Finance Manager (Pathology Business Unit)

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an exceptional individual to join our Pathology Business Unit as a Finance Manager. This role will work across both Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to support the delivery of a new and exciting partnership to transform Pathology services across south east London.

This partnership will deliver and transform Pathology service across south east London, serving a population of around 1.7million and delivering a service for both primary and secondary care providers.

This programme will deliver significant transformation of pathology services for south east London, through implementation of digital pathology and creation of a new clinically-led target operating model with a new hub and essential services laboratories working on each site, working through unified and standardised pathways. This will provide improvements in service performance, outcomes, efficiency, and position SEL at the forefront of R&D and Innovation, while delivering material savings for Trusts, and a risk and gain share royalty, dependent on delivery of critical milestones.

The post holder will be responsible for providing financial support to the Pathology Business Unit (PBU) Team and GSTT / KCH in all financial and commercial matters relating to the Pathology service on behalf of the PBU and will be a business partner to teams within the PBU, acting as the first port of call for all finance queries.

Main duties of the job

Financial Management

• Provide expert finance business partnering support to the PBU in all regular and ad hoc financial management and business planning activities.

• Take responsibility for designing & preparing the monthly finance reports and forecasts for the PBU, including discussing these with relevant stakeholders across the department.

• Support the Senior Finance Manager in the annual financial planning processes for the PBU, taking responsibility for preparing accurate financial plans based on the strategies of the PBU.

• To provide professional expert guidance to team leaders across the PBU team. To be the key contact for the PBU for finance queries.

• To develop and maintain integrated financial performance reports, including analysis of trends and forecasts, coordinating the production of these with the PBU Team as appropriate.

• To proactively identify the financial information, analysis and advice requirements of the PBU, and design & provide reports, papers and other solutions meet these requirements.

• Presenting complex financial information to teams, explaining technical financial concepts in ways which are clear and meaningful to non-financial managers.

• In conjunction with the Senior Finance Manager advise on the development & delivery of the PBU’s commercial strategy for education, including reporting & forecasting on income and contribution from education activities.

Working for our organisation

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD; B rilliant people, O utstanding care, L eaders in Research, Innovation and Education, D iversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Strategy and Planning

• To support the Senior Finance Manager in the production of the PBU’s financial plans for the year ahead, including but not limited to:
  • Accurately maintaining, developing & updating financial templates
  • Costing proposed changes & ensuring these are appropriately reflected in financial plans
  • Assessing overall budget & staffing requirements for teams, agreeing these with directorate management, and ensuring these are reflected in financial plans.
  • Preparing papers and analysis for discussion with directorate team leaders and presentation to the PBU’s management team
  • Supporting service team leaders with developing their business plans, through proving expert financial advice & guidance, and ensuring they are fully informed of their financial plans.
  • To support the PBU in identifying ways to improve income generation and to reduce costs, in order to meet short and medium-term financial targets and strategies.
  • To be a key link contact between the PBU and Trusts for the management of capital cost centres.
  • To ensure that costs & budgets in relation to capital projects & programme activities are accurately, completely, and promptly reflected in the relevant accounts, liaising with the PBU team, programme management, external cost consultants, the Capital Accounts and Financial Operations teams as required.
  • To support with the preparation of the PBU budgets and monthly cost reporting including forecasting future spend and undertaking variance analysis as required.
  • Support the financial management of the PBU’s ongoing capital projects, ensuring that relevant costs are reflected accurately and promptly in capital accounts and preparing projections of future spend, in conjunction with the Capital Finance Team.

Leadership

• To provide financial leadership and present complex financial management information to the senior directorate staff.
• To ensure that all managers are aware of, and act in accordance with Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs).
• To recommend improvements and changes to local working practices and developing financial processes impacting across the services supported, both within and beyond the finance team.
• To develop within the PBU an awareness of financial performance requirements, and the need for budgetary control, including delivering training to budget holders and managers to support the financial literacy of the organisation. Demonstrate confidence in communicating with staff at all levels and across all professional disciplines and explain complex financial information to both finance and non-finance staff in a meaningful way.

Please refer to the job description for full details.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Masters level qualification or equivalent experience
• Substantial progress towards a CCAB accountancy qualification, with full qualification being actively pursued

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience of working in NHS accounting department of which considerable experience has been in a specialist financial management role
• Experience of using General ledger and financial reporting software packages

Desirable criteria

• Preparing business case & business plans

Skills

Essential criteria

• Be able to provide, or obtain from other sources, professional advice and support from across all of the accounting disciplines
• Understand and be able to apply the concepts and techniques for: budgeting and financial planning; costing and pricing; variance analysis and financial reporting; the purpose of accounting accruals and provisions

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

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King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.