2. Describe what the candidate will do (Main duties of the role)

As Finance Manager you will provide financial oversight for the procedures for disseminating and accounting for NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) funding within the Regional RDN (RRDN) for an annual budget of circa £20M. This role will work with the Host Organisation’s finance team and the RRDN Operations Director to ensure full accountability for RDN finance in the region. The Finance Manager will be involved in the management of the budget and will introduce, adapt and improve systems to assess applications for funding. The role will lead on the day-to-day coordination of budgets and produce forecasts and reporting of RDN expenditure as required by various stakeholders, including the RDN Coordinating Centre (RDNCC), RDN Board, and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The purpose of the role is to provide robust financial accountability, supported by the Finance Officer and Host Organisation finance team. Key responsibilities for this role include ensuring, at all times, that there is clear transparency of RDN usage and that there is a clear audit trail for the accountability of expenditure. The role will ensure that all processes will align to the Host Organisation’s Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs), and lead on developing and implementing a streamlined system for the receipt and payment of invoices from research Delivery Organisations (organisations delivering RDN portfolio research) across the RRDN region. The role will also be responsible for oversight of the processing of the Excess Treatment Costs (ETC) payments and ensuring that all payments are processed in-line with the Host Organisation requirements and within the contractual and sub-contractual arrangements for the RRDN.

The Finance Manager will support the Directors within the RRDN, in collaboration with the Data and Analytics team, to ensure that research Delivery Organisation plans and reports are in place in a timely fashion and that impact can be demonstrated through analysis of Value for Money. Outputs may correlate to the requirement for local financial modelling and forecasting across the RRDN.

This role will provide operational management of the Finance function, and line management of the RRDN Finance Officer. Line management of staff members will include undertaking staff reviews to identify training and development needs, and establishing how those needs will be met, and managing performance against agreed objectives.

Regular travel to local and regional offices required and some national travel.