Finance Business Partner

West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 27 January 2025

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has become available for Finance Business Partners to join our well established Finance Team.

The principle duties of this post are to support the Head of Financial Management in providing high quality information regarding the financial position and to support the relevant areas of the trust in all aspects of technical finance issues and financial management and governance.

Applicants must be CCAB/CIMA qualified with experience within a large public sector organisation and have a minimum of 12 months post qualification experience.

For any questions on this role, please contact Kim da Silva, Head of Financial Management on 07731 460023

Full details of the job description and person specification can be found under the relevant link.

Main duties of the job

West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating an inclusive, supportive, and accessible workplace for everyone where our colleagues feel empowered to succeed.

Each person plays a vital part to ensuring our organisation meets the differing needs of our communities ultimately enabling us to save lives. We acknowledge that a workforce that reflects the communities that it serves provide better patient care and we are therefore looking for self-motivated, enthusiastic people from all backgrounds that care about making a difference to our patients.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity at all levels. We are proud to have maintained Disability Confident Leader status and as part of our commitments to this we guarantee to invite all applicants who meet the essential criteria for a role to attend assessment or interview. If you have a disability or learning difficulty, and prefer to disclose it, please feel free to do so in your application. You can also contact the Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@wmas.nhs.uk if you wish to have a confidential discussion. We use this information, with your permission, to ensure you are fully supported during the recruitment process.

The Trust is proud to support our Armed Forces community and have signed up to the Step Into Health initiative. We welcome applications from Armed Forces Veterans and Service leavers.

About us

If this position involves a regulated activity it will require an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check. The disclosure will, where appropriate to the role, include information against the Independent Safeguarding Authority barred lists for working with children, adults or both

Where a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is required for the post, all applicants are required to cover the cost of the check. The cost of £55.76 for an enhanced check is payable to our online provider at the time that the DBS application is submitted. Upon receipt of your DBS you will then be required to sign up to the DBS online update service.

We do endeavour to respond to all candidates on an individual basis. Therefore we do ask for your co-operation and patience whilst the short listing process takes place. After the closing date please ensure you check your emails (including junk mail) regularly as contact is usually made via this method.

We are proud to offer flexible working options to support our colleagues to have a greater choice in when, where and how they work. During your interview we will explore this with you and discuss your individual needs and how this could be facilitated for this role to benefit patient experience, service delivery and the work-life balance of colleagues.

Date posted

13 January 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

C9217-232-24-25

Job locations

Ambulance Headquarters

Waterfront Business Park

Brierley Hill

West Midlands

DY5 1LX

Job description

Job responsibilities

To play a leading role in the relevant Management Teams, contributing to financial planning and to key decisions which extend beyond solely financial issues. This will require a good understanding of the wider strategic and operational issues facing the areas and strong relationships with budget holders. This will include attendance at Management forums to present the monthly finance position.

Advising and supporting specific areas of the trust in the identification and achievement of cost improvements to achieve and maintain financial balance.

Monitoring and reviewing budget reports in accordance with Trust Standing Financial Instructions, internal procedures and timescales to ensure progress against business plan objectives and to ensure that managers have accurate financial information to be incorporated in the decision-making process.

Investigate and report on departures from planned expenditure and provide advice, support and monitoring on corrective action. Develop and monitor financial recovery plans and provide regular updates to the Senior Finance Team.

Take the lead for budget setting for the relevant areas of the trust, in line with agreed Trust policies and ensuring the involvement of Executive Directors, General Managers and other key managers.

To ensure regular reconciliation of establishments to pay budgets, to monitor the financial implications of vacancies and to work with HR to develop an affordable workforce strategy.

To ensure that a financial forecast is undertaken on a monthly basis with active input from the relevant areas of the trust and that deviations from the forecast are highlighted and recovery plans put in place.

The post will work with the Head of Financial Management to plan and co-ordinate work activities across relevant areas of the trust. It will provide financial advice to managers and to ensure the availability of relevant information to provide accurate forecasts of potential future activities.

Ensuring that monthly financial reports completely reflect all known information about a specific budget at that point in time e.g. resolution of queries, in-year cost avoidance plans, developments, changes in service delivery.

Ensure that financial records represent a true and fair view and meet financial timescales and requirements of the Trusts corporate reporting system, external statutory returns and accounts, accounting policies and legislation.

The post will help support maximising income levels for the relevant areas of the trust, ensuring that funding sources from all appropriate external agencies are investigated and that all funding is recovered.

To lead on supplying relevant and timely financial information to inform contract negotiations with commissioners and to take an active role in conversations directly with commissioners if appropriate within an approved Trust wide framework.

Support the procurement team with contract and tender evaluation including price and options analysis and comparison to existing budget. This will include escalating and understanding any associated cost pressures that may arise and where there is a saving, provide support to validate and transact the efficiency.

Monitor the activity of the relevant Directorates to other organisations in accordance with the Service Level and Contract Agreements. Where needed, prepare financial analysis reports for presentation to the wider Trust.

Actively provide financial advice to the Group Management and Senior Managers of the relevant areas, to formulate the strategic direction to ensure that resources are effectively utilised to enable the areas to meet their objectives within available resources.

Supporting the Head of Financial Management in the areas business plans to ensure the plans are consistent with Trust plans and that both are communicated to all staff in the relevant areas.

Responsible for the day-to-day management, recruitment and delegation of work for the Management Accounts teams.

Developing the skills and competencies of staff and self through training and development activities, ensuring progress towards individual Personal Development Plans is maintained, reviewed and updated, where appropriate.

Provide financial support and analysis into internal and external business cases for those relevant areas of the trust as appropriate including robust challenge into the content of the case to ensure that it is ready for discussion by Executives.

Act as costing lead within the relevant areas of the trust, ensuring timescales are met to enable submission of national reference cost returns via the patient level costing system.

Providing support to the Corporate Planning team with the supply of relevant financial information and the monitoring of WMAS performance to support the commissioning process.

Maintaining an effective working relationship with other individuals in all areas of the trust and finance function and other officers of the Trust, ensuring that work is carried out efficiently, to a high standard, to deliver a professional service focused on achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.

Providing training to all Managers and Budget Holders and other staff as directed to broaden the overall knowledge base of all staff in relation to financial and performance matters.

Support the production of Annual Accounts and develop management accounts procedures and systems to ensure they integrate with year-end process