Income & Contracts Accountant

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

The closing date is 08 December 2024

Job summary

We have a fantastic opportunity to join a dynamic and fast paced finance function. Reporting to the Head of Financial Performance this post sits within the Trust Wide reporting team and also supports the Head of Income & Contracting ensuring the Trusts income plans are set each year to maximise income into the Trust.

The ideal candidate should be a motivated, enthusiastic and flexible individual with an ability to learn quickly, seeking a role in which to develop their own accounting skills whilst making a positive contribution to the department. They should exhibit good communication skills and be able to influence a range of audiences from fellow finance colleagues to operational and departmental colleagues and managers.

Main duties of the job

Work as part of the Trust wide reporting team and supporting the Head of Income and Contracting to ensure that the Trust sets appropriate income plans each year, analyses, and reports on performance against those plans accurately and maximises receipt of income into the Trust.

About us

Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is over 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Our objectives are simple:

Best services for local people
Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
Best use of resources
Best people

Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

Date posted

22 November 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9365-24-1307

Job locations

Charles Hastings Way

Worcester

Worcestershire

WR5 1DD

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Duties:

Month-end and Final Accounts

1. To ensure the Trusts monthly financial ledger accurately reflects the Trusts performance against its income contracts, and especially in respect of patient-specific high cost drugs and devices income.

2. Undertake the appropriate income and data analyses to understand and issue reports on variances against monthly income plans and budgets.

3. Support with the income elements of monthly financial returns and final accounts to NHS England.

4. Support with the production of the monthly income reporting to Trust Board and Committees.

5. Maintain a clear audit trail between internal and external reporting of all aspects of trust income. Producing working papers for internal and external audit, including supporting with the annual accounts audit.

Budget Setting and Annual Planning

6. Support with annual income and activity planning cycle to ensure that income budgets set for the Divisions and Directorate accurately reflect the discussions during the budget setting meetings.

7. Support with the income elements of the NHS England annual plan submission.

8. Maintain the ledger for income budgets ensuring all changes are accurately reflected and reconciled to supporting documentation.

9. Carry out timely and accurate production of agreed analysis related to the commissioning, contracting and business planning processes.

Contracting, Commissioning and Other

10. Work with the Trusts Commissioners, Care Groups and the Trusts Contracting Team to ensure income maximisation for the Trust.

11. Monitor cash receipts from commissioners in line with contracts. Take necessary action to address variances as required.

12. Ensure timely invoicing for income, sending backing and resolving queries on invoices in a timely matter, including commissioner contracts, non-contracted activity, provider contracts/SLAs

13. Resolve any queries raised on monthly contract reports and/or patient-specific high cost drugs and devices by the Trusts main commissioners.

14. Delivery of monthly contract monitoring reports to commissioners, and submission of non SUS contract datasets.

General Duties:

1. Work on specific contract projects liaising with directorates as required.

2. Support the Deputy Director of Finance and the Head of Contracting and Income as required.

3. To contribute to the development of the section to continually improve the service to meet the changing needs of the customers. Including developing procedures and processes.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Duties:

Month-end and Final Accounts

2. Undertake the appropriate income and data analyses to understand and issue reports on variances against monthly income plans and budgets.

3. Support with the income elements of monthly financial returns and final accounts to NHS England.

4. Support with the production of the monthly income reporting to Trust Board and Committees.

Budget Setting and Annual Planning

6. Support with annual income and activity planning cycle to ensure that income budgets set for the Divisions and Directorate accurately reflect the discussions during the budget setting meetings.

7. Support with the income elements of the NHS England annual plan submission.

8. Maintain the ledger for income budgets ensuring all changes are accurately reflected and reconciled to supporting documentation.

9. Carry out timely and accurate production of agreed analysis related to the commissioning, contracting and business planning processes.

Contracting, Commissioning and Other

10. Work with the Trusts Commissioners, Care Groups and the Trusts Contracting Team to ensure income maximisation for the Trust.

11. Monitor cash receipts from commissioners in line with contracts. Take necessary action to address variances as required.

12. Ensure timely invoicing for income, sending backing and resolving queries on invoices in a timely matter, including commissioner contracts, non-contracted activity, provider contracts/SLAs

13. Resolve any queries raised on monthly contract reports and/or patient-specific high cost drugs and devices by the Trusts main commissioners.

14. Delivery of monthly contract monitoring reports to commissioners, and submission of non SUS contract datasets.

General Duties:

1. Work on specific contract projects liaising with directorates as required.

2. Support the Deputy Director of Finance and the Head of Contracting and Income as required.

3. To contribute to the development of the section to continually improve the service to meet the changing needs of the customers. Including developing procedures and processes.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Ability to use all Microsoft packages to an intermediate level.
Experience of working within a finance department.
NHS Experience.
Understanding of funding for providers within the NHS.

Desirable

Experience of working in a large complex organisation.
Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Essential

Graduate or equivalent

Desirable

CCAB / CIMA or AAT Student.
Knowledge and experience of using finance ledger software, in particular Oracle.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

Good verbal communication and presentation skills including the ability to explain complex financial issues to non-financial staff and communicate sensitive or contentious information in order to influence decision making.
Strong inter-personal skills including the ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with colleagues at all levels from within the organisation and external stakeholders.
Proven mathematical reasoning skills.
Understanding of the NHS.
Understanding of contracts and service level agreements.

Desirable

Familiar with databases and/or handling large datasets.
Previous experience using SQL/ database/ Power BI/ Power Query.

Personal Qualities

Essential

Excellent team worker.
Able to establish and maintain good working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
Proactive with ability to solve problems.
Ability to work unsupervised.
Able to manage a varied workload and to prioritise effectively. Ability to work to deadlines.
Attention to detail.
Adaptable.

Other Job Requirements

Essential

Knowledge and understanding of equal opportunities.
Able to work in offices on Worcester Royal Hospital site for a minimum of 2 days per week.

Desirable

Able to travel between sites and elsewhere as required.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Ability to use all Microsoft packages to an intermediate level.
Experience of working within a finance department.
NHS Experience.
Understanding of funding for providers within the NHS.

Desirable

Experience of working in a large complex organisation.
Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Essential

Graduate or equivalent

Desirable

CCAB / CIMA or AAT Student.
Knowledge and experience of using finance ledger software, in particular Oracle.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

Good verbal communication and presentation skills including the ability to explain complex financial issues to non-financial staff and communicate sensitive or contentious information in order to influence decision making.
Strong inter-personal skills including the ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with colleagues at all levels from within the organisation and external stakeholders.
Proven mathematical reasoning skills.
Understanding of the NHS.
Understanding of contracts and service level agreements.

Desirable

Familiar with databases and/or handling large datasets.
Previous experience using SQL/ database/ Power BI/ Power Query.

Personal Qualities

Essential

Excellent team worker.
Able to establish and maintain good working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
Proactive with ability to solve problems.
Ability to work unsupervised.
Able to manage a varied workload and to prioritise effectively. Ability to work to deadlines.
Attention to detail.
Adaptable.