Assistant Director - Strategic Costing Lead, Performance & Improvement in Pencoed

The Financial Planning & Delivery Directorate ("the Directorate") was established to provide professional support to Welsh Government to respond and deliver on the financial challenges facing NHS Wales. The Directorate operates across Wales and in support of all NHS Wales organisations as required. This includes:

• Monitoring and managing financial risk in NHS Wales, responding at pace where organisations are demonstrating signs of financial concern.
• Supporting the robust development and delivery of in-year and medium term financial and resource plans.
• Driving forward the efficiency agenda, working with NHS Wales organisations to ensure maximum return from efficiency opportunities.
• Promoting and embedding best practice financial management and use of resources.
• Developing a Centre of Excellence for Financial Information and Intelligence, reflecting costing, benchmarking, resource allocation, and utilisation, to assist in driving improvements on both technical and allocative efficiency across NHS Wales.
• Leading research and identifying best practice in financial management and rapid adoption of proven practice and evidence in a consistent and comprehensive way across Wales.
• Supporting the development of Value Based Healthcare within NHS Wales as required.

The Directorate will enable this agenda and deliver these objectives through building effective relationships within and across NHS Wales, and Welsh Government.

Main duties of the job include:

• Leading the production, validation and improvement of Welsh costing data, including the governance of costing and benchmarking practitioners in delivering this agenda.
• Developing the use of costing data which includes connection and modelling with other data as part of 'big data', to support the wider planning and efficiency objectives of the Directorate.
• Strategically and technically developing the associated national guidance and standards, cognisant of future direction and aligned through input from stakeholders.
• Fostering and maintaining a lead relationship with costing and benchmarking system providers, on behalf of NHS Wales.
• Contributing to the Value Based Health and Care agenda and direction, providing specific costing expertise and leadership.
• Providing leadership and expertise in these topics that supports the education and development of others, including presenting complex data, to ensure that outputs are sufficiently understood and appropriately used.

About us: NHS Wales Performance and Improvement works in partnership for and on behalf of Welsh Government, in and with the NHS in Wales and is hosted by Public Health Wales. Our key purpose is to drive improvements in the quality and safety of care - resulting in better and more equitable outcomes, access and patient experience, reduced variation, and improvements in population health.

Job responsibilities include:

• Providing the direct organisational liaison role to a number of NHS Wales organisations.
• Providing support and challenge to specified NHS Wales organisations in line with the Welsh Government Escalation and Intervention Arrangements.
• Providing financial leadership to national committees and programmes examining opportunities to improve value and financial sustainability within the Welsh NHS.
• Leading on behalf of the Directorate the support and development of key areas of national policy and developments.
• Providing the lead finance support role to Welsh Government policy leads on key NHS programme areas.
• Leading on behalf of the Directorate the relationship management and learning from key external stakeholders.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Person Specification:

• CCAB / CIMA qualified with current membership of that professional body.
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.
• Strong knowledge and experience of costing and understanding of differing forms and constructions, their uses and potential impacts.
• A good level of knowledge and experience of analysing financial and non-financial data and in bringing this together for benchmarking presentation at all levels of an organisation.
• Evidence of personal research that includes a financial perspective.
• A sound understanding of improvement techniques.
• A recognised leader, providing training, guidance and support to others in relation to all aspects of benchmarking.

• Extensive experience as a senior finance manager within large complex healthcare organisations.
• Demonstrable understanding of the sourcing, connection and utilisation of a range of data.
• Experience in strategy development and implementation, including the dissemination and operationalisation of strategy and improvement.
• A clear understanding and practical experience of applying the concepts of Prudent / Value-Based Healthcare.
• Demonstrable experience of utilising and triangulating available data and benchmarking to provide insight and impact for action.
• Considerable knowledge and understanding of an organisation and the wider healthcare environment it operates within.
• Ability to influence at all levels and a highly strategic thinker.
• Good knowledge of NHS Wales finance regime, including a thorough understanding of organisations financial duties, responsibilities and governance requirements.

• Ability to model (consolidate, analyse and appropriately present) often highly complex information, both qualitative and quantitative.
• Proven ability and initiative to achieve targets and objectives within a demanding and pressured environment against challenging deadlines.
• Demonstrable commitment, resilience and success in building, leading, motivating, managing and developing self and teams.
• Able to interpret legislation and guidance as appropriate to the role.
• Able to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills, displaying credibility, influence and political acumen.
• Ability to work independently to a specified remit, ensuring agreed deadlines and deliverables are met.
• Self-motivated with the ability to proactively develop and manage fully formed team workplans from limited information.
• Proficient in the use of standard Microsoft software, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Ability to travel between sites in a timely manner to meet the needs of the service.
• 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.