Opportunities for existing members

Group Chairs/Other Roles 

Our working groups chairs and any other roles on the groups are undertaken by BUFDG members, and some of our members are BUFDG representatives on groups for other H E organisations too.  

At present we have the following vacancies: 

• Research Finance Chairs - We are seeking research finance professionals with knowledge and experience of the issues affecting the sector to act as chair and deputy chair (or co-chairs). Chairs will be appointed on a 2-year basis, with the option of a second term, and the time commitment is estimated to be between 10 and 15 hours per year dependent on the number of meetings held and the activities of the group. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, and how it can help you and your colleagues, you can find download more information here or contact Joni.
• Financial Reporting Group members - We are looking for enthusiastic financial accountants who would like to extend their knowledge of financial reporting in higher education by getting involved at a national level. The Financial Reporting Group is the custodian of the model accounts excel workbook and provides technical support to the FEHE SORP Board. There is an annual programme of work involving reviews of annual reports and accounts, the USS pensions modeller, changes to financial reporting standard FRS102 and any impact on the FEHE SORP and practice in higher education providers who use the SORP and reporting to other organisations such as UK national regulators and the USDE.  Involvement can range from drafting practice notes to taking part in the annual update seminar but if you prefer to work in an advisory role, we welcome colleagues who are prepared to read papers and offer opinions before, after and during meetings. Finance directors are particularly welcome at this group as financial reporting evolves alongside environmental, social and governance reporting. For more information or to express an interest, please contact Karel. There is also currently a vacancy for the FRG deputy-chair role.
• Learning and Development Group - We would welcome members who have a passion or keen interest in Learning and Development. By joining the group you will help shape the learning objectives for the group. Members should be aware of the training needs of their own HEP and have an awareness of the needs of the both the HE sector and wider finance sector. You might have a particular expertise in a specific area of finance, or a broader interest in HR or technology. If you would like to know more, please contact Rachel. 

Projects 

We often run projects where we need member input – either to understand what you are struggling with specifically in relation to the project subject matter, to share your experience of best practice in your H E P, or to review the outputs of the project. 

At present we do not need input into any specific projects.

E-learning testing 

All our e-learning is created with higher education in mind, so that it meets the specific needs of our members. This means we need member input into the courses. This usually takes the form of testing the draft courses, but can also include input into scoping the courses. 

At present we need input into the following e-learning courses: 

• Intro to H E Procurement (course rewrite/refresh) – this course was one of the first that we created and now needs a major overhaul. We are initially looking for ideas as to what the course should cover, so please contact Ashley if you have ideas as to what should be included in this course.
  

If you would like to suggest a topic for a new e-learning course - please contact Rachel. 

Share your story

Throughout the year there are many opportunities for members to share their journeys, challenges, and solutions with colleagues; through presentations at the Finance Festival or other conferences, or through Time to Talk webinars. These may be on your own or with your team, in conjunction with a colleague from another provider, or with a sector supporter / supplier of products / services. 

We'd love to hear your story, and we've created a form where you can submit your session idea(s). We'll look at these throughout the year, and let you know when and where we think your presentation would fit best, as well as being able to offer you support, provide a chair if required, or anything else you might need to get it off the ground. 

Click here to share your story and, if you have any queries about this process, drop Matt an email. 

If you’ve encountered an issue that you'd like to discuss with other H E Ps, or a solution that your H E P has found to a problem, we would love you to suggest these for regional/other group meeting agendas:

The regional Deputy FD meeting dates can be found here – if you have anything to present or suggest, please contact Rachel. 

The regional tax group meeting dates can be found here – if you have anything to present or suggest, please contact Andrea or your regional chair. 

The payroll and employment tax group meeting dates can be found here – if you have anything to present or suggest, please contact Julia. 

The HEPA turnover group meeting dates can be found here – if you have anything to present or suggest, please contact Ashley. 

We also hold meetings for our smaller H E P members (turnover <£100m) twice a year – an invitation to these is sent to CFO/FDs in membership bands 1-3. If you have anything to present or suggest for these meetings, please contact Amanda. 

And we have meetings for Larger H E P members too (turnover >£100m) twice a year - an invitation to these is sent to CFO/FDs in membership bands 4+. If you have a topic you could present or something you would like to hear about at these meetings, please contact Joni.

A research finance group also exists and you can find out more or suggest topics for meeting discussions or presentations by emailing Joni.