Finance Officer - Treasury Accounts Payable in Blackburn

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

One LSC is a new collaborative partnership shared service formed by the five NHS Trusts serving the Lancashire and South Cumbria population of 1.8 million people. We are a shared service run by the NHS, for the NHS and are hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of the partner Trusts of the Lancashire and South Cumbria system.

One LSC brings together the Digital, Data and Technology, Estates and Facilities, Finance, People Services and Procurement and Logistics services from each of the provider Trusts to create one central community of professionals. Under one leadership team, they will provide services for and on behalf of all Trusts. The aim is to bring services more closely together so that we can deliver the best service possible to each of our partner organisations.

At the core of One LSC delivery is eliminating duplication, removing unwarranted variation, realisation of the benefits of sharing common systems and processes and ensuring we deliver value for money for our partners, our system and, ultimately, for the communities we serve.

Job overview

The post holder will work in liaison with all relevant parties to assist with invoices being paid correctly and within agreed timescales. The post holder will be assisting in the provision of a Financial Accounts service to the Trust's Divisions. This will involve dealing with Accounts Payable queries by liaising closely with East Lancashire Financial Services Agency (ELFS), Trust employees and external organisations to get invoices paid, thus ensuring the Trust's Better Payment Practice Code is met and supporting the Senior Finance Officer with the Agreement of Balances exercise.

Main duties of the job

• Dealing with Accounts Payable (AP) queries
• Assisting with the production of the Better Payment Practice Code (BPPC) information
• Assisting with the NHS Agreement of Balances exercise
• Where appropriate help, support and advise budget holders on getting their invoices paid
• Provide cross cover for the Accounts Receivable (AR) Finance Officer
• Support Innovation and the Finance 'Continuous Improvement' Agenda in day to day working

Working for our organisation

Here at ELHT, we know what we do well, but always continue our aim to be amazing; we strive to provide the very best training and development packages and opportunities for our Finance Team, our ELHT colleagues and our local youth population and have been recognised nationally for this. We don't just look at you for who you are now; we look at you for who you could be in the future. We take training seriously, and encourage you to do the same. We are a University Teaching Trust and want staff to develop their capabilities to the full with a range of learning opportunities and a set development plan. We provide a supportive environment in which to learn, with the opportunity to further your skills and career within an exciting and evolving environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Dealing with Accounts Payable Queries: Liaise with budget holders, ELFS, Procurement and both NHS and non NHS external organisations in order to deal with queries that arise in relation to payment of supplier invoices. Follow all queries to a successful end to get invoices paid. Complete paperwork for faster payments. Complete statement reconciliations as necessary. Input and maintain financial information into computer databases and spreadsheets to a high level of efficiency. Use of various computer systems / software packages for retrieving, analysing and reporting on financial information.
• Distributing the weekly Purchase Invoice Manager (PIM) report and dealing with the queries arising: Distribute the weekly PIM report. Assist with queries arising, liaising with other departments as necessary to help get invoices through the system and paid. Being pro‑active by reviewing the data and contacting individuals with large numbers/old invoices in their PIM queue to determine the issues and assist them in getting them approved for payment.
• Assisting with the production of the Better Payment Practice Code (BPPC) information: Assist in preparing the BPPC information. Input to internal and external reports. Proactively ensure the BPPC is being met (invoices to be paid within 30 days) by the PIM work - liaise with the individuals with invoices in their PIM queue that need to be processed promptly to meet BPPC. When required, assist in the training of non‑financial managers in financial matters.
• Assist with the NHS Agreement of Balances exercise: Assist with the Agreement of Balances exercise which takes place three times over the financial year. Assist with the production of the relevant working papers and input to the monitoring return. Review statements, liaise with other NHS organisations with regards to reaching agreement on the debtor and creditor balances. In preparation for the exercise - assist with the screening of monthly information, sending information for correction to other departments and review to confirm it has been correctly processed.
• The post holder may be asked to complete other ad hoc duties commensurate with the grade and to provide assistance as required in the day to day working of the Treasury/Technical Accounts teams. All of the above contact may concern issues that can be confidential and contentious in nature.

Person specification

Experience

• Essential criteria: Previous Finance Department experience
• Desirable criteria: Familiar with a range of finance procedures.

Qualifications

• Essential criteria: Educated to 'A' Level or equivalent experience
• Desirable criteria: AAT Level 3 qualified or equivalent relevant accountancy related qualification.

Knowledge and Skills

• Essential criteria: Understanding of Accounting Techniques and Pro