Head of Income and Commissioning

Job description

Job responsibilities

Role Duties & Responsibilities

1. Analytical & Judgemental skills

The role demands highly developed analytical and judgemental skills to interpret complex financial, activity and income data, identify the true drivers of variance, and provide authoritative advice that shapes organisational performance and contract positions.

The postholder must routinely assess conflicting information from SUS, SLAM/Belvan, BI reports and provider submissions, applying professional judgement to distinguish between genuine activity shifts, operational pressures, data quality issues, and codingrelated income movements.

2. Planning & Organisational Skills

The role requires highly developed planning and organisational skills to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously, often to tight and immovable deadlines that directly impact trust wide reporting, income recovery, and regulatory submissions.

3. Income Monitoring, Forecasting and Planning

Manage monthend closedown routines, ensuring the financial ledger and contract monitoring reports reconcile with all relevant data interfaces.

Lead and develop strategic information and incomereporting processes for the Finance Department and the Trust, ensuring efficient and accurate monthly contract monitoring.

Use trend analysis to model income forecasts for the Trust and Commissioners, assessing associated risks.

Interpret and implement all aspects of the National Tariff Payment System (NTPS), quantifying the impact of changes on the Trusts income base.

Lead the provision of detailed financial support for the annual contracting process.

Support the Trusts business and financial planning processes, including contributions to budget setting.

Provide expert advice to senior finance and nonfinance managers and clinicians on the implications of NTPS.

Ensure that data quality concerns raised externally are addressed through the Trust Data Quality Group, promoting best practice across the team and wider organisation.

Work with Informatics teams to ensure activity is recorded in line with NTPS guidance and that current and forecast activity and financial trends are understood.

Co-ordinate the triangulation of the activity plans within the Trust and commissioners.

Monitor local Commissioners activity and financial reports to ensure any potential impact on Trust income is identified and addressed

4. Strategic Development

Monitor national websites and publications to identify potential financial policy changes at the earliest opportunity.

Work autonomously, interpreting relevant standards such as Department of Health policy, NHS guidance and accounting standards.

Review public documentation from principal Commissioners and assess the likely impact of their priorities and plans on the Trust.

5. Systems Management & Development

Ensure daily, monthly and annual system routines and reports are scheduled, reconciled and completed on time, maintaining effective system performance and user experience.

Maintain complete and accurate procedures for all system applications in line with Standing Financial Instructions and audit requirements.

Ensure appropriate application security controls are in place and adhered to.

Review, test and implement system upgrades that benefit the Trust or meet legal requirements, working with Informatics to resolve complex technical issues.

Manage financial master data within applications, ensuring full documentation is retained to meet audit standards.

6. Other Duties

Ensure compliance with Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and Financial Policies.

Develop and implement financial policies and procedures in accordance with Department of Health, professional and other relevant guidelines.

Maintain up-to-date procedures and working guidance notes within the team.

Work with auditors to ensure that all required information is provided, and all audit queries are resolved promptly.

Undertake any other duties as may be required.

Governance

Ensure the contract service and portfolio comply with the Trusts Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs), Standing Orders (SOs), Scheme of Reservation and Delegation (SoRD) and all relevant Trust policies.

Ensure compliance with Trust policies, procedures and guidelines for self and others, escalating concerns to senior management where practice appears to contravene policy, or where patient care may be affected.

Managerial / Leadership

Maintain a healthy, safe and secure working environment, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, maintaining accurate documentation and reporting any concerns.

Education /Learning

Take responsibility for own learning and development by recognising and taking advantage of all opportunities to learn, including full participation in KSF/appraisal, supervision, action learning and by maintaining a professional/personal portfolio of learning. All learning and development responsibilities including supporting the training of others standard statement as below to be included.

All staff at MCHFT have a responsibility to:

Maintain active registration status

Always act in accordance with professional Codes of Conduct and guiding documents

Where applicable, always act in accordance with the Code of Conduct for NHS Managers,

Maintain up to date skills and knowledge

Maintain an awareness of patient led service issues

Maintain a professional/personal portfolio

Adhere to all Trust policy, procedures, and guidelines.

Adhere to Trust standards of behaviour and expected performance

Comply with Infection Prevention and Control (IP&C) policies and procedures as appropriate to their role and responsibilities in their individual work setting. Staff are required to be personally accountable for their actions and be responsible for their own compliance in relation to IP&C polices, protocols or advice.

Ensure they work in accordance with local procedures and report any issues which they consider to be a risk to the health and safety of themselves and/or others.

Act in accordance with the Trusts values

Where applicable to participate in and provide data on the efficacy of treatment and specialties

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is looking to ensure that we provide equity of services across seven days of the week. This post may be reviewed in line with this plan and in some cases an element of weekend working may be required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-Graduate Qualification

Desirable

• Experience of NHS Standard Contract & NHS Finance

Experience

Essential

• Policy & Implementation of Processes
• Experience of working under pressure to strict deadlines

skills and knowledge

Essential

• Advanced microsoft applications skills; excel, SQL, Access
• In depth systems knowledge of financial applications
• Problem solving skills - ability to interpret highly complex and sensitive information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Infinity House

Business Park, Mallard Way

Crewe

CW1 6ZQ

Employer's website

https://www.mcht.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)