Wessex Secure Date Environment Finance Manager

Job overview

University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for the detailed job description of the role.

Main duties of the job

This is a fantastic opportunity to influence decision‑making, shape project delivery, and contribute to strategic outcomes in a dynamic and evolving environment. You will work alongside highly engaged colleagues who value collaboration, quality, and innovation.

We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated Finance Manager to join our team and play a key role in supporting the delivery of complex projects across our portfolio. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced finance professional who thrives in a fast‑paced environment, can balance competing priorities, and enjoys collaborating with senior colleagues and operational teams.

This post forms part of a collaborative team to support the delivery of the Wessex Secure Data Environment (SDE programme - a national programme to increase the safe use of clinical data for research) and Southampton Emerging Therapies and Technologies (SETT) Centre to scale data research across the region.

In this role, you will provide high‑quality financial leadership across a range of projects, including the development of robust and reliable costing models, insightful analysis, and clear financial guidance to support decision-making. You will work closely with operational, technical and project teams, ensuring strong stakeholder engagement, accurate financial planning, and full compliance with governance and approval processes.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

UHS has a strategic partnership with the University of Southampton, and the Wessex SDE is run in partnership with UoS, providing safe data access across Wessex.

About You

• Lead the development of accurate, transparent, and fit‑for‑purpose costing models for new and existing projects. • Provide clear financial insight, challenge, and guidance to senior leaders and project teams. • Build strong working relationships across operational, technical and project functions to ensure financial inputs, assumptions, and risks are well understood and agreed. • Support effective stakeholder engagement, ensuring alignment of scope, expectations, and delivery timelines. • Maintain high‑quality financial reporting, including forecasts, variance analysis, and scenario modelling. • Ensure all financial processes comply with organisational policies, financial controls, and governance requirements. • Prepare financial papers for approval routes and contribute to business cases and investment submissions. • Support continuous improvement of financial processes, templates, and decision‑support tools. • Provide leadership, coaching, and guidance within the finance team where required.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain financial information clearly to non‑finance colleagues. • Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build trusted relationships across diverse teams. • Proven experience working in a large, complex organisation, ideally with project‑based or R&D‑related activities. • A proactive and organised approach, able to work effectively to tight deadlines and manage conflicting priorities. • Strong analytical capability, including the ability to develop accurate costing models and undertake scenario analysis. • Confident understanding of financial governance and approval routes. • A collaborative mindset with a focus on problem‑solving and adding value. • Professional accountancy qualification, CCAB.