Head of Finance

Job overview

Join our dynamic Finance Department making a real impact in specialist healthcare services. We are excited to announce an exceptional leadership opportunity for experienced finance professionals to help shape and support our Care Groups.

As a Head of Finance, you will play a pivotal role in delivering strategic financial support to services that touch lives daily. This is a key leadership position where you’ll work closely with operational leaders supporting secure and complex care pathways to ensure financial sustainability, drive service innovation, and promote best value for service users and the wider community.

You will be forward thinking and looking to add value to the clinical services you will support. You will oversee key areas across the Care Group including financial management, financial performance, planning, and monthly reporting. You'll lead and inspire a management accounts team in a fast-paced, ambitious environment that fosters excellence and continuous improvement. You will bring strong analytical skills and a collaborative approach. As a senior leader across the wider department, you will also play an important role in driving forward the Trust's strategic and operational financial goals.

Main duties of the job

• Support clinical and operational leaders in decision-making.
• Oversight of budgeting, forecasting, and Care Group cost improvement programmes.
• Business partner with Care Group Directors or Executive Directors on the financial direction of Care Group services.
• Provide financial input and support to contract negotiations and their performance.
• Ensure comprehensive business advice and information is provided to budget holders and managers within the Care Group.
• Advise and inform the Head of Financial Management of the current and prospective financial position of the Care Group.
• Ensure Care Group compliance, governance, and value for money.
• Lead a team of finance professionals with a focus on continuous improvement.

Ready to make a difference? Apply today to become a key leader at Nottinghamshire Healthcare in a forward-thinking Finance Department dedicated to improving lives across the Community, Mental Health and Forensic services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To ensure the preparation of accurate and timely financial reports for Care Group/Corporate Group. To produce monthly summary data on actuals/forecast with appropriate narrative for inclusion in the Trust Board reports. To review, interpret and present accounts and reports, ensuring that work meets best practice standards and is used appropriately to support proposals and recommendations for decision-making.

Provide guidance and support to budget holders to enable effective budgetary control. Identify and discuss with managers and clinicians areas where savings and efficiencies can be made to enable more effective use of the Trusts resources. Analyse detailed and complex financial statements and forecasts and create reports and presentations that make them readily understandable to non-financial managers.

Manage the financial plan setting and cost improvement identification process within the Care Group/Corporate areas in accordance with Executive Leadership Team agreed timetables. To be solely responsible for agreeing virements to enable the production of a balanced budget.

Work alongside the Deputy Director of Finance in the production of the Trusts annual financial plans, by providing summaries of relevant financial information.

Responsible for the Care Group/Corporate area financial forecast.

Indirectly contribute to the completion of annual accounts.

Staff and Leadership

Direct, lead and motivate the Care Group/Corporate finance team. Recruit and train new members of staff where appropriate including team induction. Appraise directly line managed staff through the PAD process to identify their training and development needs, and performance manage the team in order to maximise their potential and the contribution they make to the organisation. To oversee sickness and absence management of the finance team.

Responsible for ensuring all budget holders in the designated directorates fully understand the financial information presented to them, identifying and implementing any training needs as necessary.

Contribute to development and delivery of Trust wide training to non-financial staff as required

Demonstrate continuing professional development, through development of knowledge, skills and keeping up to date with professional practice.

Work with external Stakeholders

Represent the Trust providing support to develop system plans with colleagues across the ICS.

Business Partnering

Support the relevant managers across Care Group/Corporate to fulfil their statutory duties including the proprietary responsibility and stewardship of public funds. Support the Trust in achieving its planned financial outturn.

Contribute to current departmental issues which may change over time

Ability to present complex financial reports to groups of senior managers and Executive Directors

Service & Policy Development

Lead on ensuring the development of the Trust costing strategy incorporating the NHS England costing roadmap and ensuring our patient level costing system is adequate to provide requirements of the roadmap

Manage the production of costing information in the Trust including the implementation and development of costing systems that will support the production of statutory reference costs and specialty cost returns, and service line reporting.

Utilise financial expertise and in depth specialist knowledge of business, legislative and NHS environment to assist General Managers in developing proposals and production of Care Group/Corporate plans in line with the Trust Strategy.

Direct the implementation and monitoring of compliance with Trust financial policy within Care Group/Corporate areas, so ensuring that best practice is disseminated and Directorate policy is consistent with Trust strategy. To interpret the impact of Organisational Policy as it affects individual Care Units/Corporate areas and prepare them for such impact. Ensure as far as possible budget holders adhere to Trust financial policy.

Efficiency Programme

Finance lead supporting the overall Trust efficiency programme. Assistance across the organization with development and monitoring of cost improvement plans for services, providing financial support and challenges where appropriate.

Training

Lead on finance staff development needs and ensure all finance staff receive mandatory training in a timely manner. Lead on the Finance training offer working with Learning & Development.

Finance Skills Development for the Trust, contributing to decisions on appropriate courses set by FSD, and ensure information on courses is made available to relevant staff.

General

Authorised signatory in line with Scheme of delegation.

Responsible for ensuring Health and Safety policies are implemented and adhered to within Care Group/Corporate finance team.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.