Job summary
- Main area
- Finance
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- 6 months (Fixed term post (6 months))
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 323-AC5818-LM
- Employer
- Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Peters Hospital
- Town
- Chertsey
- Salary
- £64,337 - £74,415 pa inc. HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 06/01/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 16/01/2025
Employer heading
Head of Financial Services
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Job overview
Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust is a £460m turnover Acute NHS Foundation Trust, the largest provider of acute hospital services in Surrey. We are looking for a CCAB qualified, experienced Head of Financial Services to lead the Financial Services team - this is an opportunity to join a well-established and experienced finance team at the Trust and will be for an initial fixed term of six months.
Reporting to the Director of Operational Finance, the post holder will work as part of the wider finance team. The post holder will be responsible for the for the day-to-day management and performance of all sections and staff within Financial Services areas, which incorporates Financial Accounting, Capital, Treasury, Charitable Funds, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.
You will be an enthusiastic and conscientious qualified accountant with significant post qualification experience, with good communication skills both verbal and written and ideally the successful candidate will have NHS accounting experience. Candidates with a commercial background will be considered, but must have an understanding of the issues facing the NHS and a strong background in month end and year end reporting and with dealing with external auditors.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible for the for the day-to-day management and performance of all sections and staff within Financial Services areas, which incorporates Financial Accounting, Capital, Treasury, Charitable Funds, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. This includes 7.15 WTE staff and the post holder will be responsible for the recruitment and management of the staff within Financial Services, ensuring compliance with the departmental standards for staff appraisal, training and personal development plans.
The post holder will help to ensure that the Trust meets its statutory financial targets (I&E, Capital Expenditure Limit, Better Payments Practice Code), as well as monitoring the Trust against key NHS England financial metrics, and will be the governance lead for Finance and advises senior management on the interpretation of national finance guidance and accounting manuals.
The post holder will also be the main point of contact for the Trust’s external auditors as they carry out the audits of the Trust and Charity accounts.
You should have a passion for providing an exemplary service to the team and ultimately the patients, and have a strong sense of personal responsibility and achievement.
Working for our organisation
Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.
Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.
We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at Ashford & St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with our strong commitment to staff health and wellbeing. We are committed to providing continuous professional development, staff benefits and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.
Please see the supporting links which you can find on the right-hand side of this job advert. There is guidance on how to make an application on NHS Jobs as well as more information about joining the ASPH Team
Although it isn't the Trusts normal practice, adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
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Ensure that Directors and Senior Managers are aware of, and comply with statutory, NHS and Charity Commission financial and reporting requirements. Ensure compliance with Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions within the Trust and that the Scheme of Delegation is being effectively administered by the Finance managers. Interpret and advise on national guidance and accounting manuals in relation to reporting requirements.
Prepare the Annual Statutory Accounts for the Trust and for the Charity to a high standard, within accepted accounting standards that facilitate an unqualified audit opinion and to meet the requirements and timetables of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Charity Commission.
To produce Balance Sheet, Cash Balances and Better Payment Practice Code data for inclusion in the Trust’s Finance Report each month, including updating of monthly forecasts and commentary on key changes.
To develop and maintain the Charitable Fund accounting systems ensuring compliance with current legislative guidance, producing high quality reports for the Charitable Funds Committee, Senior Managers and the Trust Board acting as Corporate Trustee. Interpret and advise on national legislation, guidance and accounting manuals in relation to Charitable Funds.
To manage and monitor the performance of the NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) in the provision of cost effective, high quality Purchase to Pay, Order to Cash and Accounting to Reporting services.
Ensure liaison with the Trust’s VAT advisors to ensure that VAT is recovered efficiently, and that claims are submitted to HM Revenue & Customs relating to complex capital schemes. Facilitate HM Revenue & Customs VAT audits and ensure compliance with any recommendations made. Ensure compliance with the HM Revenue & Customs requirements for the Construction Industry Scheme.
Responsible for the recruitment and management of the staff within financial services, ensuring compliance with the departmental standards for staff appraisal, training and personal development plans. Performance manage staff and deal with disciplinary issues. Ensure all finance users of financial systems receive appropriate training.
To be the first point of contact for the Trust’s External Audit, Internal Audit and Counter Fraud providers, assist them in formulating audit and counter fraud plans, to receive all audit reports and manage the smooth operation of audits and of the audit reporting procedures.
To be the first point of contact for the Trust’s National Fraud Initiative submissions and outputs. |
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Professional Accountancy qualification
- Evidence of personal development and training, including CPD
- Good Excel Spreadsheet skills
Experience
Essential criteria
- Extensive post qualification experience in a senior role, within a complex finance department
- Experience of preparing annual accounts and dealing with external auditors
- Staff line management experience to include motivating and developing staff.
- High level of computer literacy and experience of computerised financial systems and software packages.
- Experience of producing high-level financial information in accordance with NHS finance policies and other financial legislation.
Desirable criteria
- NHS experience (preferably at a Foundation Trust) at senior level in a financial role
- Prior experience with Oracle Financials software
- Charity accounting experience
Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to establish credibility and liaise effectively with senior managerial staff and Directors
- Possess a robust understanding of financial systems and to be able to extract, interpret, manipulate and present information in a meaningful way
- Ability to work autonomously to deadlines and to take appropriate decisions within NHS guidelines
- Good organisational and project management skills – planning and setting objectives
- Highly developed interpersonal skills
- Excellent PC skills required – Excel, Word, Powerpoint.
Other requirements
Essential criteria
- Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the team, the service and the Trust.
- Enthusiasm, determination, motivation and positive attitude.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Paul Doyle
- Job title
- Director of Operational Finance
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01932 72773
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