Data & Reporting Systems Lead - Finance Office - 106800 - Grade 8

Position Details

Finance Office

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Grade: 8

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to February 2027

Closing date: 21st December 2025

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Role Summary

The Core Systems Optimisation Team (CSOT) is responsible for delivering, maintaining, and continually enhancing the University's Core Systems, which underpin critical academic, administrative, and business operations. These systems are central to the University's strategy to enhance digital maturity, drive operational efficiency, strengthen data-driven decision-making, and support ambitious plans for income growth, cost control, and service excellence.

Reporting to the Deputy Head of CSOT, the Data & Reporting Systems Lead will act as the University's authoritative specialist for Oracle-based reporting, data integrity, user governance, and data security. The role holder will provide expert guidance across the institution, shaping best practice, influencing senior stakeholders, and leading strategic reporting and data management initiatives. They will operate with professional autonomy and will contribute to the long-term development of core data capabilities and University-wide reporting strategy.

This role is suited to an expert practitioner with hands-on experience of business intelligence reporting, ideally Oracle OTBI, BI Publisher (BIP), SQL, and with an advanced understanding of user access management, data governance, and security models in enterprise systems.

Main Duties

Reporting, Data Analysis & Technical Leadership

• Develop, maintain, and optimise complex Oracle OTBI and BI Publisher (BIP) reports to meet diverse business and operational needs, acting as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor for reporting users across the University.
• Lead the design, development, and deployment of data and reporting solutions that enhance insight, quality, and decision-making.
• Write, troubleshoot, and performance-tune advanced SQL queries to support reporting, analytics, and integrations.
• Act as the technical authority for Oracle reporting enhancements and cross-system integrations, providing expert recommendations to senior stakeholders and project teams.
• Lead University-wide Business Intelligence (BI) system implementation and enhancement projects, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.

Project Leadership & Strategic Contribution

• Lead data and reporting projects from initiation through to delivery, including scoping, requirements gathering, analysis, stakeholder engagement, testing, deployment, and evaluation.
• Provide expert input into the development of institutional data strategy, reporting frameworks, and governance processes.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to proactively identify opportunities for improved reporting and data-driven efficiencies.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation, user guides, and training materials to upskill colleagues and build internal capability.

Access Management, Security & Compliance

• Manage user roles, permissions, and access controls across Oracle systems and related platforms, ensuring compliance with internal policies, GDPR, and segregation-of-duties principles.
• Oversee data security practices, including monitoring, auditing, and implementing proactive controls.
• Support OCI environments where required, including configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Provide expert advice to senior staff on data governance and security implications of system changes, sector developments, or policy shifts.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance reporting processes, data flows, system governance, and user experience.
• Keep up to date with industry developments, best practice, and emerging tools/technologies, advising on their relevance and potential adoption.
• Contribute to University-wide policy development in areas relating to data management, reporting standards, and system governance.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Technical Expertise

• Proven experience with BI reporting, Oracle OTBI and BI Publisher.
• Strong proficiency in SQL for analysis, reporting, and integration.
• Experience managing data and user access, permissions, and data security.
• Proven ability to lead or coordinate complex data/reporting projects with institution-wide impact.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Able to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-specialists, senior management, and project groups.
• Builds strong, credible relationships across the University, influencing decisions and gathering balanced feedback.
• Provides high-quality customer service through strong interpersonal, listening, and communication skills.
• Able to advise, persuade, and coach stakeholders on reporting, data governance, and system best practice.

Problem Solving & Analytical Capability

• Able to diagnose, reproduce, and resolve complex and unfamiliar issues, using expert judgement and considering wider institutional impacts.
• Demonstrates innovative thinking, contributing to policy development and long-term system improvements.
• Provides authoritative advice on root causes and future prevention of systemic issues.

Organisational & Leadership Skills

• Able to plan and coordinate both individual and small-team activity to meet strategic objectives.
• Comfortable balancing long-term planning with short-term operational demands.
• Experienced in leading specialist project work and integrating contributions across multiple teams and departments.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) environments, including configuration, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring.
  Project management.

Informal enquiries to Vera de Oliveira Batista, email:

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .