Deputy Finance Manager

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is now one of the largest trusts in the country, serving a population of 1.2 million people comprising acute hospital sites at Broomfield in Chelmsford, Basildon and Southend.

We are a well-led, high-performing and innovative organisation determined to provide the best health care services for our local population and working in the best interests of the people we serve.

Job overview

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are seeking a Deputy Finance Manager to support an assigned Division or Corporate Directorate, providing proactive financial support to the relevant Divisional or Directorate Management teams, advising on all aspects of financial management.

If successful, you will liaise with budget holders, including directors of services, department Heads of Service, and management on a regular basis. You will support the Finance Manager in the provision of a complete, professional service to the Division or Corporate Directorates, delivering a customer focused service to the budget holders of the highest possible standard whilst maintaining adherence to the Trust monthly reporting and annual planning timetables.

Main duties of the job

The aim of the role is to act as Deputy to the Finance Manager for Division or Corporate Directorate assigned to support, providing proactive financial support to the relevant Divisional or Directorate Management teams, advising on all aspects of financial management.

You will liaise with budget holders, including directors of services, department Heads of service, and management on a regular basis. You will support the Finance Manager in the provision of a complete, professional financial service to the Division or Corporate Directorates, delivering a customer focused service to the budget holders of the highest possible standard whilst maintaining adherence to the Trust monthly reporting and annual planning timetables.

You will support the Finance Manager and Senior Finance Business Partner in the setting of the annual Divisional, Corporate Directorate and wider care group budgets and will be responsible for ensuring that rigorous financial control is implemented and controlled across the Corporate areas for income, expenditure, CIPS and WTEs.

To assist in providing direct financial support to the assigned directorates ensuring full compliance with financial best practice, specifically in relation to:

• Budget setting and reporting
• Forecasting of expenditure, activity and income
• Maximisation of income
• Delivery of Improvement Program Savings
• Business case development
• Finance processes

Working for our organisation

With a workforce of approximately 15,000 staff, we can now do more and go further in delivering health services to our local communities.

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

Patients will experience improved care as well as fewer delays and cancellations. We are able to provide more once-in-a-lifetime specialist care region-wide. With our new trust size will come more opportunities for development, research, networking and innovation.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full details of this fantastic opportunity, please see attached job description.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Studying towards a CCAB qualification
• Graduate or equivalent

Desirable criteria

• Full CCAB qualification. Equivalent experience will be taken into account where extensive experience can be demonstrated

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant work experience in a Finance role
• Expert user of financial systems - particularly E-Financial and Excel
• Understanding of current NHS structures and policies
• Highly numerate and analytical with good report writing skills
• Accuracy with attention to detail and good analytical skills

Desirable criteria

• Experience of managing staff
• Advanced Excel skills
• Ability to prioritise workload of junior team members

Communication Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to convey complex finance data to non-financial managers
• Strong presentation skills
• Experience of writing comprehensive reports

Desirable criteria

• Ability to influence and persuade upwards

Personal and People Development

Essential criteria

• Ability to motivate, supervise and train staff
• Ability to Deputise for the Finance Manager

Desirable criteria

• Adaptable and Flexible

Physical Requirements

Essential criteria

• Ability to spend long periods of time sitting at a desk inputting at a keyboard on a regular basis, reading data on screens, or attending meetings

Other

Essential criteria

• Knowledge and understanding of equal opportunities
• Actively seeks to develop services to meet challenges of a changing environment
• Ability to travel between sites when required

Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold.

Please note, the selection processes at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn't accurately reflect their skills, and you will be required to declare on your application if AI has been used before submitting your application.