ESTH Charity Financial Accountant

Job overview

The Trust’s mission is ‘to put the patient first and deliver great care to every patient, every day’.  Our priorities are to create a “one team, one trust” culture and focus on the delivery of the following five objectives to ensure we provide high quality, compassionate care to all of our patients:

• Delivering safe and effective care across our sites
• Creating a positive experience that meets the expectations of our patients, their families  and carers
• Providing responsive care that delivers the right treatment, in the right place at the right time
• Being financially sustainable
• Working in partnership with our patients, commissioners, other health and care providers, local authorities, the voluntary sector, the NHS TDA, NHS England and Monitor in the interests of our patients and a sustainable local health and social care economy.

Main duties of the job

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Financial Administration & Daily Operations

The post holder will manage the day‑to‑day financial administration for all Charity funds, ensuring high standards of accuracy and compliance.

• Maintain a clear and auditable trail for all financial transactions in line with Charity policy and audit requirements.
• Act as a Harlequin system super‑user, providing day‑to‑day support to colleagues, running routine system reports, and escalating system issues or development requests to senior finance staff and/or suppliers as required.
• Run regular system reports to ensure financial data is complete, accurate and up to date.
• Assist with banking, receipting, and routine treasury tasks as directed, ensuring accurate and timely posting.

Month‑End and Year‑End Responsibilities

Complete monthly reconciliations in line with the month‑end timetable.

• Prepare and post journals, complete fund balance checks and bank reconciliations.
• Prepare monthly Fund Holder reports and provide supporting information to help budget holders understand fund positions.
• Support the year‑end process, ensuring procedures are followed and deadlines met.
• Work closely with the Finance Manager – Financial Accounts to support the preparation of year‑end accounts and the annual report.
• Provide data, working papers and supporting financial information required for submissions to NHS England, ensuring accuracy, completeness and adherence to required deadlines.
• Contribute to the improvement of month‑end processes by identifying issues and implementing agreed changes under direction from senior finance staff.

Payments and Expenditure

Provide cover for the preparation of the fortnightly payment run, ensuring authorised invoices are processed accurately and on time.

• Investigate queries or discrepancies within the payments process and escalate where appropriate.
• Respond to routine expenditure queries, complete first‑stage compliance checks (documentation, coding, fund purpose, budget availability) and update tracking logs; escalate non‑routine or complex queries to senior colleagues.
• Ensure sufficient funds exist before expenditure is processed and that transactions align with the charitable purpose of relevant funds.

Fund Management and Stakeholder Support

Support the monitoring and reporting of charitable funds, including preparation of supporting schedules for fund holder budget meetings.

• Provide administrative support for legacy income, ensuring correct recording and tracking in line with legal and audit requirements.
• Support income reconciliation processes, including the transfer and coding of data between fundraising and finance systems.
• Provide financial data and reconciliations to support the Grants & Funds Engagement Manager with grant monitoring and reporting, escalating complex items where needed.

Financial Systems, Controls & Audit Compliance

Ensure compliance with Charity financial policies, audit guidance and internal control frameworks; seek guidance from senior staff when requirements are unclear.

• Maintain accurate and timely data within financial systems and support the development of improved financial processes and internal controls.
• Assist with audit‑related documentation and provide information as required to internal and external auditors.

Teamwork and Communication

Support effective communication between the Charity Finance team and wider Charity and Trust colleagues to ensure finance‑related queries are resolved promptly and accurately.

• Build and maintain cooperative and professional working relationships across the Charity and Trust.
• Provide administrative and financial support across the Charity where required.

Other Duties

Provide cross‑cover for colleagues within the Charity Finance team to maintain continuity of processes and service levels during staff absence or periods of peak workload.

• Complete all statutory and mandatory training within required timeframes.
• Develop and maintain a sound understanding of the Charity’s operating environment, charitable funds governance and NHS finance requirements.
• Undertake specialist training as required to meet the needs of the role.
• Undertake any other duties consistent with the responsibilities and grading of the post.
• Work flexibly, adapting to changes in workload and priorities as required.

• Work independently to manage and prioritise allocated tasks, seeking guidance where requirements are unclear