Values Based Screener
At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust, we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered, please take part in our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished, you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.
Values Questionnaire
Job Overview
Are you a qualified accountant or do you have senior accountancy experience?
We have a new vacancy for a Finance Manager in the Adult Acute and Urgent Care Division.
The post holder provides senior-level management accounting support for a particular area of the Trust, such as part of a Division. This includes accountability for the management accounts for that service, ensuring the accuracy of accruals, provision of variance and trend analysis, including flagging and mitigation of key risks; supporting services to identify and deliver savings targets; monitoring of Secondary Commissioning expenditure and activity, making sure bed and resource use is efficient and effective; ensuring recruitment to posts is in line with Trust procedure and is monitored effectively and accountability for budget setting for that area.
We are happy to accommodate a flexible working pattern subject to operational priorities.
For an informal chat, please contact Michelle Printemps on 07565 954231 or michelle.printemps@hpft.nhs.uk.
Main Duties of the Job
The successful candidate will:
1. Work as part of a mini team within the finance team.
2. Be responsible for Financial Reporting, Financial Planning, Income and Expenditure, Customer Service, and Management.
3. Deliver training to both budget holders and other staff groups.
4. Take a lead in the month-end accounts to achieve reporting deadlines.
5. Act proactively to identify and resolve risks and significant issues, particularly for areas that are overspending.
6. Take a lead role for Income collection across the Trust.
7. Have a full valid driving licence and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
In return, we can offer you:
1. Learning and development opportunities to progress your career.
2. 5% on top of basic salary high cost allowance supplement (max £2,122 per annum pro rata).
3. 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service) plus bank holidays pro rata.
4. One of the UK's best pension schemes.
5. Comprehensive health and wellbeing services.
6. Special leave for family and personal reasons.
7. NHS Car Lease Scheme.
8. Employee Assistance Programme.
Working for Our Organisation
We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission. Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence, and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities
Please refer to attached job description and person specification.
Within the Management Accounts team, most duties and responsibilities fall under one of these five main categories: Financial Reporting, Financial Planning, Income and Expenditure, Customer Service, and Management; any additional items particular to the role are listed under Other. For this role, the main duties and responsibilities within the categories are:
1. Financial Reporting (including Month End, Year End and other reporting)
a. The Finance Manager is accountable for month-end reporting for their area including:
i. Assurance that all accruals have been completed accurately and on time, with any areas of risk identified.
ii. Specific assurance that the method of accrual for Secondary Commissioning is appropriate and accurate, with any risks identified.
iii. Completion of summary Variance Analysis for the month including narrative commentary (i.e., words as well as numbers), particularly for Secondary Commissioning.
iv. Ensuring any Prior Year accruals are utilised appropriately and that accurate summaries of remaining balances are available.
b. Resolution of queries raised by more junior staff during the accruals process.
c. Accountable for the completion of year-end accruals for the area, ensuring appropriate evidence is available.
d. Completion of the Flash Forecast or similar for the area e.g., for Secondary Commissioning.
e. Other ad-hoc reports as requested by budget holders or as required to deal proactively with issues arising.
f. Completion of report on own area, and of any sections for SBU reporting as requested by Finance Business Partner.
2. Financial Planning (including budget setting and forecasting)
a. The Finance Manager is responsible for the overall budgets set for their area to include:
i. Assurance that pay and non-pay budgets including Secondary Commissioning have been set accurately and appropriately.
ii. Resolution of risks and issues as part of the budget setting process, highlighting any remaining risks or unresolved issues to the Finance Business Partner.
iii. Specifically ensuring that all current spend is budgeted for the following year or if that is not possible flagging this as an issue.
iv. Ensuring budgets are signed off by the relevant operational managers and that the budget is uploaded to the ledger for the new financial year.
b. Forecasting for own area and highlighting any items which will have an effect on the future financial position.
c. Proactively reviewing and if possible revising budgets during the year, based on performance.
d. Supervision of changes to the ledger in relation to approved changes to budget.
3. Income and Expenditure Activities (including Workforce)
a. Ensuring that any invoices for income within own area, including Block Contracts, Cost and Volume, Non-Contract Income, and any invoices whether regular or ad-hoc, are raised in a timely manner; paying particular attention to the cash flow impact of large invoices, and also NHS rules on when invoices must be raised by.
b. Take a lead role on income Trust-wide including ensuring that all invoices are raised appropriately and in a timely manner; advise on any risks to income; liaise with Accounts Receivable regarding any debts; maintain an Income Register and ensure this is completed accurately but all involved in raising invoices.
c. Ensuring the TRAC authorisation is completed promptly for own area (within 2 working days if routine), advising the Management Accountant as appropriate and raising/resolving queries as applicable. This should include proactive vacancy management e.g., questioning any unadvertised vacancies, supporting the Recruitment at Risk process if necessary for areas of high turnover.
d. Ensuring the ESR Payroll system is accurate for the budget (establishment) side, including attendance at Establishment Control meetings, liaison with budget holders, HR Business Partners, and the Workforce Intelligence Team; that other issues are being dealt with by HR.
e. Take a lead on particular schemes within the Trust's Delivering Value Programme (or other equivalent savings programme), proactively working with senior leaders to drive through change; coming up with ideas from own sphere of knowledge or through review of benchmarking such as the Model Hospital; monitor performance of the programme for own area.
4. Customer Service & Support (both internal to department and organisation, and external)
a. Act as first point of contact for senior managers for own area, resolving queries, including liaison with other parties including commissioners; proactively liaise with senior managers regarding key financial issues.
b. Providing training and support to budget holders with the ability to facilitate large groups where necessary.
c. Ensuring that responses to the generic email box are being sent promptly and appropriately, assisting with queries where necessary.
d. Ensuring all calls and emails are responded to promptly.
5. Management
a. May line manage Management Accountant or Senior Management Accountant including taking part in recruitment, carrying out supervision, appraisal and where necessary any attendance management or disciplinary functions.
b. Closely involved in training and supporting other staff, particularly Management Accountants.
6. Other
a. It is expected that the post holder will meet with budget holders on a regular basis, proactively arranging to discuss financial issues; some can be undertaken by phone or web, but actual visits are also necessary.
b. Deputises for Finance Business Partner on a regular basis.
c. Complex costings and financial modelling, including completion of calculations for bids.
d. Understands and utilises the shift calculator model and the various external models such as 'Keith Hurst'.
e. Works within a mini-team of Finance Business Partner, Finance Manager, Management Accountant plus junior support, proactively ensuring that cross cover can always be provided.
Person Specification
Qualifications / Equivalent Experience
Essential Criteria
1. Professional Accountancy Qualification or equivalent senior experience.
2. Post qualification experience.
3. Demonstrable experience in management accounting including costing.
4. Education to degree level or equivalent work-based experience.
5. Evidence of continued professional development - e.g., NHS Finance Personal Portfolio.
6. Qualified/demonstrable experience to European Computer Driving Licence level.
Skills and Knowledge
Essential Criteria
1. Organisational skills and the ability to work effectively within a management structure, planning and prioritising workload as appropriate.
2. Interpersonal skills - able to discuss and negotiate sensitive issues where conflicting priorities arise.
3. Analytical skills - relating to complex financial trends drawing on information from a number of sources.
4. Judgement skills - ability to use experience to make appropriate assumptions in the preparation of financial reports and plans.
5. Communication skills - written and verbal.
6. IT Skills - knowledge and use of: General ledger and EIS, payroll applications, Windows Office Suite of software.
7. Able to work with detail and accuracy at high-speed including highly advanced keyboard skills.
8. Knowledge and awareness of accounting practice.
9. Leadership and Motivational skills.
10. Negotiation and Persuasion skills.
11. Presentational skills.
12. Ability to plan and deliver management accounting services.
About Us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were 'blown away' by our people's achievements and that everything they saw 'sings and hums'. This year, our staff rated us the 4th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported through a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful, and professional so that together we provide great care and great outcomes for our service users and carers.
If you would like to join a team to be proud of and you share our values and passion for great care and outcomes for our service users and carers, we would love to hear from you.
Additional Information
HPFT is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and in order to reflect the diversity of its population, positively encourages applications from all areas of the community. We aim to be a representative organisation with regards to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, beliefs, and sexual orientation and are fully committed to equality, diversity, and human rights and encourage applications from all sections of the community including users of mental health services.
The Trust is committed to helping staff balance work and home life and welcomes applications from candidates wishing to work part-time or under flexible working arrangements.
Infection Control
All our staff will need to comply with current Infection Prevention and Control measures which could include wearing a mask on all our Trust sites and in all roles.
Employer Certification / Accreditation Badges
Salary: £65,000 - £75,000 per annum + Competitive Benefits Package. #J-18808-Ljbffr