Finance and Business Support Coordinator

We are looking for an organised, proactive and finance-confident person to join our Finance and Operations team.

Closing date for applications is August 31, 2026.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a varied role at the heart of eLife’s day-to-day operations. You will help keep our essential finance processes running accurately and on time, while providing the practical coordination, information and administrative support that enables colleagues across eLife to do their best work.

Experience and attributes

You will bring practical finance experience, sound judgement and a proactive, collaborative approach. You will be comfortable organising varied work, following up information tactfully and taking ownership of routine processes through to completion.

The ideal candidate will have:

  • Hands-on purchase and sales ledger experience, including invoice processing, payment allocation and routine reconciliations.
  • Experience using accounting software such as Xero, Sage, QuickBooks or a comparable system.
  • Good numeracy and Excel skills, with strong attention to detail and an understanding of routine financial controls.
  • Strong organisational skills and the ability to balance recurring deadlines with changing priorities.
  • Clear communication skills and the confidence to resolve routine queries and escalate issues appropriately.
  • The ability to work accurately and independently while building effective relationships across the organisation.

It would be helpful if you also have experience of month-end processes, Xero, Stripe, HubSpot or GDPR administration, or hold or are studying towards an AAT or equivalent qualification.

Specific responsibilities

  • Manage eLife’s purchase and sales ledgers, including invoices, approvals, payments, supplier queries and accurate supporting records.
  • Monitor outstanding author payments, send professional email reminders and keep payment records up to date.
  • Process staff expenses and company credit-card transactions, and manage routine finance and fee queries.
  • Support reconciliations and month-end, quarter-end and year-end processes, maintaining accurate and audit-ready records.
  • Coordinate meetings, papers, minutes, actions, staff travel and other practical business support.
  • Maintain organisational trackers, shared documentation and process notes, following up inputs and deadlines where needed.
  • Coordinate routine GDPR administration, including records, straightforward data-subject requests and retention actions, escalating potential breaches or complex matters.
  • Support risk, audit and compliance administration and contribute practical improvements to recurring processes.

Terms and conditions

The post is a permanent position, 37.5 hours per week, and offers a competitive basic salary of £32,000-£35,000 per annum (depending on experience) and excellent benefits. The role is offered on a remote basis, but will require occasional visits to our central Cambridge office.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate the right to live and work in the UK to be considered for the vacancy.

What we offer

  • Work-Life Balance: Flexible working hours, remote working.
  • Time Off: 25 days of annual leave, plus all UK public bank holidays.
  • Financial Security: Company pension scheme and Life Assurance (4x basic salary).
  • Family Support: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay.
  • Professional Growth: Dedicated investment in your personal and career development. The opportunity to develop broader finance, business-support and compliance experience.
  • Culture: A warm, inclusive team environment with regular social events.
  • A varied role in which you can take ownership, improve processes and build relationships across the organisation.
  • The opportunity to contribute to a non-profit organisation working to create a fairer and more effective global research ecosystem.

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV, referencing ID FBS/2026-08 to hr@elifesciences.org with a supporting statement explaining:

  • Your relevant purchase and sales ledger experience.
  • The accounting systems you have used.
  • An example of how you have organised, improved or taken ownership of a recurring process.
  • Why this combination of finance and business support interests you.
  • The reason why you would like to work for eLife.

Closing Date: Monday, 31st August at 5:00 PM (GMT).

Interviews: Held the week commencing 14th September via Google Meet/Zoom.

eLife is committed to building an inclusive team that reflects a diversity of perspectives. We particularly welcome applications from women, non-binary individuals, disabled candidates, and Black, Asian, and minority ethnic professionals, who are currently underrepresented across technology and scholarly publishing.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know.