Finance Business Partner in Plymouth

To provide a comprehensive and high quality finance business partnering service to directorates. To promote innovation and improvement by providing expertise and analysis to inform good financial decision making and optimal use of resources.

An exceptional opportunity has arisen for an ambitious, high calibre finance professional to join a respected and forward thinking Finance team at a pivotal time for the Trust. This is a genuinely influential role at the heart of decision making across Finance and Operations. You will help shape the Trust's future by providing insight that informs clinical and operational strategy, supports sustainable service delivery, and enables investment in patient focused care. Your work will span demand and capacity planning, service line viability, benchmarking performance, delivering transformational savings, and developing major capital and revenue business cases.

Main Duties of the Job

• Provide strategic and business planning advice to Directorate and Divisional Management teams.
• Encourage and influence Directorate Management Teams to ensure cost-effective decision making by management, using highly developed persuasion, motivation and negotiation skills.
• Investigate highly complex financial queries on income and expenditure, carrying out regular complicated analytical reviews of the Service Line/Directorate financial position, predicting income, developing and using complex models and multiple inputs including activity projections and case mix issues.
• Interpret highly complex financial data and give advice on financial risks to ensure the budgets are achievable and owned by the Directorate Managers and Budget Holders.
• Assist and advise Directorate Management Teams in the execution of plans to achieve the performance targets set out in the Trust's Annual Plan, within the financial resources allocated to the Directorate for that purpose.
• Oversee the accuracy and integrity of Service Line/Directorate financial information relating to Patient Level reporting and reference costs in particular.
• Identify business opportunities and threats arising out of market analyses and work with Directorate to identify financial impacts and mitigating actions.
• Thoroughly review monthly contract monitoring reports with Directorates to ensure robust capture and coding of income.
• Work with Directorates and Accountants to develop robust activity and income forecasts based on changes to demand, RTT requirements and capacity constraints.
• Benchmark the Service Lines/Directorates against other similar hospitals using nationally recognised activity and management information and peer data (such as GIRFT and the Model Hospital) – identify areas for improvement and advise Directorate Management Teams and work closely with Directorate Management teams to effect such changes.
• Ensure best practice is developed and delivered at department and organisational level, challenging ways of working and motivating and influencing others.
• Provide financial support for revenue and capital business cases as appropriate describing the financial implications of the business case and investment appraisal techniques.

Qualifications and Experience

• Fully qualified Professional Accountant or studying towards qualification.
• 'A' levels and 5 x GCSE Grade C or above or equivalent, including Mathematics and English Language at GCSE level (A-C/ 4-9).
• Commitment to continuing professional development in line with relevant Institute requirements.
• Experience in financial management, accounting procedures, relevant legislation and NHS finance policies.
• Recent Continuing Professional Development including specialist training and demonstrable experience relating to NHS Finance as well as national accounting standards.
• Awareness of the current NHS 'Agenda', national directives and all Governance aspects.

Desirable

• NHS Management Accounting demonstrable experience.
• Degree or equivalent.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent level of numeracy.
• Ability to deduce key points from large/highly complex volumes of data analysing several aspects of data.

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. Applicants should check and maintain a current UK professional registration. Applications from job seekers who require Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Disclosure and Barring Service check will be required.

Employer Details

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Ground Floor, Brittany House, 1 Brest Road, Plymouth, PL6 5YE.

Contact

For an informal discussion, please contact Steve Cavendish, Associate Director of Finance.