling.

• Empower Project Support Officers to perform reviews by enabling a consistent, standardised approach to project reviews.

Drive continuous improvement

• Collaborate with Project Accountants to create clear, tailored reporting templates for a variety of funders.

• Support the rollout of key finance policies, such as subcontracting and project manager finance task notes, helping to strengthen best practice across UKCEH.

You’ll be joining a friendly, collaborative and values‑driven finance team, where your contributions genuinely matter. This role offers the chance to build strong relationships across the organisation, working closely with colleagues from diverse backgrounds, including project managers, scientists and operational teams. You’ll deepen your expertise, play a meaningful part in how we deliver our research programmes, and help ensure our pioneering environmental science continues to make a real‑world impact.

To thrive in this role, you’ll bring a truly collaborative approach: someone who supports colleagues, delegates effectively and works confidently as part of a team. You’ll be skilled at partnering with non‑finance colleagues, translating financial information clearly and building trust with academic scientists and project teams. Alongside this, your strong organisational skills and ability to manage your workload independently will enable you to plan, prioritise and deliver high‑quality work in a dynamic, purpose‑driven environment.

For the role of Project Accountant we’re looking for somebody who has:

• Accountancy training or qualification – trainee, part or fully qualified (we’ll also consider alternative professional qualifications…