Associate Director of Finance – Planning, Income and Contracts

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Associate Director of Finance – Planning, Income and Contracts to play a pivotal role in shaping the Trust’s financial sustainability and supporting the delivery of high‑quality patient services.

This senior role provides expert financial leadership across planning, income and contracting, working closely with clinical and corporate leaders as well as external partners. You will lead Trust‑wide commissioning and contracting activity, provide robust financial advice on business cases and strategic plans, and ensure high‑quality data supports performance management and decision‑making.

This is an influential opportunity for a senior finance professional who enjoys system working, leading complex negotiations, and contributing at executive and Board level in a dynamic NHS environment.

Main duties of the job

The purpose of the role is to

• Provision of ‘expert’ financial leadership, guidance quality assurance and project management in support of the Trust wide planning and strategy.
• Provision of expert financial advice and scrutiny in support of the production of business cases.
• Act as the strategic and operational lead in the Trust wide, commissioning and contracting processes.
• Be the main point of contact between the Trust and external stakeholders on matters relating to contracting and performance.  Maintain effective working relationships with other external NHS organisations to ensure that trust plans are understood and considered to be credible to those organisations.
• Principle point of contact between the contracting and Income and financial projects team and the clinical directorates.
• Represents the trust in sensitive and political situations, delivering difficult messages where required to high level audiences.
• Deputise for the Director of Finance in his/her absence as necessary within the Trust, including Board and Committee level, within the area or nationally.
• Ensure that high quality data is available to support contracting performance and management.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY RESULT AREAS

Strategic Responsibilities

• Lead on the policy and framework for the production of the Trust’s 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
• 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 Foundation Trust application, including the production and population of the Trust’s Long Term Financial Model (LTFM).
• Lead and develop the financial aspects of the Trust’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).
• Support the development of business cases from conception to authorisation and provide expert knowledge, challenge and rigour where appropriate.
• Forge positive internal and external working relationships, in order to support effective management approaches to achieve trust objectives.
• 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 that the Income, Contracts and planning departments are kept informed of other NHS organisations’ Commissioning Intentions and changes in activity and inform clinical directorates of Commissioner Service developments or changes.

Operational Responsibilities

• 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 production of the Trust’s financial planning and performance reports including supporting the completion of all internal and external financial returns.
• Manage the financial evaluation of tenders for contracted out services by undertaking comprehensive financial analysis of the contractual documentation and make appropriate recommendations.
• Provide senior leadership in relation to contracting and commissioning, working collaboratively with key partners and stakeholders.   Manage the relationship with the host CCG and Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) investigating areas of concern and suggesting solutions.
• Lead the negotiation and management of contracts with ICBs 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 planning 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 National payment mechanism 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 Director of Finance, 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 Directorate’s policies, procedures and Trust’s 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 contracting, commissioning, financial projects and costing processes.

Professional Leadership & Management Responsibilities

• Manage, motivate and develop staff within Financial Planning, Income and Contracting to ensure that they are able to undertake their roles and responsibilities effectively and deliver the responsibilities of the Trust.
• Plan and organise own work schedule and those in the teams to ensure activities are completed within agreed weekly, monthly and annual financial timescales.
• Lead on staff reorganisation and staff consultations as required within the Departments to deliver a service that aligns with the organisation’s strategic vision.
• Responsible for human resources management of these staff including, recruitment, development, addressing and resolving employee grievances and disciplinary issues where necessary in accordance with Trust policies and procedures.
• Ensure all accountable staff are aware of corporate priorities, targets, and standards, and that these are reflected in their individual priorities and methods of working.
• Ensure all accountable staff have up to date objectives and development plans and ensure that these are regularly monitored.
• Ensure that all accountable staff operate to expected standards, offering support, and other actions where necessary, to maintain standards.
• Promote multi-disciplinary team working by creating the environment and resources that enable teams to identify real issues and create innovate solutions to problems.
• To work as part of the Finance Directorate Management team, managing and motivating staff in the wider Directorate.
• Participate in the training of non-financial staff to ensure they are equipped with the appropriate financial skills and have an understanding of the financial and economic implications of management policy.  Ensure this training supports the Trust’s longer term aims and objectives.
• Develop and implement a culture of staff empowerment with a clear performance management framework.

Information Management

• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, including presenting information about service integration and dependencies involving a wide range of stakeholders in formal settings.
• The development and management of best practice and ‘fit for purpose’ financial and contract management information systems and processes in operation throughout the Trust.   Ensuring all postings to the financial systems are appropriately controlled and that the accounts accurately reflect the income received.
• Manage the archiving, storage and retrieval of financial information in line with statutory requirements and Trust policies.
• Responsible for the validation of financial and activity data within contract reporting systems, formulating strategy to manage Trust wide Commissioner data challenges and ensure these are managed accurately within agreed national and local timeframes.
• Responsible for the management and reporting of contracting and financial information to relevant internal and external stakeholders.  Ensure Trust monthly contract reports are issued to Commissioners in line with national and local timeframes and plan a system of comprehensive checks to ensure these reports are relevant, timely and accurate.
• Ensure appropriate project management systems are set up to support programme controls and reporting.
• Provide ongoing enhancements to current management information and reporting to enhance decision making.
• Research and evaluate proven contract management tools in use elsewhere and implement where appropriate.
• Develop an information environment where clinical divisions can identify opportunities for growth through analysis and interpretation of data e.g. service line reporting.