Director of Finance in Gloucester

We are seeking an exceptional Director of Finance to join our Executive Team, following a planned retirement. Our Trust has much to be proud of: a strong and consistent financial track record, embedded values, an overall Good Care Quality Commission rating, and Staff Survey results that consistently rank among the best in the South West. Yet we are also clear-eyed about the challenges ahead sustaining quality and performance while responding to increasing service demands, evolving community needs, commissioning and wider NHS structural changes, alongside a challenging financial environment.

You will be joining us at an exciting time, following the launch of our new strategic plan (2026-2031). This strategy builds on strong foundations and brings renewed focus to specific priorities and ways of working, ensuring we continue to deliver outstanding care and leadership across the system. We are looking for a skilled CCAB qualified accountant and leader who combines energy, curiosity, and ambition with an authentic and strong alignment to our values. If you share our passion for making a measurable difference in people's lives, we would love to hear from you.

As part of a talented and collaborative team of Executive Directors, you will work alongside colleagues who bring both deep local knowledge and fresh perspectives. Together with Board colleagues, you’ll lead a high-performing organisation delivering community, mental health, learning disability and autism services across Gloucestershire. This role includes core responsibility for finance, planning, and the estates and facilities functions. It is likely that additional portfolios will be added to these core responsibilities, depending on your skills and experience.

It is a key role within the Trust’s Executive team and the Board. You will be responsible for the Trust’s strategic financial planning, maintaining its financial systems and ensuring strong financial control to enable the Trust to meet its statutory responsibilities, financial targets and maintain our reputation for solid financial management and delivery with key stakeholders. In doing so, you will support the whole organisation in delivering services which meet the needs of the Gloucestershire population in a way that is always improving and achieving value for money.

As the principal advisor to the Board on financial matters, you will be responsible for ensuring that any potential financial risks or concerns are brought to their attention and for providing assurance on the management of financial matters. We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5,000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

About Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that: 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question. 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region. 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%. This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Providing Executive Leadership For Financial strategy and management: overseeing the approach to the use of resources to support the Trust’s strategic aims and maintaining a strong financial management culture and controls. Estates and facilities: strategic leadership for the Estates Strategy and delivery of estates and facilities functions. Contracting and procurement: leading agreement and management of contracts, including leading tendering processes and ensuring best value through procurement. Business Planning: ensuring coherent and cohesive business plans, linking local and national priorities together, aligned to workforce, financial, operational and quality priorities.

Full details of the role can be found in the attached Job Description and Personal Specification documents. A Candidate Information pack is available using the link below. If you are interested, you can arrange an informal conversation with the Chief Executive, Douglas Blair, by contacting Jane Russell. Candidates are strongly encouraged to arrange an informal discussion prior to application. Please note that applications for this role are via CV; applications via Trac cannot be accepted. CVs and covering letters should be sent together with completed NHS Fit and Proper person attestation and Equality Monitoring forms.