Job responsibilities
The
Finance Officer will manage the procedures for disseminating
and
accounting for NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) funding
within
the Regional RDN (RRDN) for an annual budget of circa £30M.
This
role will assist the Finance Manager with financial management
for
the RRDN and will provide general support with the operations of
the
RRDN. This role will provide robust details of financial
accountability
alongside
the Finance Manager and Host Organisation Finance team.
The
Finance Officer will ensure, at all times, that there is clear
transparency
of RDN usage and ensure there is a clear audit trail for
the
accountability of expenditure. This role will ensure that all
processes
will align to the Host Organisations Standing Financial
Instructions
(SFIs), and help to develop and implement a streamlined
system
for the receipt and payment of invoices from research Delivery
Organisations
(organisations delivering RDN portfolio research)
across
the RRDN region. This role will be responsible for ensuring all
RDN
subcontracts are in place ahead of making payments. This role
will
also be responsible for processing the Excess Treatment Costs
(ETC)
payments for the systems and ensuring all payments are
processed
in-line with the Host Organisation requirements and within
the
contractual and sub-contractual arrangements for the RRDN.
The
Finance Officer will be involved in the management of the budget
and
will introduce, adapt and improve systems to assess applications
for
funding and will lead on the day-to-day coordination of budgets
and
the reporting of RDN expenditure as required by the RDN
Coordinating
Centre (RDNCC). The Finance Officer will also support
the
Finance Manager to make sure that provider delivery plans and
reports
are in place in a timely fashion.
FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Support the Finance Manager in delivering a comprehensive
finance
service to the RRDN, including assisting in the annual
budget
planning process (developing Outline Use of
Resources
and consultation with key stakeholders) and
providing
expertise in the appropriate use of RDN funding to
all
internal and external stakeholders
Assist in devising, implementing and managing RRDN-wide
procedures
to ensure that RRDN funds are reliably and
efficiently
used according to current DHSC and NIHR
guidance
Ensure that funds are spent in year and invoices processed
efficiently
and accurately
Gain in-depth knowledge and advice of the NIHRs current
financial
allocation model and its application to the RDN
Assist the Finance Manager with any local financial
modelling,
calculating indicative budget allocations and
informing
recipients of RDN funding outcomes
Follow up any queries raised by customer representatives or
RDN
senior management
Support the funding call for strategic funding across the
RRDN
With the Finance Manager, frequently evaluate the procedure
for
accessing funding to ensure that it continues to meet the
needs
of researchers and other stakeholders in the RRDN
Gain in-depth knowledge of NHS support costs and develop
the
ability to distinguish between service support costs,
research
costs and treatment costs (including ETCs)
according
to the appropriate national guidance, e.g.
Attributing
the costs of health and social care Research Development (AcoRD)
Assist the Finance Manager to prepare and issue any ad hoc
calls
for funding across the RRDN
Assist the Finance Manager in seeking assurance that all
relevant
RRDN stakeholders have a process in place for
attributing
and reporting RDN funding and ETC funding, and
ensuring
full cost recovery for all RDN activities is in place
Deal with finance queries by receiving queries, obtaining
additional
information from managers and, where required,
consulting
with the Finance Manager
Contribute to any internal or external audits
Contribute to any financial oversight meetings with recipients
of
RDN funding
Comply with the Host Trust Statutory Financial Instructions
(SFIs)
at all times and report any breaches, working work with
the
Host Organisation finance team
INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
Oversee the general administration relating to the
management
of the procedure for accessing RRDN funding.
This
includes data input, management and maintenance of
the
RRDN reports and reporting to the RRNCC
Provide organisations in receipt of RDN funding with timely
and
accurate information in relation to their financial
allocation
Liaise with recipients of RDN funding on a regular basis over
utilisation
of RRDN funding and alert senior staff to issues in
either
appropriate circumstance (e.g. misuse of funds,
forecast
for under or over-spending on the budget) and
prepare
reports as required to the RDNCC
Support the process of regular data collection from recipients
of
RDN funding on utilisation of funding and report to the RDNCC
Request regular and formal funding reports on the use of
RDN
funding in a timely fashion from local recipients of RDN
funding,
assess and report within the RRDN, the Host Trust
and
RDNCC
Enable payments for RDN funding and NHS-England Excess
Treatment
Cost (ETC) Funding, when a fully executed
contract
is in place
Prepare accurate and timely letters on RDN funding
allocations
Receive and record receipt of invoices relating to the RRDN
using
Host Organisation systems and process RDN BACS
payments
Deal with enquiries relating to finance procedure, approvals
and
invoicing
Prepare monthly activity/finance reports for RRDN
management
groups
Engage with the Host Organisation finance team to run
monthly
income and expenditure reports and undertake
financial
forecasting with the Finance Manager and RRDN
Operations
Director
Contribute to the preparation of RRDN financial plans,
reports,
policies, operating procedures and other documents,
working
to ensure that documents are prepared to a high
standard
and delivered on time
Contribute to the development and implementation of
strategies
and financial systems for quality assurance, to
include
audit and review of the work of the RRDN staff and
sites,
providing feedback, development and support as
necessary
SERVICE
IMPROVEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Contribute to any training and education initiatives to support
the
financial delivery of the RRDN
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Work with the RRDN administrative team to ensure contracts
are
in place with all recipients of the RDN funding ahead of
making
any payments
COMMUNICATION
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT (NHS AND NON-NHS)
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all
relevant
organisations customers and stakeholders
Ensure that the RRDN communicates effectively with
research
Delivery Organisations and researchers regarding
funding
matters
Contribute to effective communications within the RRDN,
including
contributing as necessary to the preparation and
delivery
of regular presentations, reports and newsletters to
the
RRDN staff, members, stakeholders and other relevant
groups
Translate complex financial information into understandable
data
to ensure the end users are aware of the financial
implications
of decisions or actions
