The Role and the Department
Research and Innovation Services (RIS) provides guidance, expert advice and hands-on support for all aspects of research and research-related work, including securing funding, working with partners, undertaking knowledge exchange, demonstrating impact, commercialising outputs, ensuring good research practice and supporting professional development.
We are seeking a Post Award Finance and Project Officer to join our Post Award Team within Research Operations. This role provides an exciting opportunity to oversee a portfolio of externally funded projects, with a particular emphasis on non-research awards. These include complex, coordinator-led regional initiatives, KTPs, and a variety of Knowledge Exchange awards that are essential to Durham's objectives.
You will deliver comprehensive post-award financial and administrative support, ensuring that project leaders and researchers receive timely, expert advice. Your responsibilities will span the full grant lifecycle, from award acceptance and project setup, through financial monitoring and budget management, to final claims, reconciliation, project closure, and preparation for both internal and external audits.
Stakeholder engagement is at the core of this role. You will act as the primary point of contact for internal and external partners, facilitating clear communication and effective coordination across departments and funding bodies. You will also regularly review project budgets, income, and expenditure to maintain accuracy and to identify and address any significant variances such as under- or overspending, ineligible costs, or issues with overhead recovery.
The postholder has the following key responsibilities:
- Manage the post-award financial administration of non-research grants, ensuring accurate and timely closure.
- Prepare and submit financial claims, invoices, and statements in line with funder and institutional deadlines.
- Monitor budgets, income, and expenditure, identifying and resolving variances, and providing financial forecasts to project leads.
- Reconcile project accounts, process final expenditure and exchange rate journals, and ensure accurate allocation of income.
- Ensure compliance with funder terms and conditions, advising stakeholders on eligible expenditure and removing ineligible costs.
- Coordinate staff approvals with HR, ensuring alignment with project budgets and funder requirements.
- Calculate and transfer fEC overheads/indirect costs in accordance with approved budgets.
- Liaise with internal teams (Finance, HR, Departments) and external stakeholders (funders, HEIs, partners) to resolve queries.
- Maintain accurate, auditable records and ensure financial systems reflect final approved expenditure.
Working pattern: Monday - Friday. Hybrid 2 days in the office. You can work additional days in the office if you choose.
The base location for this role is Boldon House, our exciting new professional services hub. Boldon House is situated on the outskirts of Durham near the Arnison Centre in Pity Me. Boldon House brings a number of professional services teams together in a vibrant office environment which supports collaborative working and is designed to embrace hybrid working. To find out more, visit the project webpage: Boldon House - Durham University.
