Job responsibilities
1. The post holder reports directly to the ICB Chief Finance Officer
2. The role will be responsible for building partnerships internally and collaborating with wider ICS system leaders including provider collaboratives, public health, primary care, local government, voluntary and community sector, other partners, and local people to make real transformational differences for the population through local, regional, and national forums.
3. The role work with the Director of Financial Assurance in the identification of key financial risks and issues related to robust financial performance and leadership and working with relevant providers and partners to enable solutions and three year financial plan.
4. Through the team the role will ensure internal controls and robust systems and process are in place to protect the assets of the ICB and ensure value for money can be demonstrated.
5. The role will ensure timely and good quality report to various meeting committees and Board as well as regulatory and annual accounts reporting in line with national and regional timetable.
6. As a qualified accountant, individuals in these roles will be accountable for their own practice and conduct in the role.
7. The role will support the CFO on the Recovery work to facilitate long term financial and clinical sustainability.
Local role descriptions for ICB chief financial officer are likely to include the following responsibilities:
Financial Management and Assurance
Accountable to the CFO for the effective monitoring, management and reporting of cashflow funded through the public purse.
Provide strong professional leadership, advice and support to local ICB teams and across the ICS.
Lead the finance team in continuously improving the financial systems and processes of the ICB to ensure good governance, stewardship, controls and cost effective use of resources.
Lead the ICB finance team in the production of the Annual Report and Accounts, ensuring compliance with national guidance and reporting deadlines and in achieving clean audit reports for the ICB from external audit.
You will ensure that the ICB meets the required financial and governance arrangements as a statutory body.
Accountable for ensuring complete, effective and timely transaction processing for all ISFE processes: Order to Cash, Purchase to Pay and Accounting to Reporting.
Accountable for delivery of the Better Payment Practice Code.
As lead Finance officer for the ICB Audit and Risk Committee, provide appropriate professional support and advice in delivery of statutory financial requirements and scoping of internal and external audit assignments.
Lead on financial reporting of the ICB and system to NHS England, ICB Board and ICB
Finance and Resource Committee, ensuring that the financial position and risks to the financial position are clearly understood.
Ensure the provision of accurate and timely financial information commentaries, reports and forecasts to budget holders, the System Finance & Performance.
You will take a lead role on behalf of the ICB, and where required NHS England, to ensure that there are appropriate and effective financial and contracting monitoring and performance arrangements in place to ensure the delivery of effective health services.
Providing robust governance and assurance
Specifically, this involves putting in place an adequate system of strategic planning, budget setting, and risk management.
You will support a strong culture of public accountability, probity, and governance, ensuring that appropriate and compliant structures, systems, and process are in place to minimise risk and promote the freedom to speak up.
You will be accountable for managing the NHS budget across the ICB, ensuring financial balance for the NHS, good value for money for taxpayers and promoting and ensuring long term-financial health for the system.
This will include ensuring the establishment of and compliance with standing financial instructions and standing orders and reporting arrangements for the ICB and wider partnership organisations across the system as necessary.
Where services are commissioned across ICBs you will oversee successful performance on the use of resources in line with the agreed system oversight framework for the ICS, ensuring appropriate escalation arrangements are in place and appropriate actions is taken as necessary.
You will work closely with system partners to ensure that financial and commissioning arrangements which support and promote integration and meeting the needs of the population are effective and transparent. This will include ensuring user/patient involvement in decision making relating to the use of resources and commissioning where appropriate.
Policy and Guidance
Accountable for the interpretation of national guidance and accounting standards and the development of policies and procedures which will impact on the whole organisation.
Interpret and advise levels of risk to alternative courses of action and apply sound judgement to situations with significant ambiguity.
Lead the implementation of national policy and frameworks that cut across the whole system and ensure their compliance.
Will work jointly with system partners to develop and agree system financial accounting and reporting procedures and lead on their implementation.
Accountable for compliance to corporate policy, ensuring Executives and managers of the ICB understand and adhere to its financial policies, systems and processes.
Planning and Organising
Accountable for planning of the statutory year end process, preparation of financial and governance statements and the conclusion of the statutory external audit.
Accountable for the planning of the ICB running cost budgets for the entire organisation and liaising and agreeing them with directorate executive leads.
Advise on levels of planning risk regarding potential financial outcomes in situations of significant ambiguity.
Accountable for planning of the medium-term financial plan and strategic planning financial planning.
Accountable for the planning of the ICB operating plan c. £4.5bn annual expenditure.
Advise on levels of planning risk regarding potential financial outcomes in situations of significant ambiguity.
Financial and Physical Resources
Accountable for a departmental budget
Human Resources
Accountable for the leadership of a finance team of c50, that report into this role. Provide line management to the senior team and set the cultural tone of the team by providing a role model for others to aspire to.
Accountable for the development of the finance team in keeping with the One NHS Finance agenda, which will build and improve the capability and capacity of the ICB finance team, developing skills, knowledge and behaviours to respond professionally to the needs of the organisation and the Integrated Care System.
Develop the financial skills of senior managers and clinicians across the ICB and promote awareness of financial, value for money and commercial issues.
Information Resources
Responsible for the development, management and maintenance of financial systems and financial control processes for the ICB to support good governance and effective financial performance reporting.
Required to present to a range of internal and external stakeholders information relating to financial performance, often in challenging situations.
Developing and presenting reports summarising status on issues, appraising outcomes, and providing progress reports for senior staff or groups of staff, tailoring the contents to meet the needs of the audience.
Research and Development
Expected to undertake research and/or development as necessary for own work.
Creating a compassionate and inclusive culture
You will have responsibility for developing the finance function, delivering the five-year finance development programme and for ensuring that work on equality, diversity and inclusion is taken forward. To do this you will need to actively engage with the regional finance academy / Northwest Skills Development Network and the workstreams of the finance leadership council and be responsible for improving the diversity of senior finance leadership in the ICS.
You will create and promote a culture of inclusive, professional leadership. You will be visible as a collaborative financial leader and role model, engaging health and care professionals across the whole system in the development and delivery of the ICB plan. This includes:
Providing mentoring and support to other health and care professional leaders.
Ensuring that health and care professional leaders are supported to perform their roles and given opportunities to develop.
Ensuring that the talent management and development of health and care professional leaders (including finance and contracting staff) is embedded at all levels of the system.