Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Role specific duties

Accountability
• Jointly responsible with the Deputy Chief Finance Officer - Performance for ensuring the integrity of the general ledger, giving assurance to the Chief Finance Officer that the financial information supplied is accurate and in accordance with professional accounting standards. Ensuring that the governance arrangements for finance are robust and sit clearly within the Trust overall governance
arrangements.
• Lead the development of Financial Services ensuring delivery of statutory financial duties including the submission of the annual consolidated accounts and take responsibility for ensuring that a robust control environment is in place and that corporate governance procedures are complied with.
• Overseeing the financial accounting framework, ensuring that the financial accounting team provides a full accounting service to the Trust, its charity and subsidiaries. This will require up to date relevant knowledge of accounting standards and NHS accounting practice including IFRS, Charity SORP, UK FRS102 PFI, VAT legislation and Managed Equipment Services (MES) accounting.
• Provide leadership with regards to the Trust’s processes that are in place to prepare and monitor the Cash, Financing, Capital and Working Capital Management elements of the organisation’s annual and longer-term plan.
• Management of Capital Reporting including reporting on the associated major capital projects through the Trust infrastructure of meetings.
• Leading the delivery of high standard of financial services to the Trust in terms of invoice payments, cashiering and treasury management.
• Providing overall leadership of the Financial Services and Capital teams so they are responsive and flexible to the Trusts needs with resilient staffing structures and cost-effective services. Ensuring they are a high performing team by encouraging autonomy, innovation, and best practice in everything they do.
• Direct accountability to the Chief Financial Officer for the successful delivery of the Trust’s strategic and operational financial objectives through the effective management and operation of internal financial controls, policies and processes.
• Ensuring the Trust’s financial position is reported accurately internally and externally, including meaningful analysis, evaluation and advice, suitable for non-financial stakeholders, to support robust decision making.
• Lead the preparation and submission of the Trust’s Annual Accounts through to completion and sign off by External Audit and the Trust Board.
• Acting as an ambassador for the Trust, ensuring that the needs and views of the Trust are fairly represented in external (including national) forums.
• Ensuring the Trust receives high quality financial services, including ensuring the maintenance of robust financial controls and systems, rigorous working capital, cash flow management and effective financial reports of historic and prospective financial performance information.
• Responsible for ensuring the Trust obtains best value for money from its financial systems and services and provides professional support to all financial services and control departments.
• Ensuring the Trust has sound financial management processes in place such that the Trust’s assets are safeguarded and it is able to achieve its income and expenditure targets, thereby supporting the Chief Financial Officer in the delivery of the Trust’s annual objectives.
• Developing and leading the Trust’s Finance Department Improvement Plan and its delivery across the department; actively seeking examples of best practice and alternative ways of working in order to drive change including taking advantage of further opportunities to digitise, automate and explore the application of AI to enhance processes.
• Acting as the strategic and operational lead in the Trust wide, commissioning and contracting processes.
• Overseeing the Group accounting structures, ensuring strong relationships with the wholly owned subsidiaries, ensuring robust financial monitoring and strong financial challenge. Ensure all planning and reporting timetables include the group members.
• The postholder will support the exploration and development of commercial opportunities and projects across the organisation, to drive diversification of our income streams outside core NHS funding approaches.
• Deputising for the Chief Financial Officer, as required.
• Undertake projects or tasks outside stated responsibilities on behalf of the Chief Finance Officer, as required. 

Communication and relationship
• The postholder will be visible and influential at director level within the Trust, with a strong customer focus and competent at achieving a balance of support and challenge.
• Provision of ‘expert’ financial leadership, guidance, quality assurance, triangulation of data and project management in support of Trust-wide day-to-day operations as well as planning and strategy.
• Managing the key risks and issues in delivering the plans and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to respond to issues as they arise, monitoring and establishing accountability for the progress and completion of plans within agreed timescales. 

Planning and organisational
• Responsible for the co-ordination and management of processes to ensure the translation of Trust strategies and annual objectives (including continuing improvements in safety, effectiveness, patient experience and efficiency) into strategic, robust and deliverable financial plans and annual budgets.
• Lead the annual budget setting (capital, cash and revenue) process, planning, organising and coordinating the work of the Finance department and staff across all areas of the Trust; ensure consistency with the overall financial strategy of the Trust and wider ICS.
• The postholder will continually develop, refine and strengthen the Trust’s approach to financial control and financial services, developing financial systems to meet the changing needs of the Trust.
• Managing the Trust’s working capital to maximum effect, including management of debtors, creditors and payments due from overseas visitors and private patient.
• Working with the Chief Finance Officer, take the lead in building a Financial Strategy for the Trust, linking in with other key strategies across the organisation. The strategy to be agreed and reviewed by the Finance and Performance Committee and Trust Board.

Responsibility for policy/service development
• The postholder will ensure the development and implementation of effective financial policies and procedures that minimise financial risk and maximise use of resources by empowering effective budgetary planning and management.
• The postholder will ensure the preparation of statutory year-end accounts, estimates, and reports as necessary for the Trust to carry out its statutory duties.
• The postholder will contribute effectively to the statutory responsibilities of an NHS Trust as set out in the Health and Social Care Act to ensure compliance with the financial management and governance of an NHS trust.

Management responsibility
• The postholder will provide leadership to the finance teams, ensuring performance is appropriately managed, and all staff have personal development plans, in order to ensure an efficient, effective and engaged workforce. Provide professional advice, training and support where appropriate to all staff. Promote and develop a culture of continuous improvement across the Finance team. Build a team of high performers through inspiring leadership, coaching and embedding the directorates standards and values.
• Provide strong, visible, and professional financial leadership across the Trust, fostering a culture which values continuing improvement in areas.
• Promote a culture and value set where staff feel empowered and accountable for service improvement at a local level.
• Ensure the provision and ongoing development of training courses for all non-finance managers in the Trust enabling them to carry out their duties as budget holders to raise financial awareness and appraisal to allow them to take responsibility and ownership of the finances in the organisation as well as adherence to standing financial instructions.
• Participate actively in external finance manager training and accreditation schemes.