Assistant Head of Finance - Community & Children's Services

Job responsibilities

General Duties

Ensures financial and performance information requirements are successfully met including participation in production of long-term financial plans, monthly finance and activity reporting. Including the provision of strategic financial management advice.

Supports performance management arrangements across the organisations and ensures that appropriate action is taken to improve performance.

Developing strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure;

A culture of shared responsibility for financial issues,

Business Partnering to support the delivery of robust finance and performance information in a format that is communicated effectively.

Supporting managers & staff to ensure all areas of the agenda are covered at all times.

Monitoring on-going financial performance ensuring the timely and accurate presentation of financial information and advice and highlighting risks as they emerge

Maintaining appropriate budget systems and processes to accurately assess performance identify and report in-year risks and forecast year-end positions for all services.

Leading on benchmarking of services, to promote the best use of resources and to identify areas of high cost.

Keeping up to date with the changes in national policy, in particular around the Better Care Fund and other joint commissioning arrangements, by working with colleagues at local, regional and national level.

As and when required, link into the work of internal audit, external audit and counter fraud functions, ensuring a robust control environment is in place.

Support and advise managers to work within Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and statutory obligations including the Corporate Governance Framework.

Supporting the CFO in ensuring that the Organisations financial procedures and policies, including Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and Budgetary Control Policy are in place, communicated to all staff and adhered to at all times.

Cascading messages from the CFO to Directors and senior managers on the financial issues arising from NHS policy and lead the implementation of new processes.

Being a proactive member of the Business, Strategy & Planning directorate and other multi-disciplinary teams by attending, contributing and influencing meetings and reporting, identifying, implementing and monitoring actions.

Performing all duties in a professional manner, recognising confidentiality of financial information and the need to maintain professional credibility at all times.

Seeking opportunities to contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the directorate, the service it provides and the standards of financial management

Coordinating the contribution of the Finance teams across the system in supporting, monitoring, reporting and other work programmes.

Actively interrogating investment schemes to ensure they are robust and likely to deliver savings. Monitoring of investment schemes throughout the financial year, assessment of delivery in terms of monetary savings and driving recovery plans where planned savings are not being made.

Champion equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and ensure that activities take account of EDI requirements.

Interviews are planned to take place on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 but we will try to accommodate candidates where possible.

For any further information on the role or the organisation, please contact Jamie Denton, Head of Finance for Primary Care, Community & Children's Services.

Knowledge, Training and Experience

Essential

• CCAB Qualified Accountant with 1-2 Years post-qualification experience
• CPD at professional/Senior personal development
• Detailed knowledge of the NHS Finance and Performance regime
• Ability to interpret National policy that impacts on finance.
• Experience of NHS financial management regime
• Experience of business case evaluation and/or preparation

Desirable

• Degree or equivalent
• Postgraduate management qualification

Communication Skills

Essential

• Able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information
• Present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups
• Excellent facilitation skills evidenced during difficult and controversial issues i.e. performance and change.
• Inspiring confidence & developing highly effective working relationships with finance, clinical and non-finance colleagues, including those at a senior level.
• Lead financial discussions with NHS providers & Local Authorities and including potentially contentious funding issues.

Analytical

Essential

• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
• Takes decisions on difficult issues where there may be several courses of action.
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise
• Ability to identify variances and investigate to ensure that all possible actions are undertaken independently or with minimal supervision.

Planning Skills

Essential

• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly

Desirable

• Experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects

Management Skills

Essential

• Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.
• Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals.

Autonomy Freedom to Act

Essential

• Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to Sponsor/ Manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales
• Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy.
• Experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (advising on policy implementation)

Physical Skills

Essential

• High standard of skill with Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Competent in the use of financial ledger systems such as Oracle

Equality and Diversity

Essential

• Demonstrates understanding of issues affecting equality, diversity and inclusion, including how individual actions make a difference to this agenda.
• Evidence of delivery of equality, diversity and inclusion improvements through accounting for the particular needs of groups at risk of, or already experiencing, inequalities

Financial and Physical Resources

Essential

• Previously involved in budget setting /delivery and working knowledge of financial processes
• Experience of providing budgetary support to non-finance staff.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).