Research Monitoring and Claims Accountant

Finance

Research Monitoring and Claims Accountant

Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £48,760 to £58,664 per annum, with potential progression to £71,050 per annum

Location

Cranfield, Bedfordshire

Finance welcomes applications from experienced accountants who are committed to delivering excellent customer service and high-quality financial support, to join the Research Monitoring and Claims team. This is an exciting opportunity to support the University’s research, consultancy and large project portfolio, working with academic and professional service colleagues to ensure effective post-award financial management.

About the Role

The post holder will lead a small team responsible for post-award research, consultancy and large project accounting for parts of the University. This includes the production and review of invoices and claims, preparation for contract and funder audits, monitoring project progress, identifying variances and risks, and supporting the financial budgeting and forecasting of research, consultancy and large project income and expenditure.

A key part of the role will be managing, supporting and developing two team members, ensuring the team provides a professional, customer-focused and proactive service. The post holder will also contribute to continuous improvement across research monitoring, claims and project accounting, including ensuring accurate project set-up and effective use of finance systems and automated processes.

About You

You will be a CCAB qualified accountant with significant experience in a complex organisation, preferably Higher Education. You will have experience of monitoring financial performance against budgets, funding agreements or contracts, and will be confident in budget setting, forecasting and variance analysis. Experience of managing or supervising staff is also essential.

In return, the successful applicant will have excellent opportunities for career development in this key role, supporting world-leading research and education while joining a supportive team and collaborative working environment.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here.

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families. Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here.

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact James Allman,

Financial Controller on (E)

james.allman@cranfield.ac.uk

Apply online now. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on

E

peoplerecruitment@cranfield.ac.uk. Please quote reference number xxx.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 19 June 2026

Please note that we reserve the right to close this advert prior to the stated closing date should we receive sufficient numbers of applications. Therefore, we would encourage you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.