Finance & Operations

Director, Paul Fox

A list of activities carried out by each of the following business areas within Finance & Operations can be seen below:

Corporate Finance

Plan, performance manage and report finance information across NERC to satisfy direction and guidance set by NERC Council and Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) requirements.
Delivery of cross-governmental and BIS programmes including Clear Line of Sight, Harmonised Chart of Accounts, SSC Stabilisation and Partner Organisation integration, and BIS Commercial Strategy including Finance for the Future.

Work in partnership with all NERC corporate directorates to deliver improved decision making.
Plan, performance manage and report resource usage across Head Office portfolio to satisfy direction and guidance set by NERC Council and BIS requirements.
Act as intelligent customer of SSC on behalf of NERC's entire finance function, working closely with NERC's research centres to ensure process harmonisation and integration with SSC services delivers the collaborative benefits NERC needs.

Carry out or oversee all strategic activities relating to the NERC Estate, including strategic planning, project management, general estate management, energy efficiency and responsibility for monitoring the overall performance of the Estate together with the setting of standards.
Work collaboratively with the other Research Council UK (RCUK) Heads of Estate and SSC to ensure continued FM savings whilst maintaining adequate standards of quality.
Deliver cross-governmental and BIS programmes including flexible working and BIS Commercial Strategy.

Services, such as library services, corporate hardware/software licensing, information security, helpdesks, records management, SSC/supplier technical management.
Infrastructure such as all NERC's Wide Area Networks (WANs), science databases, BlackBerry/iPad/iPhone, sign on services, remote access, infrastructure, antivirus/security, firewalls, Unix/Linux expert support.
Science output systems like NERC Open Research Archive and Research Outputs, applications such as email, iShare, NERC websites, RMS, ERMS, GIS software, SSC interfaces.
Policy, change and project management including science information/data, information assurance, NERC/RCUK/BIS technology leadership.
Expert advice, projects and services in areas like grants data management, UK informatics, technology, freedom of information.

Providing local HR services for all SO-managed staff; ie deployment of staff, recruitment, reward, development, contractual issues, departures, liaising with the Shared Services Centre (SSC).
ISO 14001 standard for environmental management held at all NERC managed centres.
Providing all site-related infrastructure services; ie directly provide or contract manage for SO outsourced provision of facilities management, printing, IT and telephony, health & safety, records management, etc.
Managing the central admin team, which provides admin support functions (meeting organisation, travel arrangements, diary management, Board support, paper distribution, etc) for Swindon Head Office.
Operational management and leadership of Swindon Head Office.

Ensuring requisite levels of safety are maintained within NERC.
Co-ordinating, developing and exchanging advice, knowledge, expertise and capability on safety across NERC and helping ensure competence on safety is retained within NERC.
Minimising and managing risk to our work and reputation, including achievement of organisational objectives, providing business continuity and reducing loss/fraud.
Overseeing the provision of appropriate levels of security within NERC whilst achieving value for money.
Achieving levels of environmental protection, management and sustainability within NERC that are commensurate with our standing and reputation in the environmental field.

Act as the intelligent customer to second-order professional advice from legal services.
Work collaboratively with NERC research centre staff who perform a contracting function, and with other research councils, in each case ensuring best practice is followed.
Seek effective and efficient ways to collaborate with internal and external partners, including sharing expertise and effort with other research councils, to protect and exploit the long-term impact of NERC intellectual property and offer legal guidance that balances the multitude of risk factors that NERC faces as a legal entity.
Provide company secretarial support to NERC's company interests.