Assistant Research and Innovation Accountant in Sheffield

We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciated. We offer many different ways of helping staff including career development opportunities, flexible working, good annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing packages and financial support systems. Joining the Trust also allows you access to a number of saving options via our salary sacrifice schemes and a wide range of discount opportunities with retailers and service providers.

Applications are invited for an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual to join the Research and Innovation Finance Team. This is an exciting development opportunity for someone who is seeking to obtain a broad range of financial experience within a Clinical Research and Innovation arena. The role will include assisting in the:

• Provision of comprehensive financial management support to all stakeholders of Clinical Research and Innovation (R&I) both within and outside the Trust.
• Maintenance and development of systems of monitoring R&I activity and expenditure, for the timely recovery of income and for all aspects of budgeting and budgetary control.

We are looking for candidates who have 2 or more A levels at Grade C or above (or equivalent) and 5 GCSE passes at Grade C/4 or above including Maths and English and are AAT qualified or hold an equivalent demonstrable qualification. Alternatively, we are happy to consider applicants with demonstrable experience of financial management, costing and contracting processes and have knowledge of Financial Governance arrangements and compliance with protocols for income recovery with respect to clinical research and innovation.

Previous NHS or research finance experience would be useful although the ability to demonstrate a good working knowledge of accounting procedures and processes together with an understanding of relevant accounting standards is more important. Practical use of PCs and demonstrably good IT skills, including advanced Excel, are essential. Candidates should be self-motivated with effective organisational skills and work planning methods to work under their own initiative, to enable tight deadlines to be met. They must work well within a multi-disciplinary team, being articulate and confident to communicate both within the Trust and external organisations.

A study package is available to candidates who wish to gain an AAT, CCAB or CIMA Qualification. Please refer to the job description and person specification to ensure that you have the necessary skills and experience to apply for the post.

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

STH is the largest employer in the region and we are committed to providing a great place to work across our hospitals and community services. Treating our staff well is at the heart of who we are as an employer and we provide first class salary packages including above average holiday entitlement and a wide range of flexible benefits such as an excellent pension scheme, childcare and holiday clubs, education and development opportunities, staff discounts on a wide range of products, shops and services.

We are committed to recruiting and developing a diverse pool of talented people who want to be part of making STH a thriving and PROUD place to work and ensuring we continue to flourish and succeed in improving the lives of the people we are proud to serve. If we sound like the kind of organisation you would like to work in, we would be delighted to speak to you about this role.

The R&I Finance team are based at the Northern General Hospital within the STH NHSFT Finance Directorate and are also embedded within the Clinical Research and Innovation Office, located on the Royal Hallamshire.

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post. When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.

Qualifications

• 2 or more A levels (or equivalent) and 5 GCSE passes (or equivalent), including Maths and English at Grade C/4 or above (or equivalent experience/qualifications) and AAT qualified or equivalent demonstrable qualification OR Demonstrable experience of financial management, costing and contracting processes.
• Knowledge of the Financial Governance arrangements in place: Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions, and Schemes of Delegation.
• Knowledge of compliance with protocols for income recovery with respect to clinical research and innovation.

Experience

• Sufficient relevant financial experience, including management accounting experience.
• Demonstrably good IT skills, including advanced Excel level as a regular user.
• Demonstrable experience working with/between financial and non-financial systems.
• Research Finance experience.
• Experience of working in NHS Finance in an Acute Hospital.
• Experience of Integrated ledger systems/Integra literate.
• Experience of production of budget reports.

Special Skills

• Ability to establish and maintain professional credibility with Service Managers and other Directorate colleagues.
• Ability to meet deadlines some of which may be conflicting through effective organisational and planning skills.
• High degree of numeracy.
• Good written and verbal reasoning communication skills.
• Ability to work on own initiative and with minimal supervision.
• Positive Team Player/Ability to work as part of a team as well as individually.
• Flexible and adaptable – able to manage competing and changing workloads.
• Interpersonal skills to communicate with external bodies.

Please note that in order to comply with the UK Government’s rules on Skilled Worker sponsorship, any applicants who do not meet the eligibility requirements or concessions on salary thresholds under the Skilled Worker visa will not be eligible to receive sponsorship from the Trust. Please keep this in mind when submitting your application.

Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on using AI technology. When you complete your application, you are required to declare that the information in your application form is true and complete. The personal statement is exactly that; personal.

When selecting to apply via NHS Jobs, you will be redirected to our preferred recruitment system called Trac. You will be asked to create and submit your application via the Trac recruitment system. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. All communications should be sent via your Trac system account.

If you are offered employment at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals your information will be transferred from the Trac recruitment system into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application form, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed.

Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email sent via the Trac recruitment system, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Trust is committed to its obligations in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Should you require any assistance in applying for the position please contact the General or Medical Human Resources Departments on the number identified on the NHS Jobs page for the organisation.

Job Share applicants are welcome for all full time posts unless indicated but cannot be guaranteed. In addition for Fixed Term Contracts, internal secondments may be considered, please seek the approval of your current line manager before applying for the position.

All employment with the Trust is subject to a number of NHS Employment Checks being met to a satisfactory standard including verification of identity, eligibility to work in the United Kingdom, references and qualifications in addition to professional registration, a disclosure and barring records check and occupational health check if these are deemed to be a requirement for the position to be undertaken.

For more information about our organisation and the opportunities available, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.