Head of Financial Accounts and Financial Services

Job responsibilities

The role will be the Head for all matters in respect of team communication, team priorities, team objectives, and team development.

The role will be responsible for financial governance and stewardship, reporting and regulatory duties within the ICB.

The role will support the design and implementation of sound financial governance arrangements to support developing integrated systems at West Yorkshire and at Place level whilst also dealing with conflicts of interest.

The role will provide senior overview of the production of the ICB annual statutory financial accounts.

The role will provide senior overview for the ICB treasury function including the monthly cash drawdown and payments to creditors in line with terms and NHS E/I requirements for cash management and targets.

This role will provide senior overview and guidance for the creation and implementation of sound financial controls, reconciliations, cash management, invoice approval and payment in line with the ICBs prime financial policies and other policies and procedures for the protection and probity of financial resources allocated to the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

The role will support a focus on improvement of systems and processes to ensure the Financial Control function is as effective and efficient as possible, as well as managing delivery of day-to-day responsibilities.

The role will further develop the financial accounts and financial services functions reporting capabilities and skills to move from the current statutory based financial reporting to a more sophisticated level where financial data is combined with a range of analytical and actuarial metrics to support value-based decisions to be made by a range of experts and stakeholders across the ICB.

The role will have responsibility for supporting the development of wider expertise and understanding of functions within financial services and accounts.

The postholder will provide technical advice and expertise in relation to new and existing accounting standards applications to the NHS and their impact on funding and accounting arrangements across the ICB.

The postholder will write and provide papers and present information to the Audit Committee on key annual account considerations, particularly around income and expenditure, creditors and debtors, analytical review, assets and liabilities, leases and provisions, and accounting policies.

The postholder will provide direct line management leadership to the senior finance managers within the team and overall leadership across the whole financial accounts and financial services team in the undertaking of their duties, providing technical support, cover, appraisal, training, development, and discipline as appropriate.

Develop and manage robust financial accounting systems and processes to support the reporting at place and ICB as appropriate.

Develop policies and procedures, including interpretation and implementation, in line with statutory and NHS guidelines.

Provide specialist advice and guidance on the interpretation of financial accounting policies and procedures.

Ensure financial controls are in place across all financial accounting systems and processes. Manage financial accounting systems to meet audit requirements.

Provide financial expertise and input regarding highly complex multi stranded business cases and option appraisal as part of the health improvement and modernisation agenda.

Provide support and leadership to the development and maintenance of financial governance arrangements during a period of change and uncertainty under the White Paper flexibilities offered to the ICB to help shape the most optimal solutions.

Development of local procedure notes in support of new governance arrangements, working co-operatively with other members of the finance team.

Provide overall leadership for counter-fraud, ensuring latest advice and risks are circulated across the team adjusting processes to improve controls for fraud detection and avoidance where required and ensure team are briefed by counter-fraud specialist on a frequent basis.

Ultimately responsible for delivery of statutory annual accounts in line with NHSE/I timetable and guidance and other returns for example Agreement of Balances, VAT, pay-overs, salary sacrifice schemes.

The role will have overall senior oversight responsibility for ensuring the integrity of the general ledger by ensuring the monthly completion of sound control accounts and reconciliations in line with the ICBs prime financial policies. Also oversight of other policies and procedures for the protection and probity of financial resources allocated to the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

The role will ensure that complex technical advice to stakeholders on issues of financial control, IR35, VAT Accounting and International Financial Reporting Standards, employment tax legislation is given and that items to HMRC for technical support and guidance where advice is required is escalated.

The role will be the overall senior leader for managing the key stakeholder relationship with Shared Business Services and will support the team to make known issues which are complex and difficult to resolve through normal communication channels.

The role will be the overall very senior contact for ensuring all outsourced third-party service provider (e.g., Financial Shared Services and Payroll) matters which affect the smooth running, accuracy, and integrity of the Integrated Single Finance Environment (ISFE) financial platform are resolved.

The role will provide senior overview for the ICB treasury function including the monthly cash drawdown and payments to creditors in line with terms and NHS E/I requirements for cash management and targets.

Ensure that relevant information is provided by the team for inclusion in any statutory annual reporting documentation required by the new Integrated systems.

Ensure that the team provides monthly monitoring and other returns for submission to the relevant statutory regulators and systems accurately and on time by your review, ensuring that all financial and regulations are correctly followed in the preparation of these returns.

Ensure that financial and balance sheet information for presentation to the system level governance and surveillance forums is provided accurately and on time by your review, ensuring that these are supplemented by appropriate supporting documentation to provide a clear audit trail for the quality assurance of this information.

Ensure that all relevant accounting rules and guidance from the DHSC, International Financial Reporting Standards as amended by Treasury are followed explicitly in the place-based transactions and provide appropriate advice to senior level staff on all financial reporting and regulatory matters.

Ensure compliance with all statutory and best practice codes in undertaking its financial transactions on behalf of the local and wider West Yorkshire systems.

To always ensure that any Standing Orders which regulate proceedings within the ICB, Standing Financial Instructions and Scheme of Delegations are adhered to and provide advice on these to all staff where required to do so.

Senior overall lead for the compliance of and adherence to Place and ICB financial governance policies, procedures, and key financial controls and work on revisions and updates to these policies and procedures at each review date.

Identify and support discovery of any necessary changes to improve performance or ensure compliance with national policies and guidelines which will impact on the finance departments and implement them.

Ensure effective communications, matrix work and teamwork with other finance staff, and all information, contracting and pathway integration colleagues in the organisation and across system partners.

Contribute towards establishing and maintaining effective accounting systems, including leading work to review and improve current working practice

Working with highly complex financial information, data, facts, and situations requiring analysis, interpretations, and comparisons on a range of options and making financial decisions on the most appropriate approach. This will include assessment of the value for money decisions.

Ensuring that there are effective mechanisms for anticipating, identifying, and responding to key risks in relation to financial position. Analysing its performance in line with organisational and departmental targets and objectives.

Using various communication methods, provide timely advice on highly complex situations, provide information or support to internal and external stakeholders around related function, adhering to policies, legislation, governance requirements and best practice guidance.

Required to present complex information to large groups of stakeholders, where appropriate, where there may be contention or negotiation required to successfully convey function related information.

Plan and co-ordinate the implementation of function specific strategies, theory, protocols, and processes for the achievement of organisational objectives, which may have influence outside of their functional area. Contribute to the planning, organisation and implementation of complex strategies and programmes of work in own function, interpreting national guidelines and applying these to own area of work. These programmes may impact across the whole organisation.

Devise, develop and implement appropriate information sharing systems. Ensure that one or more information systems exist and are developed and maintained by the postholder to support the delivery of team objectives, and work across the partnership to facilitate information sharing and single financial reports.

Ensure that the whole Financial Accounts and Financial Services team always adopts a customer focussed approach dealing with all queries in a timely and professional manner.

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Accountant: CCAB or CIMA qualifications.
• Educated to masters degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area supported by a professional development.
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Desirable

• Management Qualification

Experience

Essential

• An understanding of the importance of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Additional extensive knowledge of working within a senior management role in a finance / contracting environment and financial processes and procedures.
• Significant experience of technical, VAT and income tax accounting rules and a sound understanding of accounting standards and their application in the NHS
• Significant experience of leading and managing staff in a senior role
• Experience of communicating and engaging effectively with external agencies/stakeholders
• Understanding and knowledge of the workings of the NHS, the challenges it faces and of the reform agenda
• Experience of using performance management/improvement systems
• Experience of leading and implementing medium- and long-term strategy in own service area.
• An understanding of the governance responsibilities of a statutory organisation.

Desirable

• A basic knowledge of matrix working & Population Health Management
• Experience of working in the NHS.
• Knowledge and experience of programme and/or project management
• Full understanding of the commissioning process and the services necessary to effectively manage and deliver the business

Skills & Behaviours

Essential

• Able to think conceptually, recognising assumptions, interpreting, and evaluating arguments and deducing inferences.
• Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to identify several solutions.
• Able to think on their feet when dealing with issues and problems.
• Computer literate with Proficiency in Microsoft office tools & Oracle
• Able to analyse and interpret data to draw conclusions
• Able to effectively manage resources (financial and others) to ensure delivery of a service/project
• Able to provide, receive, convey, and present information in a clear way
• Plan and organise complex activities

Additional Requirements

Essential

• Has a responsive, solution focused approach to addressing issues and barriers.
• Able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and ensure a customer focused response.
• Able to regulate behaviour even when challenged
• Is open to change and possible alternatives to doing things differently
• Committed to continuous learning and improvement
• Engages and includes all groups of staff, empowering all voices to be heard
• Identifying key stakeholders both within and external to the ICB which the post-holder needs to influence and support them to move the vision and strategy forward.
• Demonstrates a flexible approach to provide and receive feedback
• Develops teams/ groups establishing clear goals for direct reports and the team.
• Maintains resilience and supports resilience in the team

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).