Associate Director of Financial Services and Reporting in Stafford

This vacancy is only open at this stage to internal employees of the following organisations within the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System:

• Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
• North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
• University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, inclusive of Black Country Procurement Group and North Midlands and Cheshire Pathology Service.
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board

All eligible internal applicants must be shortlisted and interviewed before the vacancy can be re-advertised externally.

The Associate Director of Financial Services and Reporting is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic and operational delivery of the Trust’s financial services function. Reporting to and deputising for the Deputy Chief Financial Officer, the post holder will provide expert leadership and assurance across all aspects of financial accounting & reporting, technical accounting, capital accounting, payroll, pensions, and financial systems.

This role demands a proactive, modern, and dynamic approach to ensure robust financial control, compliance with national policy and accounting standards, and the timely, accurate recording and reporting. The post holder will lead the production of the Trust’s Annual Accounts, coordinating internal and external audit processes to deliver accounts that are free from material error and submitted within nationally mandated deadlines.

Main duties include:

• Providing leadership and direction for the teams reporting into the post.
• Provide senior leadership for financial systems, ensuring robustness, integration, data quality and future development.
• Act as organisational senior finance lead for PFI, overseeing financial management, contractual compliance, statutory accounting and long term affordability.
• Act as organisational lead for IFRS16, ensuring compliant lease accounting, governance and reporting.
• Ensure effective systems are in place and maintained to ensure overall financial control, assurance and statutory compliance.
• Act as a senior financial advisor to the Executive Team and Trust Board.

Come and work with us at our award-winning NHS Trust, leading the way for trying new and better ways of working to help improve life for our local communities. We have around 9,000 staff who provide physical and mental healthcare, support for people with learning disabilities, and adult social care across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin. We also run regional and national services, including help for new parents (perinatal care), eating disorders, forensic services, sexual health, and support for people in prison with mental health, drug, or alcohol problems.

We offer great career development for both clinical and non-clinical roles, with ongoing training and support to help you learn and grow. We are ‘United in our Uniqueness’ and committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and can be themselves, no matter their background or identity. We want our staff to feel supported and valued, and we aim to build a team that reflects the communities we serve. Together, we can make sure every voice is heard, and every difference is respected.

Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

Please be aware that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in completing application forms will be monitored to ensure fairness and transparency. If you have used AI you must state this in your application.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. If it is identified that you require sponsorship your application may be withdrawn.

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Act as the lead for the production of the Trust’s Annual Accounts and the finance elements of the Annual Report, coordinating all year-end activities across the directorate, liaising with internal and external audit teams, and ensuring statutory deadlines are met.
• Provide leadership of the Trust’s Agreement of Balances exercise, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely completion in line with national requirements.
• Act as a senior leader within the Finance Directorate, working closely with the Deputy Chief Financial Officer to coordinate directorate-wide development programmes and initiatives that drive continuous improvement and innovation.
• Provide leadership and direction to a wide range of teams, ensuring clarity of purpose, high performance, and alignment with the Trust’s values, while fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.
• Maintain and regularly review the directorate’s Business Continuity Plans, ensuring resilience and continuity of critical financial operations.

Financial Systems and Assurance

• Provide strategic leadership and management of the Trust’s financial systems function, ensuring systems are robust, fit for purpose, and meet the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. Specify enhancements to improve assurance, internal control, and decision-making.
• Ensure financial policies, processes and systems are maintained and developed to deliver high levels of assurance, robust internal control, and compliance with statutory financial duties.
• Lead the development and implementation of governance, management and accountability systems within the Trust, taking responsibility for assuring follow-up actions and reporting breaches to the Audit Committee.

Technical and Specialist Responsibilities

• Lead the management, reporting and delivery of treasury management and financial services for both the Trust and its Charity.
• Act as lead for the reporting of charitable funds, overseeing all accounting policies to ensure the Trust’s charity accounts are appropriately managed and reported in a timely and accurate manner.
• Provide technical leadership on PFI arrangements, representing the Trust in PFI forums and ensuring the accounts accurately reflect the Trust’s position in line with PFI accounting guidance.
• Respond to technical accounting matters and developmental initiatives on behalf of the Trust, advising the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Audit Committee on options and risks, and implementing agreed actions to deliver the Annual Accounts and meet all audit requirements.

Capital Planning and Reporting

• Lead the reporting and planning of capital expenditure, supported by the structure beneath the post, including development and maintenance of the Trust’s annual capital plan, longer-term capital financial model, and provision of monthly financial returns as required by NHSE.
• Deliver and develop capital financial reporting to internal steering groups, the Trust Board, the Integrated Business and Performance Committee, IC, and regulatory bodies.
• Remain up to date on national capital planning guidance and brief senior stakeholders on any changes.
• Manage the Trust’s income and expenditure ledger and supervise transactional accounting, ensuring effective supply chain accounting, timely invoice payment, income collection and proactive debt management.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of the Trust’s balance sheet, working capital and cash flow positions to the Integrated Business and Performance Committee and regulators.
• Ensure appropriate financial advice is provided on VAT accounting practice and its application across the Trust.
• Ensure delivery of regulatory standards and compliance with national policies and statutory financial duties.

External Engagement and Partnership

• Engage actively with external stakeholders, auditors and regulators on matters within scope and role responsibility.
• Liaise with external partners to promote the Trust’s financial services offer and learn from best practice, supporting discussions to explore opportunities for expanding shared financial services provision at scale.
• Develop and sustain strategic partnerships within the local health economy and engage with external forums to represent the Trust’s interests.

Other Responsibilities

• Advise on actions required in response to national guidance and ensure deployment of best practice across the directorate.
• Undertake other finance-related projects on an ad‑hoc basis as required.

Communication

• Ensure robust and effective two‑way communication across the Finance Directorate, between teams, and with the Trust’s Management Team, fostering transparency and collaboration.
• Act as a strategic influencer and catalyst for change, challenging barriers to delivery while maintaining awareness of wider organisational priorities and stakeholder needs.
• Serve as a spokesperson and ambassador for the Trust on all Accountancy & Assurance matters, representing the organisation with professionalism and authority.
• Build and manage external relationships to maintain strong engagement with regulatory and statutory bodies, ensuring compliance and promoting the Trust’s reputation.
• Champion and embed the Trust’s values and behaviours within the Accountancy & Assurance teams, ensuring they are consistently demonstrated in all interactions.
• Maintain political and organisational awareness to operate effectively within a complex health and social care system, anticipating challenges and adapting communication strategies accordingly.

Leadership

• Provide clear, accountable leadership for Accountancy & Assurance services, setting strategic direction and ensuring delivery against organisational objectives.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, embedding quality principles and the Trust’s LEAN methodologies within all processes.
• Develop devolved leadership within teams, underpinned by an explicit framework of authority, responsibility, and accountability.
• Promote and foster a high‑performance team culture aligned with the Trust’s values, strategic aims, and behaviours.
• Lead on education, development, and succession planning across the function, ensuring robust professional development, mandatory training, and leadership capability.
• Identify, benchmark to and implement best practice and quality within the function to enhance credibility.
• Build and maintain a high-performance culture through effective performance management, coaching, and recognition of excellence.
• Provide leadership and direction to a diverse portfolio of teams, ensuring clarity of purpose, resilience, and delivery of complex objectives.

Most Challenging Parts of the Job

• Sustaining high levels of concentration when analysing complex financial data, producing the Trust’s Annual Accounts, and drafting reports for the Board and Committees, while managing frequent interruptions and urgent queries.
• Navigating high‑pressure situations, including managing staff performance issues, responding to complaints, and addressing sensitive or distressing circumstances with professionalism and empathy.
• Operating within a complex and politically sensitive health and social care environment, balancing competing priorities and maintaining organisational credibility.
• Travel across the Trust’s geography to attend meetings and represent the organisation at external forums and stakeholder engagements.

Person specification

• Qualified
• Specialist finance knowledge across multiple functions, including payroll & financial accounting.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.