Assistant Finance Manager

Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,

Our mission is:Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is:To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Finance Manager.

This is a key role in the finance team supporting the Unplanned Care Service at East and North Herts NHS Trust. There are lots of opportunities to engage with core management accountancy functions as well as current services issues, all the while developing your knowledge and skills.

Main duties of the job

To provide accurate and timely financial reporting, forecasting and planning.

To meet regularly with budget holders to provide advice on all aspects of financial concern and support action to mitigate concerns and maximise opportunities.

To escalate issues to the Finance Manager and Deputy Finance Manager.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To produce accurate and timely financial performance reports for a number of service lines/cost centre

To investigate any significant variances from budget and produce comprehensive financial reports to be used by Budget Managers, General Managers, Clinical Directors and by the Director of Finance for inclusion in the monthly Trust Board Report

To work with the budget holders to forecast year-end budgetary positions and to identify corrective action including possible cost improvements and income generation opportunities.

To provide ongoing financial advice and support and answer queries arising from the financial reports and to produce ad hoc reports and analysis as required.

To meet regularly with budget holders to discuss financial and other performance issues, including inter-disciplinary/departmental meetings.

To assist with the maintenance of the financial integrity of the annual budget throughout the year by the operation of establishment control, virement, forecasting and other policies adopted by the Trust. To ensure that the revised budget is reconciled on a monthly basis.

To develop a financial planning model for each directorate that reflects the impact in future years of the current budgets and business plans.

To assist with the submission of annual budgetary proposals in conjunction with budget managers and in accordance with the format and timetable agreed by the Director of Finance. To maintain an audit trail and accurate working papers relating to the annual budgetary proposal.

To assist with the development of costing systems within the Division, providing service costing within nationally and locally agreed requirements. To support the Financial Analyst in the production of service costs for contracting, benchmarking and other performance management information needed to support business planning.

To ensure that strong systems of corporate governance are maintained within the Division, ensuring that the implementation of Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and Scheme of Delegation in accordance with Trust policies.

To provide training and support on financial issues to non-finance staff within the Division.

Person specification

Qualifications/ Training

Essential criteria

• A level or equivalent Completed AAT Technician Stage or have equivalent experience
• Completed AAT Technician Stage or have equivalent experience

Desirable criteria

• Studying towards a CCAB qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in all aspects of financial reporting, planning and control.
• Significant experience of working to tight reporting deadlines

Desirable criteria

• NHS financial experience
• Experience of supervising junior staff

Skills

Essential criteria

• Computer literate with a good working knowledge of Excel, Word and large general ledger systems
• Ability to apply knowledge to workload and demonstrate analytical skills

Desirable criteria

• Experience of using bespoke IT systems eg dashboard software such as Qlikview

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Equivalent to part-qualified CCAB student with particular emphasis on all management accounting issues to include budgetary control and costing techniques

Desirable criteria

• An understanding of NHS Finance

Other requirements

Essential criteria

• Good communication skills, both written and oral to non-financial managers
• Ability to prioritise workload and supervise a small team
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as under the direction of Finance Manager

Desirable criteria

• The ability to undertake training of both junior Finance staff and budget managers

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Committed employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Status

Whilst the legislation for NHS employees to provide evidence of their vaccination status for the majority of roles is currently under legislative review, we encourage and support vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against COVID19.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

We look forward to receiving your application!