Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Manager Planning and Efficiency to join the ICB.
This role is a key part of our planning and productivity hub as we deliver the ambitions of the 10year Health Plan, including multiyear revenue and capital planning. With a significant productivity and efficiency agenda across the NHS, the team plays a pivotal role in developing new ways of thinking and delivering over a longer planning horizon. They provide insight into our cost base, behaviours, benchmarking opportunities and productivity metrics, enabling short-, medium- and longterm understanding to support future sustainability across health care in Essex.
You will support Senior Finance Managers in achieving organisational objectives for planning and productivity, working flexibly to meet team demands. The role is essential in promoting a new approach within finance, focused on benchmarking, productivity and value-based discussions to strengthen mediumterm planning. Your insights will help the ICB make better decisions about how resources are used.
You will also support the team working with the Director of Finance to deliver annual and mediumterm financial planning for the ICB, partnering across the system to provide financial insight for evaluations and decisionmaking, and working closely with finance and commercial teams to ensure plans are accurately interpreted for delivery.
Main duties of the job
You will hold a CCAB Part Qualified or qualified by experience. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Helps present insights and reports, drawing on complex data, that can be used to inform decision making and delivery
- Contribute to the financial framework, ensuring synergy with ICS and NHSE planning.
- Use of complex health data sets, including those relating to performance across activity, finance and quality to inform decision making
- Analysis of complex qualitative and quantitative data relating to finance, demand and demographics.
- Turning analysis into useful insights that can be used to inform decision making
- Present highly complex data, information and insights, including qualitative and quantitative data, through clear and simple written and verbal briefings
- Use of Population Health Management methodologies and tools to inform projects and programmes that will improve outcomes for patients and sustainability of health services
- Project and support for the team
- Proactively identify opportunities for priotisation across investments and efficiency
- Support the preparation of the annual and medium term financial plans for the ICB.
- Manage delivery against agreed project plans, when necessary, ensuring appropriate governance, risk management, escalations and reporting
- Support development of high quality written and verbal briefings
Please see attached Job Description and Personal Specification for full details regarding the duties and responsibilities of the role.
About us
Mid and South Essex ICB is a statutory organisation responsible for planning and delivering local health and care services across Mid and South Essex. As part of changes to the NHS commissioning landscape, the ICB will transition to the new Essex ICB on 1 April 2026. This role will be appointed within the Essex ICB structure, working across the county to improve the health of local people. The organisations headquarters is Seax House, Chelmsford, and we operate a hybrid working model that includes working across Essex and from home. Essex ICB currently has offices in Brentwood, Harlow and Colchester, in addition to the Chelmsford HQ.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity. We know that different experiences, ideas and perspectives help create a stronger and more innovative organisation that delivers better outcomes for patients. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, including people of all ages, disabilities, sex, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or personal circumstances. Our policies ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently throughout the recruitment process, including consideration of reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants.
Please note that the organisation does not hold a sponsorship licence.
Job description
Job responsibilities
ROLE PURPOSE / SUMMARY
The proposed Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be a new organisation formed through the consolidation of three ICB areas in response to the NHSs ambition to deliver a more streamlined, strategic and cost-effective model of health commissioning. The ICB will oversee the commissioning of care for the approximately 2 million people who live in Essex. Operating within a reduced running cost envelope and aligned to the new requirements of ICBs in England, the proposed Essex ICB will focus on improving population health outcomes, health equity and smarter resource allocation.
By establishing clear and transparent funding arrangements, triangulated with activity and workforce within our system we aim to support our collective understanding of how resources are allocated across the system for both revenue and capital.
This role forms a key part of our planning and productivity hub for the exciting developments in train as we deliver the ambitions of the 10 year Health Plan, including multi-year planning for revenue and capital. We have a significant productivity and efficiency agenda within the NHS right now. The team has a pivotal role to play in new ways of thinking and delivering over longer time planning horizon. They provide the insights to our collective cost base and behaviours as well as benchmarking opportunities and productivity metrics to produce insights to empower, short, medium and long-term thinking for future shifts and sustainability across health care in Essex.
This role will support the Senior Finance Managers to deliver the organisations objectives around both planning and productivity. At times this will mean working flexibly to support the demands of the team. The role will be crucial to support a new way of thinking across finance, focusing on benchmarking, productivity and driving value-based conversations as we plan over the medium term. The insights you support will enable the ICB to make better decisions with the resources it has.
The Assistant Manager Planning and Efficiency will support the team who will work with the Director of Finance to deliver the annual and medium term financial planning activities for the ICB, and we will work in partnership across health to provide insights for financial evaluations and decision making. As well as working closely with the whole finance and commercial team to support accurate interpretation of the plan into everyday activities required for delivery.
The role supports the NHS in driving transformation as well as value for money in planning, commissioning and service delivery. The role is designed to build a combination of subject matter expertise and technical skills to enable the post holder to represent the impact and needs of the NHS in response to development growth and changing demographics.
As the ICB transitions to become a leaner, more focused strategic commissioning organisation the post holder will be expected to support the Head of Finance, in delivering on the three fundamental shifts set out in the NHS 10-year plan:
- From Treatment to Prevention: Embedding preventative, personalised and population based approaches to commissioning.
- From Hospital to Community: Championing care model redesign that supports community and neighbourhood health.
- From Analogue to Digital: Enabling clinically driven transformation through digital innovation, data analytics and evidence based improvement.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To deliver on the job description set out above, the job holder will be expected to deliver on the requirements set out below:
Policy and service development
- Support implement policy and / or service developments.
- Ensure compliance with relevant ICB policies
- Use research and innovation to inform service improvements or performance management
- Completes surveys or evaluations to support policy implementation
Strategy and analysis
- Helps present insights and reports, drawing on complex data, that can be used to inform decision making and delivery
- Contribute to the financial framework, ensuring synergy with ICS and NHSE planning.
- Use of complex health data sets, including those relating to performance across activity, finance and quality to inform decision making
- Analysis of complex qualitative and quantitative data relating to finance, demand and demographics.
- Turning analysis into useful insights that can be used to inform decision making
- Present highly complex data, information and insights, including qualitative and quantitative data, through clear and simple written and verbal briefings
- Use of Population Health Management methodologies and tools to inform projects and programmes that will improve outcomes for patients and sustainability of health services
- Support the evaluation of complex projects and to provide support to stakeholders to ensure development growth and mitigation opportunities are considered as part of strategic planning.
- Support the coordination of reporting for external bodies, maintaining good communication across parties.
- Develop and maintain models to accurately and model information for production of plans.
- Support the triangulation of system finance, activity and workforce plans, developing it into a regular and routine part of reporting
Planning and organisation
- Project and support for the team.
- Maintain appropriate project documentation.
- Manage risk registers and project pipeline reporting.
- Administration of the prioritisation and approvals process
- Support development and delivery of project plans, helping develop effective arrangements to support governance, risk management, escalations and reporting
- Proactively identify opportunities for priotisation across investments and efficiency
- Support the preparation of the annual and medium term financial plans for the ICB.
- Manage delivery against agreed project plans, when necessary, ensuring appropriate governance, risk management, escalations and reporting
- Support annual business plan for planning and policy work.
Communications and Partnerships
- Work collaboratively, modelling inclusive, respectful and compassionate behaviours
- Listen effectively to a broad range of perspectives, including staff, patients and the public, to inform decision making
- Effective engagement with patients and the public as required
- Work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams to enable the collective ownership and delivery of projects that are seeking to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and deliver a sustainable health and care system
- Share complex and challenging information which may relate to service performance or staffing
- Manage conflict, find compromise and build consensus where needed to drive progress in delivery
- Support development of high quality written and verbal briefings
- Effective management of complex, sensitive and challenging information
Financial and resource management
- Supporting the delivery of value for money across health care
- Support procurement of relevant services
- Supports delivery of budget for the projects and programmes for which they are aligned to.
Team management and capability building
- Support the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB Blueprint
- Maintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transition
- Supporting effective Information Asset Management for the team
- Supporting directorate oversight of workforce reporting, including reporting on key HR metrics
- Supports wider understanding of projects across the ICB and system
- Able to influence in order to deliver effectively through others
- Support the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB Blueprint
- Work collaboratively with system partners to facilitate transitional arrangements
- Maintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transition
- Supporting effective Information Asset Management for the team
Other
- Use initiative and work with independency to deliver on requirements of the role
- Primarily desk-based work that requires use of visual display units, focused concentration and frequent participation in on-line or in person meetings
- Able to use software required to develop report, including ability to deliver high quality documents through Microsoft suite (word, power point, excel). Power BI and other financial modelling software as appropriate.
Flexibility and evolving responsibilities
As the ICB continues to evolve, portfolios may be subject to change to reflect the needs of the organization, the health and care system and national policy direction. This may include adjustments to areas of responsibility or realignment of reporting structures.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will need to build constructive relationships with partners from across the health and care system. Key relationships will be with:
- ICB senior leaders
- Team members
- Finance business partners
- HR business partners
- Business Managers
- System partners
- Information Governance team
- Health & Wellbeing Board officers
- Local Authority partners
- NHS Providers
Job description
Job responsibilities
ROLE PURPOSE / SUMMARY
The proposed Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be a new organisation formed through the consolidation of three ICB areas in response to the NHSs ambition to deliver a more streamlined, strategic and cost-effective model of health commissioning. The ICB will oversee the commissioning of care for the approximately 2 million people who live in Essex. Operating within a reduced running cost envelope and aligned to the new requirements of ICBs in England, the proposed Essex ICB will focus on improving population health outcomes, health equity and smarter resource allocation.
By establishing clear and transparent funding arrangements, triangulated with activity and workforce within our system we aim to support our collective understanding of how resources are allocated across the system for both revenue and capital.
This role forms a key part of our planning and productivity hub for the exciting developments in train as we deliver the ambitions of the 10 year Health Plan, including multi-year planning for revenue and capital. We have a significant productivity and efficiency agenda within the NHS right now. The team has a pivotal role to play in new ways of thinking and delivering over longer time planning horizon. They provide the insights to our collective cost base and behaviours as well as benchmarking opportunities and productivity metrics to produce insights to empower, short, medium and long-term thinking for future shifts and sustainability across health care in Essex.
This role will support the Senior Finance Managers to deliver the organisations objectives around both planning and productivity. At times this will mean working flexibly to support the demands of the team. The role will be crucial to support a new way of thinking across finance, focusing on benchmarking, productivity and driving value-based conversations as we plan over the medium term. The insights you support will enable the ICB to make better decisions with the resources it has.
The Assistant Manager Planning and Efficiency will support the team who will work with the Director of Finance to deliver the annual and medium term financial planning activities for the ICB, and we will work in partnership across health to provide insights for financial evaluations and decision making. As well as working closely with the whole finance and commercial team to support accurate interpretation of the plan into everyday activities required for delivery.
The role supports the NHS in driving transformation as well as value for money in planning, commissioning and service delivery. The role is designed to build a combination of subject matter expertise and technical skills to enable the post holder to represent the impact and needs of the NHS in response to development growth and changing demographics.
As the ICB transitions to become a leaner, more focused strategic commissioning organisation the post holder will be expected to support the Head of Finance, in delivering on the three fundamental shifts set out in the NHS 10-year plan:
- From Treatment to Prevention: Embedding preventative, personalised and population based approaches to commissioning.
- From Hospital to Community: Championing care model redesign that supports community and neighbourhood health.
- From Analogue to Digital: Enabling clinically driven transformation through digital innovation, data analytics and evidence based improvement.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To deliver on the job description set out above, the job holder will be expected to deliver on the requirements set out below:
Policy and service development
- Support implement policy and / or service developments.
- Ensure compliance with relevant ICB policies
- Use research and innovation to inform service improvements or performance management
- Completes surveys or evaluations to support policy implementation
Strategy and analysis
- Helps present insights and reports, drawing on complex data, that can be used to inform decision making and delivery
- Contribute to the financial framework, ensuring synergy with ICS and NHSE planning.
- Use of complex health data sets, including those relating to performance across activity, finance and quality to inform decision making
- Analysis of complex qualitative and quantitative data relating to finance, demand and demographics.
- Turning analysis into useful insights that can be used to inform decision making
- Present highly complex data, information and insights, including qualitative and quantitative data, through clear and simple written and verbal briefings
- Use of Population Health Management methodologies and tools to inform projects and programmes that will improve outcomes for patients and sustainability of health services
- Support the evaluation of complex projects and to provide support to stakeholders to ensure development growth and mitigation opportunities are considered as part of strategic planning.
- Support the coordination of reporting for external bodies, maintaining good communication across parties.
- Develop and maintain models to accurately and model information for production of plans.
- Support the triangulation of system finance, activity and workforce plans, developing it into a regular and routine part of reporting
Planning and organisation
- Project and support for the team.
- Maintain appropriate project documentation.
- Manage risk registers and project pipeline reporting.
- Administration of the prioritisation and approvals process
- Support development and delivery of project plans, helping develop effective arrangements to support governance, risk management, escalations and reporting
- Proactively identify opportunities for priotisation across investments and efficiency
- Support the preparation of the annual and medium term financial plans for the ICB.
- Manage delivery against agreed project plans, when necessary, ensuring appropriate governance, risk management, escalations and reporting
- Support annual business plan for planning and policy work.
Communications and Partnerships
- Work collaboratively, modelling inclusive, respectful and compassionate behaviours
- Listen effectively to a broad range of perspectives, including staff, patients and the public, to inform decision making
- Effective engagement with patients and the public as required
- Work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams to enable the collective ownership and delivery of projects that are seeking to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and deliver a sustainable health and care system
- Share complex and challenging information which may relate to service performance or staffing
- Manage conflict, find compromise and build consensus where needed to drive progress in delivery
- Support development of high quality written and verbal briefings
- Effective management of complex, sensitive and challenging information
Financial and resource management
- Supporting the delivery of value for money across health care
- Support procurement of relevant services
- Supports delivery of budget for the projects and programmes for which they are aligned to.
Team management and capability building
- Support the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB Blueprint
- Maintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transition
- Supporting effective Information Asset Management for the team
- Supporting directorate oversight of workforce reporting, including reporting on key HR metrics
- Supports wider understanding of projects across the ICB and system
- Able to influence in order to deliver effectively through others
- Support the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB Blueprint
- Work collaboratively with system partners to facilitate transitional arrangements
- Maintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transition
- Supporting effective Information Asset Management for the team
Other
- Use initiative and work with independency to deliver on requirements of the role
- Primarily desk-based work that requires use of visual display units, focused concentration and frequent participation in on-line or in person meetings
- Able to use software required to develop report, including ability to deliver high quality documents through Microsoft suite (word, power point, excel). Power BI and other financial modelling software as appropriate.
Flexibility and evolving responsibilities
As the ICB continues to evolve, portfolios may be subject to change to reflect the needs of the organization, the health and care system and national policy direction. This may include adjustments to areas of responsibility or realignment of reporting structures.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will need to build constructive relationships with partners from across the health and care system. Key relationships will be with:
- ICB senior leaders
- Team members
- Finance business partners
- HR business partners
- Business Managers
- System partners
- Information Governance team
- Health & Wellbeing Board officers
- Local Authority partners
- NHS Providers
Person Specification
People and Culture
Essential
- Line management experience, including supporting individual development and addressing under-performance, when necessary
- Acts as a positive, compassionate and inclusive manager, demonstrating commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity
- A commitment to continuous improvement, organisation learning and achieving positive outcomes for all staff, patients, service users and carers working in line with the NHS People Promise
Governance and Assurance
Essential
- Experience delivering projects that require collective decision-making and how to negotiate success in those situations
- A good understanding effective corporate governance and the route for decision making within the ICB
Personal Attributes and Values
Essential
- Personal commitment to the values of the NHS 10-year Plan, the NHS People Plan, the Nolan Principles, to championing equality, diversity and inclusion within the ICB and the wide health system
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Able to work as part of a team and independently
- Advanced IT skills in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and excellent keyboarding skills
Partnerships and Communities
Essential
- Experience working across organisational boundaries in the development and delivery of projects
- Able to represent the organisation credibly and positively
- Able to effective influencing and challenge within areas of responsibility, escalating appropriately where necessary
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Degree level (relevant focus) or equivalent managerial experience
- Evidence of sustained commitment to continuing professional development
- CCAB Part Qualified or qualified by experience
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a relevant healthcare environment (NHS or other)
- Experience managing budgets to deliver corporate requirements and within health and care financial frameworks
- Uses technology to effectively plan work and evaluate effectiveness through audits
Strategy and Analysis
Essential
- Experience using analytical and problem-solving skills to address complex problems, ability to recognise policy implications and how to manage potential competing priorities / interests in developing strategies
- Good data analysis and interpretation skills involving highly complex data, including an understanding of analytical methods and how to use data to support Population Health Management
- Experience scoping and delivering effective evaluations of projects and interventions, including understanding relevant data and evaluation tools and methods for formal and informal evaluations
Person Specification
People and Culture
Essential
- Line management experience, including supporting individual development and addressing under-performance, when necessary
- Acts as a positive, compassionate and inclusive manager, demonstrating commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity
- A commitment to continuous improvement, organisation learning and achieving positive outcomes for all staff, patients, service users and carers working in line with the NHS People Promise
Governance and Assurance
Essential
- Experience delivering projects that require collective decision-making and how to negotiate success in those situations
- A good understanding effective corporate governance and the route for decision making within the ICB
Personal Attributes and Values
Essential
- Personal commitment to the values of the NHS 10-year Plan, the NHS People Plan, the Nolan Principles, to championing equality, diversity and inclusion within the ICB and the wide health system
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Able to work as part of a team and independently
- Advanced IT skills in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and excellent keyboarding skills
Partnerships and Communities
Essential
- Experience working across organisational boundaries in the development and delivery of projects
- Able to represent the organisation credibly and positively
- Able to effective influencing and challenge within areas of responsibility, escalating appropriately where necessary
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Degree level (relevant focus) or equivalent managerial experience
- Evidence of sustained commitment to continuing professional development
- CCAB Part Qualified or qualified by experience
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a relevant healthcare environment (NHS or other)
- Experience managing budgets to deliver corporate requirements and within health and care financial frameworks
- Uses technology to effectively plan work and evaluate effectiveness through audits
Strategy and Analysis
Essential
- Experience using analytical and problem-solving skills to address complex problems, ability to recognise policy implications and how to manage potential competing priorities / interests in developing strategies
- Good data analysis and interpretation skills involving highly complex data, including an understanding of analytical methods and how to use data to support Population Health Management
- Experience scoping and delivering effective evaluations of projects and interventions, including understanding relevant data and evaluation tools and methods for formal and informal evaluations
