Assistant Director of Finance in York

NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board is seeking an experienced and ambitious finance leader to join us as our Assistant Director of Finance. This is a pivotal role at a time of significant change across the NHS, as Integrated Care Boards continue to evolve towards becoming strategic commissioners focused on improving population health outcomes, reducing inequalities and securing long-term financial sustainability. Reporting to the Deputy Chief Finance Officer, you will provide senior leadership across the finance function, working with contracting and commissioning colleagues on contracting, pathway redesign, commissioning for outcomes, development of new payment models, supporting developments such as Integrated Health Organisations. You will play a key role in supporting the development and implementation of the ICB's financial strategy, advising senior leaders on the effective use of resources, and leading financial input into major commissioning, transformation and efficiency programmes.

This role offers a unique opportunity to lead the continued development of a modern, resilient and professional finance function. You will be responsible for shaping how the team operates, building capability, strengthening financial leadership, and ensuring the organisation has the skills, systems and capacity required to meet future challenges. You will also act as a deputy to the Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Finance Officer as required, providing visible leadership across the organisation and wider South Yorkshire system.

We are looking for a CCAB-qualified finance professional with substantial senior leadership experience within a large, complex organisation. You will bring a strong track record of financial management, strategic planning, transformation delivery and leading high-performing teams through change. Success in this role will require excellent communication and influencing skills, the ability to work across organisational boundaries, and a passion for developing people and building collaborative relationships. In return, you will join an ambitious organisation committed to innovation, partnership working and organisational development, where you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the future of health and care services across South Yorkshire.

NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board oversees health and social care for a population of 1.4m people. Working through our 4 places, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield, we are building on the strengths, capacity and knowledge of all those directly involved with our local communities to deliver our four key aims:

• Improving outcomes in population health and healthcare;
• Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience and access;
• Enhancing productivity and value for money;
• Helping the NHS support broader social and economic development.

Our near 1,000 staff are committed to addressing the broader health, public health, and social care needs of the population across South Yorkshire through our values of One Team, Empowered and Innovative. We work as a key partner with the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) of health and care providers within the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS) to collectively deliver health and care services that meet the needs of the local population.

South Yorkshire ICB is a Disability Confident Employer.

Details

• Date posted: 30 July 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8d
• Salary: £94,356 to £108,814 a year
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: D9133-1092
• Job locations: Eyre Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 3FG, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

For further information with regard to this vacancy please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Person Specification

Attributes

• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change across a range of functions.
• Engages and includes all groups of staff, empowering all voices to be heard and create a learning environment to develop and grow the team's knowledge and experience, allowing freedom to act.
• Willing to engage with and learn from peers, other professionals and colleagues in the desire to provide or support the most appropriate interventions.
• Drives the overall direction toward integration.
• Conscientious; able and keen to always deliver the best possible quality.
• Challenges the status quo and holds others accountable.
• Professional calm and efficient manner.
• Effective organiser, influencer, and networker.
• Demonstrates a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals.
• Completer/Finisher.
• Used to working in a busy environment and highly complex environment.
• Required to attend meetings out of hours to engage with external stakeholders e.g. GP practices.

Qualifications

• CCAB Qualified or significant appropriate experience.
• Educated to doctorate degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area supported by a professional development.
• Management Qualification or equivalent.
• Evidence of ongoing Continuing Professional Development in NHS financial accounts policies.

Experience

• Demonstrate significant experience of monitoring and adherence to budgets across a wide spectrum of services.
• Evidence of drafting and agreement of highly complex information and to review those developed by others in the team.
• Expert knowledge of financial management within a large complex organisation and across a system.
• Experience of managing a range of complex multi-faceted contracts and completion of appropriate documentation.
• Experience of leading and managing change programmes.
• Evidence of working at sub-board level.
• Experience of identifying and interpreting highly complex National policy and guidance to ensure successful implementation.

Skills and Competencies

• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Ability to remain calm and professional under pressure.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and trust.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues in line with the governance structure of the organisation.
• Strong numerical and verbal reasoning and leadership skills.
• Ability to analyse highly complex facts and situations and develop a range of options and scenarios.
• Good use of available information sources to enable efficient and effective planning.
• Strategic/critical thinking ability to anticipate and resolve complex problems before they arise.
• Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to identify several solutions.
• Able to think on their feet when dealing with issues and problems.
• Plan and organise highly complex activities.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to Sponsor/Manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies.
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
• Plans and organises a broad range of highly complex activities, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances.
• Act in a way that is compliant with Standing Orders and Prime Financial Policies in the discharge of budget management responsibilities, as appropriate.
• Ability to work without supervision, providing expert advice to the organisation and customers, working to tight and often changing timescales.
• Well-developed written communication skills, including report writing skills with good analytical skills.
• Forge close positive working relationships, in order to support an effective matrix approach to achieve NHS objectives.
• Must be able to prioritise work effectively within the team and be able to direct activities of others.
• Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals.
• Manage members of the team across a number of functions on a daily basis, ensuring that the workload across functions is managed effectively.
• Contribute to the recruitment, appraisal process of the team.
• Responsible for undertaking appraisal and personal development of responsible team members including progressing any disciplinary or capability issues.
• Highly numerate and IT literate and able to make full use of IT suites both for themselves and other organisations.
• Expert working knowledge of the Oracle Finance System operated by Shared Business Services.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Utilise more than one system at any time during the day.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Expert knowledge of finance and accounting practices, procedures and policies and legislation pertinent to the NHS.
• Expert in providing financial advice and support to the relevant budget manager on a regular and timely basis, including the support around proposed and confirmed quality improvement and financial efficiency plans.
• Leads by example and demonstrates system leadership in action by acting in a transparent way across a range of functions.
• Significant experience of leading and implementing medium- and long-term strategy in own service area.
• An understanding of the governance responsibilities of a statutory organisation.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.