Senior Finance Manager

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Finance Team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as a Senior Finance Manager on a six-month fixed-term basis, supporting the Trust's Corporate Directorates.

The successful candidate will provide high-quality financial management and business partnering support across a broad range of corporate services, working closely with budget holders and senior managers to support effective financial planning, reporting, forecasting and financial performance management.

This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified accountant with strong business partnering and analytical skills to gain experience across a varied corporate portfolio within a large and complex NHS organisation.

The role offers exposure to a broad range of financial management activities, including financial planning, efficiency programmes, business cases and service improvement initiatives.

Main duties of the job

The aim of the role is to provide proactive financial management support of the highest possible standard to the Trust's Corporate Directorates, advising on all aspects of financial management. The post holder will play a key role in financial performance management, challenging, influencing and advising budget holders and senior managers to support value for money, financial sustainability and effective use of resources.

The post holder will support financial planning, reporting and forecasting across the Corporate Directorates, providing robust analysis and advice to support informed decision-making. Responsibilities include monthly financial reporting, budget setting, forecasting, performance monitoring, efficiency programme oversight and support for business cases and service improvement initiatives.

The successful candidate will hold a professional accountancy qualification (CCAB or equivalent), with relevant post-qualification or significant management accounting experience in a large, complex organisation. NHS experience is beneficial but not essential.

Business partnering is a key element of the role and candidates must demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present complex financial information, influence and support budget holders, and build effective working relationships. The role reports to the Finance Business Partner and is based primarily at the Trust's Chelsea site, with cross-site working as required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To hold regular meetings with budget holders to review their monthly financial position and discuss areas of over-spend and mitigations.

To ensure that budgets are accurate, maintained in the ledger and that a full audit trail exists for changes to budgets.

Closely working with the financial planning team, to develop improved systems and procedures for linking contract activity performance more explicitly with the division's financial position in order to achieve more accurate interpretation of variances from plan and to support financial planning.

To co-ordinate and present monthly and periodic performance management reports for the division, including variance explanation and forecasts, in order to highlight required management action, particularly in relation to financial risk.

To review transactions continuously within divisions to ensure compliance with delegated limits and approved processes ensuring that where breaches have occurred that appropriate disclosure is made and action taken to prevent recurrence.

To assist Finance Business Partners with identifying and validating cost improvement programmes (CIPs) and monitoring the CIPs on a monthly basis and work with the Project Management Office to ensure the CIP tracker is kept up to date and reconciled to the ledger.

To assist the Financial Planning Team with the preparation of annual financial budgets for divisions and clearly understand the planned activity these resources are intended to support; to maintain budgets to reflect accurately the division's activity, income and expenditure plans.

To ensure that all accounting adjustments are appropriately authorised and disclosed.

To take lead responsibility for training cost centre budget managers and ensuring all new staff in divisions receive training and access to reporting systems.

To liaise with clinical/corporate leads and managers to ensure that the divisional finance team delivers a service which meets the priorities and service requirements of the division.

To develop the training and knowledge of managers throughout the division on the Trust's Standing Financial Instructions and core financial and budgetary procedures.

To support the Finance Business Partner to develop, update, and provide analysis/justification on the Division's underlying financial position, identifying risks, non-recurrent benefits/charges, full year effects, and other adjustments.

To ensure effective communication throughout the division on the relevant and key issues for finance and contracting.

To deputise for the Finance Business Partner as and when required.

To represent the Divisional Management Team and Finance Business Partner in internal and external meetings as and when required.

Management of a Finance Manager, to ensure that the staff within the team are supported in developing professional skills, training and development.

To resolve employee grievances and disciplinary issues as appropriate.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.