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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Lead the Trust’s annual financial cycle including leading the budget-setting process, the forward 5-year financial plan, capital, cash and balance sheet planning and the annual closedown of
• Lead the development of a finance model, which will enable sensitivity analysis and support the formulation of long-term financial planning.
• Responsible for the design and implementation of financial systems which are fit for purpose in ensuring appropriate control and monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure both internal and external reporting timescales can be achieved and that a high-quality service is provided to the
• Manage the Trust’s cash requirements to ensure that adequate facilities are secured to meet financial obligations, and that this is supported by robust cash projections.
• Lead the provision of financial input and advice regarding service reconfigurations and major business cases, including challenging and verifying financial assumptions being made by other organisations to ensure that robust plans are made that maximise value for money.
• Lead, from a corporate perspective, the business planning activities of the Trust and oversee the development of Service Line Reporting / PLICS across the Trust.
• Analyse and review the Trust’s cost base, using benchmarking and other tools and pro-actively seeking cost reduction opportunities.
• Independently interpret complex NHS guidance and standards and ensure that the Trust’s financial goals and policies are set to achieve the requirements.
• Support the Trust in developing and delivering an organisational transformational change programme that provides safe clinical services in the context of financial Advising on the setting of CIP targets for clinical business units as part of the financial planning process, ensuring that there is a robust system for monitoring and reporting CIP delivery.
• Encourage a culture within the finance departments and within Division management teams that seeks and finds solutions to financial problems and maximises financial
• Lead on the development of the Trust’s Finance Strategy, seeking opportunities to ensure value for money and make best use of resources.
• Produce monthly financial performance reports for the Director of Finance, Board of Directors, Finance Committee, Audit Committee, NHSEI and others as required. Ensuring highly complex information is accurate, timely and clear and is appropriate for their recipients in terms of content, detail, and mode of presentation by identifying and using the most appropriate information systems.
• Review and update year end projections, taking account of year-to-date performance, underlying trends and corrective actions and ensure I&E and balance sheet/cash/capital projections are consistent.
• Advise the Board of Directors of financial investments in terms of both revenue and capital developments, challenging assumptions made by project leads to ensure all financial aspects of the business case have been fully thought through.
• Ability to successfully articulate and understand highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in scenarios which may be hostile or highly emotive.
• Development and implementation of a range of financial policies and strategy for the
• Deputise for Director of Finance at all levels as required, chairing meetings where appropriate and assuming full responsibility when required to undertake the ‘Acting Director of Finance’ role.

EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

• Lead on the development and negotiation of contracts and SLAs with commissioners and partners, ensuring the Trust maximises all income opportunities and receives all amounts due under agreed tariff and contract agreements and that systems are in place to collect all income due to the
• Challenge and influence commissioners’ decision making in terms of financial investment in trust services.
• Oversee the production of contract monitoring reports for commissioners and the associated billing process.
• Monitor variations against planned activity and
• Develop and embed a full understanding of national guidance and complex tariff rules across Divisions. Informing both the Board of Directors and senior management of changes in the rules/guidance and their implications for the Trust and influencing stakeholders to achieve common
• Influence national policy on pricing and costing of specialised services by being a part of national consultations.
• Participate in and influence the development of local health economy plans in collaboration with local trusts, CCGs and NHS England.

 FINANCIAL CONTROL & GOVERNANCE

• Ensure adequate governance procedures are in place and kept up to date for the organisation, including SFI’s and a detailed Scheme of Delegation, supported by appropriate financial policies and procedures which are efficient, effective and minimise losses to the Trust.
• Ensure a sound system of internal control is in operation which fully meets Trust and audit requirements and those of the regulator.
• Ensure compliance with Charity Commission guidelines and legislation as regards the use and accounting for charitable funds.
• Ensure that the Risk Register and Board Assurance Framework covers all appropriate financial issues and actions to address gaps in assurance or control or identified, tracked, and completed.
• Assume budget holder responsibility for a number of corporate budgets/areas.
• Authorised signatory for all purchase requisitions, recruitment request forms, overtime requests, agency / bank staffing requirements related to Management Accounts.
• Authorised signatory for all bank payments.

 ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT

• Ensure compliance with all relevant accounting standards, guidance and manuals and provide appropriate advice to the Director of Finance and others on accounting issues.
• Ensure the Trust’s Annual Accounts, Charitable Fund Accounts and financial aspects of the Annual Report are produced to a high quality, in accordance with appropriate guidance and legislation and submitted to time.
• Ensure that all internal audit and counter fraud recommendations are implemented across all areas of the Trust and reported to appropriate committees, and that all incidents are appropriately referred to counter fraud and internal audit.
• Develop the Trusts annual audit plans in conjunction with counter fraud and the internal and external auditors, managing these relationships on a day-to-day basis.

 STAFF MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

• Plan, allocate and direct the activities of the finance and business partnering departments in order to achieve deadlines, agreed work plans and service standards.
• Review the services provided by departments within remit to ensure that they meet the priority needs of the Trust and continually seek to improve the efficiency with which the services are provided, maximising the focus on services that add most value for the Trust.
• Line management of the senior finance and procurement teams on a daily basis and to provide them with leadership, direction and motivation through objective setting, regular performance reviews, training and development.
• Provide leadership for Finance Skills Development (FSD) both internally at the Trust and externally, ensuring that the teams are operating to an optimum standard.

 POLICY DEVELOPMENT

• The post holder will be responsible for the implementation and interpretation of changes in accounting guidelines and policy and new Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England/ Improvement guidance that impacts on the whole of the Trust.
• Support the Director, by developing strategies for the management of financial risk and ensuring that financial governance is embedded and integrated as part of the wider assurance framework of the Trust.

 INFORMATION REOURCES

• Ensure all correspondence is appropriately dealt with and comprehensive files are maintained and regularly updated to comply with Trust and departmental standards and good practice.
• Continually develop, introduce and improve systems to assist financial management, monitoring and reporting for the Trust.
• Ensure the integrity and maintenance for financial systems where
• Provide financial training to Trust managers to ensure financial management of the Trust’s resources is managed in an effective way.

 OTHER DUTIES

• Provide support and advice to all those with budgetary responsibility and ensure that all budget managers receive appropriate training and development to facilitate the best possible standards of patient care within available resources.
• Play a lead role across the Trust’s senior management team to provide corporate support to the Executive Team.
• Deputise for the Director of Finance in their absence, including attendance at Board of Directors meetings and other external and internal meeting where appropriate.
• Liaise with external partners and stakeholders where including NHSEI, and CCGs.
• Ensure appropriate senior finance cover for the organisation.
• Any other duties as appropriate as may be
• The post holder may be required to undertake duties not specified in the job description, but which are commensurate with the role and/or band as required by service need.
• The post holder may be required to work in different locations and may be required to work flexible hours as required by service need.

As a registered member of an accountancy body, the post holder is required to maintain registration throughout the contract of employment.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive but reflects the main responsibilities of the post holder. Other duties may be required from time to time, which are commensurate with the grade of the post. This job description is subject to regular review and appropriate modification.