Invoice Assistant - Band 3

Job description

Job responsibilities

ROLE PURPOSE / SUMMARY

The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System will comprise the Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is the statutory body for the NHS, and the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), which is a committee of the ICB, and brings together key health, care, community and voluntary sector organisations across the area.

The ICS has a bold ambition to deliver improved outcomes for our 1.2m population through our four Alliances, and we are placing clinical and professional leadership and the voice of our residents at the heart of realizing this ambition.

The Finance team sits within the Finance and Estates Directorate of our ICB and has an exciting vision for the future. Working with all system partners we aim to deliver financial sustainability, providing, transparency, efficiency, and value for money for our population.

Our Finance Team plays a key part in the system, and this role will be an instrumental part in delivering our ambition as part of the wider Finance and Estates Directorate. We want to be able to provide our population and our staff with the confidence that resources are being used transparently, supporting the benefit of population health improvement and fulfilling our statutory obligations and duties.

By establishing clear and transparent funding arrangements with our system partners we aim to support our collective understanding of how resources are allocated across the system for both revenue and capital. For this, we need to be able to effectively anticipate and maximise revenue and capital resources, aligning outgoings within the context of our System Financial Strategy and Financial Sustainability Plan.

Developing an understanding of our system cost base and the behaviours of those costs will support us to utilise our system pound to best effect. We want to ensure value for money across the whole system by supporting our Integrated Care Partnership in the establishment and management of integrated fund arrangements, (such as the Better Care Fund) at place and across Health and Wellbeing Boards.

We will further support our places to understand the resource consumption of their populations and how to utilise available funding in accordance with ICB priorities and national policies.

Our Invoice Assistants sit within our Financial Services and Management Accounting function; providing a professional customer focused service, reviewing invoices within financial ledgers and identifying issues for resolution by appropriate staff. Assist in timely preparation of monthly information, including reconciliation and analysis.

However, we would expect them to matrix work across all areas of the wider finance team and therefore they may take responsibility for delivery of duties in support of Financial Management, Primary Care and Strategic Projects, Operations or System Planning and Reporting. This aims to provide a broad development opportunity across functions.

Every member of the Finance and Estates Directorate is expected to demonstrate the values of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Supporting openness, transparency and a commitment to continued development and learning.

COMPETENCY BASED KEY DELIVERABLES

• To review invoices daily in the ledger workflow and forward to relevant staff for checking and approval and escalated as necessary to ensure prompt payment
• Action and resolve Non-Purchase Order (Non PO) invoice holds (e.g. invoices in dispute, awaiting credit notes etc.) that have not been properly actioned by the budget holders
• To ensure that all ledger system notifications which have "timed out" are followed up and resolved
• Work closely with NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) to resolve service issues if and when they arise
• Ensure that Suppliers are instructed to forward all invoices (where appropriate) to SBS at the agreed address
• Advise new Suppliers as to the content of their invoices
• For new Non-PO Suppliers, after relevant checks complete the new supplier set up request form and submitted electronically to SBS
• May make manual payments such as supplier one off payments
• To provide SBS with bank details for any suppliers identified on the cheque threshold report
• Review and maintain Non PO rules
• Review creditor reports on a weekly basis, liaising with SBS to resolve anyoutstanding issues
• Review NON PO invoices awaiting action by customers ICBs, to ensure BPPC targets are met, discussing invoice and payment queries with suppliers and staff as appropriate
• Reconciliation of supplier statements NHS and Non NHS
• Monitor and clear the dummy supplier account in a timely manner
• Provide training on appropriate aspects of Oracle to ICB and AGEM staff as required
• May be required to check regular payments runs generated by SBS withregard to accuracy of payee, amount and coding, prior to it being authorised for payment and identify any anomalies, reporting these to the FinancialServices Assistant Accountant for appropriate advice
• May be required to investigate queries regarding supplier payments and takecorrective action as delegated by the Financial Services Assistant Accountant,including cancellation/replacement of payments as necessary, liaising withSBS, bank, suppliers and others as appropriate
• May be required to ensure that authorised signatory lists (ICB and GEM) aremaintained and reflect approved changes
• Ensure documented procedure notes are followed and that any errors toprocedural guidance or need for updating is flagged to the line manager for communication to the Financial Controller

• May be required to input and upload direct payments via invoice paymentsfiles
• May be required to record any cash and cheques received on a daily basisand arrange for them to be banked in line with agreed timescales
• In conjunction with SBS, may ensure all income received is receipted in a timely and accurate manner
• To assist in the timely completion of the Agreements of Balances exercises
• May be required to act as a finance helpdesk, dealing promptly andprofessionally with all enquiries. Respond within 5 working days to requestsfor information from customers and from external agencies, including the resolution of Supplier queries
• May be required to manage all finance post, email and other communications taking action where appropriate
• To support the financial services and management team in other projects, as required
• To support the line manager, by completing any other ad-hoc duties that maybe required

Person Specification

Qualifications

Desirable

• AAT Intermediate level or NVQ Level 3 or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience in working within a Purchase/Sales Ledger department
• Experience of administrative systems and procedures
• Creating and maintaining spreadsheets to a high standard

Partnership Working / Leadership Management

Essential

• Understand the basic principles of the NHS People Promise and ICB Values and how these apply to day-to-day activities
• Professional and approachable manner
• Ability to work as part of a team or independently

Skills

Essential

• Communications skills using a range of methods e.g. written and verbal
• Advanced IT skills in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Prioritisation and organisation skills

Other

Essential

• Enthusiastic and hardworking

Knowledge / understanding

Essential

• Knowledge of accounting procedures in relation to financial accounting and inter-NHS accounting

Employer details

Employer name

NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board

Address

Phoenix House

Christopher Martin Road

Basildon

Essex

SS14 3HG

Employer's website

https://www.midandsouthessex.ics.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)