Chief Finance Officer

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care Board is seeking to appoint a Chief Finance Officer to join its Executive Team. Working alongside the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the other executive leaders, you will work together with the ICB Board and service providers to ensure our Integrated Care System makes a real impact on the residents of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, by delivering on its ambitions.

As CFO, you will work together with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and service providers to ensure that our Integrated Care System (ICS) makes a real impact on the residents of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough by delivering on its ambitions, including the reduction of health inequalities. You will be joining an ICB that has worked diligently to submit break even plans for two consecutive years and you will have the opportunity to build on this performance.

Main duties of the job

The impact of this role is critical for the ICS and working together with the CEO you will lead the maximisation of the public pound, ensuring all actions are respectful of our duties and balanced with our ambitions. You will ensure we are doing what we said in our plans through transparent and fair challenge. You will work closely with the MD for strategic commissioning, set clear financial, digital and estates strategies and robust close management to plans, ensuring all resources within the ICS are used to maximise improved outcomes and access for residents.

You will create and inspire a smart engaged team of people who work in a strong organisation with practical and simple policies and procedures. As a leader you will ensure we are holding true to our values, statutory obligations and following population health best practice. As a manager you will ensure strong process and rigorous governance is applied with pragmatism.

About us

NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough is an Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the statutory NHS organisation responsible for planning and delivering local health and care services to the population and communities of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

Working collaboratively with partner organisations, including the VCSE sector, it oversees the commissioning, performance, financial management and transformation of the local NHS, as part of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS).

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes. We welcome applications irrespective of peoples age, disability, sex, gender, identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or other personal circumstances.

We are a predominantly home based organisation. Some roles within the ICB are not suitable for the sole use of public transport and/or where there is a long journey from home to where work routinely takes place.

Date of Interviews:

• 23rd January 2025 Stakeholder Panel
• 24th January 2025 Interview Panel

Job responsibilities

The below is just an excerpt. Please see the JD/PS in the Additional Supporting Information attached to this advert for the full Job Description. Thank you.

• The CFO will be required to ensure that the ICB meets the financial targets set for it by NHS England and NHS Improvement, including living within the overall revenue and capital allocation, and the administration costs limit. Jointly with other system partners, the Executive Director of Finance is responsible for ensuring that the integrated care system (ICS) delivers its financial targets.
• The CFO will support the development and delivery of the long-term plan of the ICB. They will ensure this reflects and integrates the strategies of all relevant partner organisations of the ICS, with a particular focus on developing a shared financial and resourcing strategy.
• As a member of the unitary board, each board director is jointly responsible for planning and allocating resources to meet the four core purposes of integrated care systems (ICSs):
  o to improve outcomes in population health and healthcare;
  o tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access;
  o enhance productivity and value for money; and
  o help the NHS support broader social and economic development.
• The CFO will be responsible for developing the finance strategy for the ICS to support the board in achieving these aims, including consideration of place-based budgets, and making use of benchmarking to make sure that funds are deployed as effectively as possible.
• You will be managerially responsible for the following functional areas:

o Strategic finance and operational financial performance
o Financial assurance and controls
o Audit
o IT & Infrastructure

Key Accountabilities

The CFO reports directly to the ICB CEO and is professionally accountable to the NHS England Regional finance director.

• As the strategic financial lead, the CFO is accountable for all matters relating to the financial leadership and financial performance of the ICB.
• The CFO will also be responsible for ensuring that the ICB implements a robust financial strategy and for ensuring that system resources are effectively deployed and used to provide the best possible care for the population.
• The CFO will also be responsible and accountable for a wider portfolio including estates strategy, IT and IT infrastructure, and specialised commissioning.
• The CFO along with other executive members of the ICB will have an influential executive role and shared accountability for the development and delivery of the long-term financial strategy of the ICB, ensuring this reflects and integrates the strategies of all relevant partner organisations within the ICS.
• The CFO will be responsible for building partnerships 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.
• They will provide financial leadership and influence across the ICS to ensure that opportunities to drive improvements in population outcomes which includes collaborating and providing financial leadership with key partners (across health, care and wider) to break down barriers, drive innovation and achieve agreed deliverables.
• Alongside other members of the ICB, you will ensure that population health management, innovation, and research supports continuous improvements in health and well-being.
• They will influence and work collaboratively as part of a wider system to create opportunities to make sustainable long-term improvements to population health with key partners. This may include developing approaches which are non-traditional in nature, ambitious and wide-reaching in areas which incorporate the wider determinants that have an impact on improving clinical outcomes, better life outcomes and reducing health inequalities for the population of the ICS.
• The CFO is professionally accountable to the NHS England regional finance director and may from time-to-time be formally requested to act on behalf of NHS England on key performance, monitoring, and accountability matters. This will include 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.
• As a qualified accountant, individuals in these roles will be accountable for their own practice and conduct in the role.
• Setting strategy and delivering long-term transformation.
• They will be responsible for influencing and contributing to the ICB plans and wider system strategies of the ICS, with the aim of driving innovation in clinical outcomes, reducing health inequalities and achieving better life outcomes across the ICS. This will include creating and influencing leadership relationships and wide-scale system change to ensure that the ICB acts as an enabler to harness system development opportunities to improve the population health of the ICS.
• As a system leader, they will provide leadership across organisational and professional boundaries to lead and facilitate transformational change for the ICS population.
• They will ensure that the ICB influences and seeks input from 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.
• They will support the production and delivery of a five-year ICB plan with the key aim to produce a financial and resources strategy aimed at improving clinical outcomes, better life outcomes and reducing health inequalities, working with the chief executive officer, other board members, partners across the ICS and the local community.
• This will include the interpretation and implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan, contracting and performance standards and other national strategic priorities.
• They will ensure that there are effective mechanisms for anticipating, identifying, and responding to key financial risks (including risk sharing arrangements) that could impact on the successful delivery of the ICB strategy.
• They will also establish appropriate governance structures (with NHS partners in the ICS) to deliver on the collective requirement of system financial balance and risk sharing.
• They will also be responsible for developing the necessary financial and performance leadership and functions to ensure the delivery of the ICB financial strategy including leading and influencing the development of a diverse group of leaders to enhance the opportunities for collaboration across the ICS.
• They will be accountable for the production and delivery of a robust supporting financial strategy that delivers effective use of system resources to deliver improvements in outcomes in population health and healthcare; tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access; enhance productivity and value for money and help the NHS and ICS partners support broader social, economic, and environmentally sustainable development.
• They will aim to influence system leaders to ensure that there are effective mechanisms for anticipating, identifying, and responding to key contracting, performance and wider organisational risks that could impact on the successful delivery of the ICS strategy. This will include engaging with system leaders from across the ICS to drive research, innovation, quality improvement, patient safety and population health outcomes from a risk-based approach across the ICS footprint.
• They will direct the strategic estate portfolio, to ensure all new estate development is aligned to new models of care. Also, that all new builds are multi-use and maximise the public estate already available.
• They will oversee the IT infrastructure for the system.
• Building trusted relationships with partners and communities.
• Success in this role is dependent upon the implementation and performance of a robust financial strategy for the ICB including ensuring the effective use of system resources through strong collaborative system decision-making.
• Ensuring and influencing strategic collaboration with ICS partners, clinical and care leaders across health and care at all levels of the system, this role will develop a collective strategic financial leadership approach for the ICB and place-based use of resources, through the effective and efficient use of ICB allocations and commissioning opportunities to meet the needs of the system population.
• Manage and monitor in year delivery of ICS partners plans including robust recovery plans and negotiating positions.

Leading for social justice and health equality

• Reducing health inequalities is a core objective of the ICB and the CFO will foster a culture in which equality, diversity, inclusion and allyship are actively promoted across the ICS.
• They will drive innovative data evidenced change on behalf of the ICB and on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement focusing on ensuring that inequalities across the system are addressed.
• Promoting and enhancing strategic approaches to further develop personalized care locally so that the ICB achieves the best possible health and care for its communities.
• Ensuring the population needs are met through the appropriate allocation of resources in a system role, utilizing close working relationships with system partners to ensure investment and performance of resources is effective in assisting to reduce health inequalities across the ICS.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• 1. Qualified Accountant

Experience

• 1. Extensive leadership experience of financial risk management and planning.
• 2. Track record of embedding and maintaining strong financial controls and probity.
• 3. Clear track record in the executive leadership of contracting and procurement services.
• 4. Clear track record of holding legal accountability as part of a board.
• 5. Ongoing learning to ensure you have the capability to do the role you have been doing.

Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes

• 1. Commitment to listen to different views and opinions to drive better results.
• 2. Clear strong communication, both verbal and written.
• 3. An ability to simplify and explain complexity and risk.
• 4. Prove your ability to learn and adapt quickly to the implementation of new financial frameworks.
• 5. Openness and transparency in interpreting financial positions.

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.