We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Operational Finance to provide senior financial leadership across the Trust and play a key role in shaping our financial performance and sustainability.
Working closely with the Director of Strategic Finance and Chief Financial Officer, you will lead the day‑to‑day delivery of operational finance, deputise at executive, Board and system level as required, and act as a trusted advisor to clinical and corporate leaders. You will oversee financial planning, budgeting, reporting, contracting and cost improvement, ensuring high‑quality financial insight supports decision‑making at every level.
This is a highly visible and influential role, offering the opportunity to lead a skilled finance team, work collaboratively across the NHS system, and contribute directly to the delivery of safe, sustainable and high‑quality patient services.
Main duties of the job
In conjunction with the Director of Strategic Finance, the purpose of the role is to
- Be responsible for day to day running of competent and busy Directorate across the entirety of its responsibilities.
- Deputise for the Chief Financial Officer in his/her absence as necessary within the Trust, including Board and Committee level, across the ICB, in the region or at National meetings
- Take a lead in supporting:
- The Finance, Infrastructure and Transformation Committe
- Trust Management Executive
- Recruit, manage and develop a team of staff who will provide a professional service to the Trust. This will involve managing professional and personal development needs.
- Provision of 'expert' financial leadership, guidance quality assurance and project management in support of the Trust wide planning and strategy.
- Lead the annual budget setting process, planning, organising and co‑ordinating the work of the Finance Department and staff across all Directorates of the Trust.
- Ensure that appropriate financial advice and support is provided to budget holders across the Trust - encompassing the design and delivery of training, the production of guidance materials and the degree and level of support provided by finance staff.
- Provision of expert financial advice and scrutiny in support of the production of business cases. This will include advising the Chief Financial Officer and the Trust Board in respect of resource allocation and risk management.
About us
Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:
- Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
- Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
- Improving the experience of staff with disability
- Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
- Making equalities mainstream
Job responsibilities
KEY RESULT AREAS
Strategic Responsibilities
- Jointly Lead on the policy and framework for the production of the Trusts strategic financial plans to ensure there is a sustainable financial base for the Trust. Ensure the strategy is formulated, understood by all stakeholders and is delivered utilising all available resources efficiently and effectively.
- Responsibility for ensuring the strategy is developed, delivered to time, to quality standards and in cost effective manner, adjusting plans and resources as required.
- Ensure appropriate systems and processes are in place to enable the implementation of the financial strategy plans in the Trust. Ensure that the planning processes and models are robust and that an appropriate structure exists for the participation of relevant managers and staff in the process. Develop and deliver guidance materials and training sessions for non finance staff so as to underpin the Trusts financial strategy.
- Assess and implement the impact on NHS policy changes on the delivery of the strategic financial and contracting plans.
- Develop financial plans from complex data that will not be complete and require interpretation and high level of analytical skills to translate into meaningful information.
- Lead the financial aspects of the NHS Long Term Plan for the IC, including the production and population of the Trusts Long Term Financial Model (LTFM).
- Forge positive internal and external working relationships, in order to support effective management approaches to achieve trust objectives.
- Provide financial leadership to the implementation of major change and transformation programmes to achieve desired benefits. The strategic financial implications of service transfers or redesigns and to manage the process of any funding transfers.
- Lead negotiations with external bodies, both NHS and non NHS, the strategic financial implications of service transfers or redesigns and to manage the process of funding transfers.
- Lead specific long‑term plans and projects to improve the quality and efficiency of services in line with Commissioners strategic intentions and Trust requirements.
- Develop and implement a strategic approach to the annual contracting round across the Trust.
- Ensure internal and external financial reporting is of a high standard with accurate and timely reporting of financial results.
Operational Responsibilities
- Lead a team of approximately 40 WTE with the support of the Associate Directors of Finance that report into the role. The role will provide strong leadership and maintain high levels of motivation and engagement.
- Plan the various reporting timetables in liaison with the Board and other Directorates.
- Lead on the production of timely financial information that meets the needs of the Trust Management Executive, Finance and Investment Committee and Trust Board. Ensure that reporting is incisive and identifies drivers and trends, plus remedial actions to respond to adverse trends. The use of a variety of presentational methods is expected and reporting information processes and outputs will be expected to be continuously improved.
- Lead on the production of a robust, bottom up forecast on a regular basis, which is owned by the Clinical Directorates, where finances triangulate with activity and workforce forecasts.
- Lead on the process of providing commentaries to financial plans and regular monitoring reports to Trust Management Executive, Finance, Infrastructure and Transformation Committee, Trust Board and Regulators.
- Ensure that appropriate financial advice and challenge is available to Divisional and Directorate leadership teams, and that high levels of internal customer satisfaction are maintained.
- Manage the annual planning process, ensuring the integration of strategic planning with business planning and coordination of business plans across all services and functions. Ensure that robust links are maintained between capacity planning, directorate plans and corporate objectives.
- Co‑ordinate the Trusts strategic financial planning, preparing details of service cost pressures, impact of inflationary changes to income and expenditure and evaluating strategic financial implications of any changes in commissioning arrangements.
- Lead the annual budget setting process ensuring Directorates are enabled to develop their own budgets within the Trusts financial strategy whilst producing an overall budget which assures delivery of the Trusts financial duties and targets.
- Ensure that the budgets are agreed and signed off by Clinical and Executive Directors, and that finance, workforce and activity information are aligned.
- Be a visible champion of cost improvement programmes throughout the organisation, helping and enabling Directorates to produce and deliver local savings whiles contributing to shape Trust wide savings initiatives.
- Work closely to support the PMO in producing clear and accurate reporting of budgeted, actual and forecast efficiency plans
- Provide accurate information to the Clinical Directorates where costs exceed or are inferior to income. To ensure year on year improvement in the accuracy of the Trusts costing information.
- Lead the production of the Trusts financial planning and performance reports including supporting the completion of all internal and external financial returns.
- Monitor and assist in the development of Trust Recovery Plans by assessing and validating the financial implications of any service redesign proposals.
- Provide senior leadership in relation to contracting and commissioning, working collaboratively with key partners and stakeholders. Manage the relationship with the host ICB investigating areas of concern and suggesting solutions.
- Lead the negotiation and management of contracts with ICB and other commissioning bodies to include all aspects of cost, activity, quality and performance standards. Represent the Trust at contact review meetings.
- Ensure negotiations are carried out within the timetable required by national and regional guidance.
- Work closely with Directors of the Trust to ensure there are contracts in place covering all works and services provided by the Trust. Ensure the contracts are properly accounted for.
- Ensure that the Trust has SLAs in place that accurately reflect agreements reached with Commissioners, and are consistent with DOH guidance, but are constructed in such a way as to maximise the financial opportunities for the Trust and at the same time minimise the financial risks.
- Key link between the income, contracting and clinical directorates and ensure they are kept informed of commissioner requirements throughout the contract negotiations.
- Facilitate directorate involvement in the contracts process to ensure clinical ownership of contract standards and targets. Ensure in particular that they have a sound knowledge of the structure of PbR and the relevance to their business proposals.
- Ensure that contracts are effectively monitored and reviewed with performance issues being identified and addressed and relevant issues of concern raised with commissioners (including activity, waiting list targets, variable income). Ensure that information is provided to clinical directorates to manage performance against contracts and work with clinical managers to respond to issues/queries from commissioners on contract performance.
- Ensure that contract values are recorded and invoiced monthly, and that performance adjustments are reported on a regular basis. Responsible for ensuring that Commissioners fund activity overperformance. Assess action required for late and non-payment and respond to Commissioners on these issues. Initiate action at an appropriate level.
- Responsible for the comprehensive briefing of the Chief Finance Officer, other members of the Board, Senior Management and commissioning leads as necessary on the financial and contractual status of the Trust in relation to commissioning agreements.
Governance
- Promote all matters of corporate governance (including development and improvement of arrangements) throughout the Trust.
- Ensure the Directorates policies, procedures and Trusts Standing Financial Instructions are strictly adhered to.
- Contribute to the development of systems, control processes and risk management that ensure full compliance with internal and external governance and best practice requirements relating to financial management, contracting, commissioning, financial projects and costing processes.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- MBA or masters level degree or equivalent based on several years senior financial management experience in a healthcare environment
- CCAB/ CIMA Qualified
- Evidence of continued professional development with a particular emphasis on healthcare commissioning or performance management
Experience
- Substantial experience at a senior level in managing a range of corporate services or disciplines within Acute Healthcare
- Significant staff and budgetary management
- Experience and expert knowledge of NHS contracting and commissioning systems in and NHS acute provider organisation
- Extensive experience of collecting complex data from a number of sources, forming opinions, identifying options, making recommendations and presenting to diverse audiences
- Solid experience of managing a programme of project work, including major organisational and/or service change
- Experience of representing and negotiating on behalf of a Trust
Knowledge
- In depth knowledge of the NHS Commissioning regime, including PbR
- Knowledge of clinical data systems
- Sufficient knowledge of medical procedures as to be credible when dealing with clinicians
- Able to analyse highly complex issues involving material drawn from various sources, sometimes conflicting
- Outstanding communication skills - verbal, written and via the use of high level presentation tools
- Adept at handling politically sensitive situations
- Able to translate departmental objectives into coherent work plans and objectives for self and staff
- Ability and knowledge to specify, at a high level, process improvements for further development by others
- Ability to manage own workload and make informed decisions and judgements on the basis of experience and such facts as are available, working tight and often changing deadlines
Personal Qualites
- Open and participative leadership style
- No problem with working under a lot of pressure
- Clear decision maker based on good consultaton
- Excellent planner
- Inspires staff through clarity of objectives, hard work and interest in their careers and personal development
- Able to manage conflict in an open manner
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Depending on experience £121,704 per annum incl. HCAS
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