Job vacancy: Band 8D Head of Finance - Barnet Site, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London

Job summary

Main area

Finance

Grade

Band 8d

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

391-RFL-6739619

Employer: Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Barnet Hospital
Town: London
Salary: £93,903 - £107,412 per annum inclusive of HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 06/02/2025 23:59

Band 8D Head of Finance - Barnet Site

Band 8d

Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.

Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.

Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

In the Barnet Hospital role, the post holder will have responsibility for supporting the Director of Financial Performance and wider executive team to help inform the strategic operational and financial development of the business unit; and ensure plans are in place and delivered to achieve the business unit strategy; underpinned by the delivery of short to medium-term objectives.

The post holder will be responsible for leading the business partnering team and be a critical interface between the group central finance and other functions, and the business unit finance team. They will be pivotal in fostering a culture of high performance and ensuring the delivery of the annual planning/budget setting cycle at the business unit level and ensuring strong Financial Control across the business unit.

The Trust is also operating in a financially challenged environment; therefore, the post holder will be a confident individual, that can influence and be the ‘critical friend’ with the wider business unit leaders to ensure strong grip and control and delivery of a very ambitious Financial Improvement Plan (FIP) target.

Person specification

Values

Essential criteria

Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Professional qualification in accountancy (CIMA, ACA, CIPFA, ACCA
Experience of working in a senior finance role, advising Executive Directors and other senior management
Expert knowledge gained through further post-qualification specialist training or experience. Evidence of maintaining and developing technical accounting expertise and of staying up to date with current accounting rules since qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of business partnering, supporting senior managers and/or directors in service developments
Experience of using complex financial models for assessing risk and informing decision-making
Experience in making or advising on complex decisions involving financial risk
Experience of leading on large business cases or developments and assisting internal customers in understanding the assumptions and risks inherent in those business cases
Experience of having worked with large, complicated sets of information, drawing inferences and developing strategy on the basis of the analysis
Experience of presenting complex financial information to non-finance managers and directors
An understanding of the Payment by Results financial regime
Understand the concepts underpinning the development of a strategy and some of the elements which can be arranged to gain competitive advantage
Leadership qualities and influencing skills: o Ability to understand complex situations o Ability to work in a professional and positive manner and meet challenging deadlines o Able to challenge effectively while maintaining relationships o Pro-active, Dynamic and flexible o Ability to work autonomously. Demonstrating initiative to work as an individual to meet deadlines.
Ability to operate as part of the leadership of the department, proactively identifying ways to improve and working with others in the department to initiate these changes
Strong analytical skills with the ability to solve highly complex financial problems
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
The ability to manage time, meet deadlines and prioritise delivering to tight deadlines and managing the demands of senior stakeholders simultaneously
Ability to make use of systems (initially Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word) to prepare and present accurate, clear information and to identify what can be produced from other financial systems
Strong organisational skills and ability to proritise
Flexible and able to manage workload to ensure delivery of both regular commitments and the support of Trust wide initiatives
The ability to provide advice and support from across all of the accounting disciplines is essential.
Able to influence others, and be able to present a coherent case in support of a desired strategic outcome or plan
Ability to challenge assumptions, and articulate alternative interpretations, scenarios and strategies
Must be able to set and negotiate priorities for themselves and others and subsequently programme workload to achieve results and meet deadlines. They should understand what motivates people to perform, and be able to gain the respect and support of other staff and managers
Ability and credibility to represent the Trust at off-site meetings
Requires standard keyboard skills

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

Strong sense of quality and customer focus.
Self motivated
Pro-active and positive
Resilient to cope with challenge and criticism
Prepared to lead on the operational issues of the department and to take responsibility for policy and service development for financial reporting for clinical and corporate departments.
Ability to inspire confidence when presenting
Team player, willing to ‘roll up sleeves’ where necessary
Positive ‘can do’ attitude.
Highly organised approach and ability to prioritise own work in order to meet strict deadlines and targets.
Embraces change.
Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work closely and effectively with staff at all levels within the organisation, including ability to persuade as well as be diplomatic
Excellent persuasion and negotiation skills are required to ensure delivery of balanced financial plans

Covid-19 Vaccination

Getting vaccinated, and getting a booster, remains the best defence against COVID-19.
We encourage and support staff to get COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose as and when they are eligible.
AT* - Apprenticeship Training. Where AT* is entered next to the job title indicates that this vacancy is for an apprenticeship role.
By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers. Therefore we require you to complete your stat and Man e-learning modules prior to joining our organisation.
If you are an EU/EEA citizen who does not have EU Settlement or Pre-Settled status, you will require a visa to work in the UK.
Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks your identity and right to work documentation will be verified remotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk
The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
The Trust will request a DBS (CRB) if post involves regulated activities. The Trust is compliant with the Disclosure and Barring Service Codes of practice and the Rehabilitation of offenders act.
By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.

Please note:

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification
Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
Interview arrangements will be communicated via email so please check your email regularly following the closing date.

Please be advised that due to exceptionally high demand, all Royal Free accommodation is at full capacity and waiting lists are being held. Average waiting times are 12 months. Please do not rely on Trust accommodation when you commence your role and ensure you investigate alternative accommodation for your arrival.