Deputy Director of Finance System Assurance in Cambridge

Our Organisation
We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate. We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that's a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.

Job overview
This post is offered as a secondment opportunity. Please do not apply if you are not already working for an NHS organisation. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly skilled, experienced and motivated Deputy Director of Finance to join our dynamic team in the East of England to lead all aspects of support and assurance for systems in the region. The Deputy Director of Finance System Assurance role is critical in supporting the region and systems in the delivery of statutory duties and financial performance. The role holder will maintain the primary financial relationship with the systems and Trusts and will also deputise for the Director of Operational Finance when required.

Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities:

• Oversee the financial performance of the region by ensuring risk is managed and balanced across organisations, systems and the region.
• Manage and actively promote system working to ensure best value for money.
• Ensure systems and processes are in place to enable sound financial control.
• Provide necessary advice, support, challenge to organisations and the systems.
• Work with systems and organisations to develop sustainable financial strategies.

Working for our organisation
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms - enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices. Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band. We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Main duties continued:

• Lead and work as part of a dynamic team in delivering an effective service supporting managers and staff across the East of England region.
• Deliver functional finance responsibilities for the region as required, working with other regional and national colleagues to ensure that these are delivered in a single way as a single team.
• Ensure the provision of expert, evidence based financial and business advice to regional and national colleagues.
• Hold the primary financial relationship with systems and organisations and establish effective operating models working in a matrix way with the wider team to provide the appropriate level of support and escalation when needed.
• Successfully build effective relationships with systems and organisations within the region.
• Provide leadership and strategic direction for work assigned to the wider Financial Oversight and Delivery team.
• Lead financial planning, performance management, assurance and oversight for a number of systems - across revenue, capital and cash.
• Ensure all national reporting requirements are complied with to support month end and year end processes.
• Ensure rigorous appraisal of system and organisational financial plans to ensure viability and that financial risks have been soundly evaluated and mitigated.
• Support the delivery of regional financial targets ensuring that systems and organisations deliver value for money, financially sustainable and efficient plans.
• Ensure robust processes are in place to monitor financial performance to maintain a clear and up-to-date view of the financial position.
• Provide robust forecasts, risk predictions and mitigations.
• Ensure that systems, processes and information flows provide effective early warnings of potential failures in service quality, financial management, partnerships and performance.
• Play a key role with regional colleagues and work with them to tackle performance risks and issues.
• Provide expert advice to inform formal regulatory interactions and/or interventions where necessary.
• Lead financial intervention processes in the event of material concerns about financial performance and financial risk.
• Support national teams on planning, reviewing and agreeing cash requirements with systems and organisations within national policy.
• Oversee and assure the financial planning and redesign of services within the region.
• Represent NHS England and its interests at national/public meetings/events as required.
• Promote the highest standards of finance professionalism within the region.
• Support the priorities of the Finance Directorate adopting a flexible approach to ensure all priorities can be delivered from within available resources.

The post holder will have accountability and responsibility for the strategic and operational development of the Finance Directorate. Plans to achieve the strategy will be underpinned by the delivery of short to medium term objectives.

Key aspects of this role will be to:

• Ensure the strategy is formulated, understood by all stakeholders and is delivered utilising all available resources efficiently and effectively.
• Ensure the development and management of relevant strategic plans, within the Sector.
• Proactively manage the key risks and issues associated with ensuring appropriate actions are taken to mitigate or respond.
• Monitor and establish accountability on the overall progress of the strategy to ensure completion within agreed timescales.
• Manage the whole budgetary implications of activity.
• Avoid the destabilisation of business as usual.
• Manage and actively promote the relationships with key stakeholders.

Evidence of line management experience to ensure a team perform at a high level to meet the exacting challenges required.

Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria:
CCAB Qualified Accountant with minimum 8 years post qualification experience.

Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria:

• Proven senior leadership skills with strong evidence to demonstrate gravitas, influencing and strategic thinking at a senior level.
• Evidence of leading and delivering key business processes across multiple systems/organisation/matrix teams.
• Experience of robust stakeholder management to ensure acceptance of regional proposals.
• Understanding of NHS strategic and operational planning processes.

Skills Capabilities & Attributes
Essential criteria:

• Ability to analyse complex problems qualitatively and quantitively.
• Ability to deal with challenging situations in a formal setting.
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment.
• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable ability to act upon incomplete information.
• Significant ability to analyse numerical and written data.
• Demonstrable leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning.
• Ability to provide informative reporting on finances and impact to Board management.

Our commitments to you
We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for processing your application; our privacy can be accessed directly on the application page when you select to apply.