Job summary
- Main area
- Corporate - Finance
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 180-F-255192-RE1
- Employer
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Addenbrookes Hospital-Division Corporate
- Town
- Cambridge
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 p.a. pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 24/09/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 06/10/2025
Employer heading
Senior Financial Accountant
Band 7
Job overview
You would be responsible for the oversight and maintenance of the Trust’s Chart of Accounts and reporting hierarchies. You will ensure the integrity of financial information through the development and oversight of procedures and controls.
You will respond to highly complex financial queries and liaise with senior members of the finance function and prepare key documents required for submission to NHSE.
You will also have responsibility for the development of new improvement projects within the department.
Main duties of the job
- Sole responsibility for maintaining the Trust’s chart of accounts to ensure the integrity and accurateness of reporting. Evaluating and implementing changes requested by budget holders and Finance Teams and liaising closely with the Finance Systems Team to ensure they are correctly linked to the reporting structure.
- Using specialist knowledge of accounting and automation; plan projects to improve, redesign and implement financial controls, processes and procedures in order to improve team performance and increase overall efficiency.
- Actively participate in department-wide working groups and represent the Financial Accounts Team in developing and delivering Finance-wide improvement projects. Liaising with senior members of the wider Finance team on department-wide improvement projects.
- Prepare and complete working papers and submissions for the national Agreement of Balances exercise to tight NHS deadlines.
- Investigate highly complex financial discrepancies between the Trust and other NHS organisations, discuss with external parties and senior members of the wider finance team to resolve queries.
- Responsible for the day-to-day operations and performance of the Financial Accounts Team, including assisting with recruitment, supporting continuous learning through regular training and general management (appraisals/discipline, holiday approval, etc.). Supervise and support junior team members as required.
Working for our organisation
Our Trust
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people - patients, staff and partners.
Recognised as providing 'outstanding' care to our patients and rated 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH's values - Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent - are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.
CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people's age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:
- applied for a Graduate visa
- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
- or the Trust has agreed that they will Sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start date of employment
For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.
The advert will close at midnight on 24 September 2025.
Interviews are due to be held on 6 October 2025.
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- CCAB qualified (professional qualification in accountancy-equivalent to a Master’s degree).
- Evidence of ongoing CPD compliance.
Desirable criteria
- ACA or ACCA qualification with post-qualification experience of at least 3 years.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience working in large organisation.
- Experience of operating and developing financial controls in a large and complex financial accounts setting.
- Broad experience and expertise in a range of accounting areas.
- Previous experience of staff supervision.
- Demonstrable experience of preparation and presentation of complex reports to senior staff.
Desirable criteria
- Experience working within NHS finance and of charity accounting.
- Experience within audit of one of the big audit firms, working within a large complex organisation.
- Experience in dealing with internal & external auditors.
- Experience working with Oracle.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent problem solving skills; able to analyse, interpret and reconcile highly complex financial data, observing trends in the data and investigating and resolving highly complex discrepancies.
- Excellent organisational skills, able to organise and plan own work in relation to the priorities of the team, with the ability to work under pressure to meet monthly and annual deadlines.
- The ability to communicate oral and written information to colleagues, senior management and non-financial staff in/outside the trust in a confident and professional manner.
- Able to plan projects which impact across the department and the organisation.
- Able to review/audit own work and complete complex review/audit of all balance sheet postings by various finance and payroll teams, to identify posting errors and explain errors to posting personnel in order to constantly improve the validity and accuracy of the financial statements.
- Able to identify, develop and implement changes to working practice or policies where efficiencies can be made or controls are inadequate for both financial accounting and other areas.
- Excellent inter-personal / communication skills, able to discuss complex financial queries and sensitive or contentious issues diplomatically both internally with staff (including senior management) and externally.
- Able to negotiate issues with external parties, including auditors. Able to advise on complex financial and or corporate issues with non-Finance mangers.
Desirable criteria
- Project management skills, or order to design and implement long term projects and solutions.
- Ability to suggest and demonstrate changes to own and departmental practice.
- Able to motivate, be a role model and develop a team.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Good working knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards.
- Superior PC skills including the use of Word, Outlook and Excel with a good working knowledge of VBA macros in order to design, format and manipulate financial spreadsheets and databases.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of SQL databases, Power BI.
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
- Highly numerate and good written language skills.
- Team player.
- Ability to prioritise work to ensure organisational requirements are met.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Cindy Leung
- Job title
- Deputy Financial Controller
- Email address
- [email protected]
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