Band 8d Head of Finance - Chase Farm

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; England; On-site; GBP 97,000 - 112,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the UK is seeking a Head of Finance to support strategic financial management and development. The ideal candidate should have a professional accountancy qualification and substantial experience in senior finance roles, providing advice to senior management. This position offers flexible working and opportunities for career progression, with a competitive salary ranging from £97,283 to £111,278 per annum.

Benefits

Flexible hours

Generous benefits

Opportunities for training and career progression

Qualifications

• Experience in a senior finance role, advising Executive Directors and senior management.
• Experience leading large business cases and developments.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise.

Responsibilities

• Develop productive partnerships to drive profitability and return on investment.
• Support the Director of Financial Performance and the executive team.
• Lead the business partnering team and act as an interface between finance and other functions.

Skills

Business partnering

Analytical skills

Leadership qualities

Communication skills

Education

Professional qualification in accountancy (CIMA, ACA, CIPFA, ACCA)

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

Overview

Chase Farm and Group Clinical is recruiting for a Head of Finance role to support the Chase Farm Business Unit. This would ideally suit an ambitious and dynamic candidate who is looking for the next challenging role with exposure to working in a large acute trust with a group model that is evolving and growing. The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is expanding its group model and the finance department is undergoing transformation to build a best-in-class Group Finance function focussed on delivering all financial operational targets and exceeding stakeholder expectations.

The Royal Free London group has expanded following the merger with North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust and now comprises four acute hospitals: Royal Free Hospital, Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital (including Group Clinical Services), and North Middlesex. The Health Unit within the Royal Free group has its own local leadership teams responsible for delivery, quality, risk, and operational and financial performance. The health unit oversees Group Clinical Services across all health units, including Imaging, Pharmacy and Pathology services and NCL hosted services for Breast Screening and Finchley Memorial Community diagnostic centre.

Main duties

• Develop productive partnership working with other function leads to drive profitability and return on investment, developing short and medium term financial plans to support realisation of the group strategy.
• Maintain a professional reporting line into the Director of Financial Performance, while working closely with divisional and business unit management leads and directors, using professional judgement to progress business needs.
• Drive improvements in financial productivity within the divisions - leading on identification, advice and challenge for efficiency plans.
• Support directors, managers and clinicians in accessing and understanding financial information for their areas of budgetary responsibility; provide support to build understanding of complex financial information.
• Support commercial propositions and undertake or oversee the financial management of key contracts; provide advice to leadership teams on actions required to realise opportunities and mitigate risks.

About Us

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest trusts. Across three main hospitals, staff care for over 1.6 million patients, treat over 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17 million tests. The organisation offers flexible hours, generous benefits, and opportunities for training and career progression.

For more information please follow the link: https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/

Details

• Date posted: 17 October 2025
• Pay scheme: Agenda for Change
• Band: Band 8d
• Salary: £97,283 to £111,278 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: 391-RFL-7495027
• Job locations: ECC, Civic Centre, Enfield, EN1 3XA

Job responsibilities

In this role the post holder will have responsibility for supporting the Director of Financial Performance and wider executive team to inform the strategic operational and financial development of the Health Unit; ensure plans are in place and delivered to achieve the business unit strategy; underpinned by the delivery of short to medium-term objectives. The post holder will lead the business partnering team and act as a critical interface between group central finance and other functions, and the Health Unit finance team. They will foster a culture of high performance and ensure delivery of the annual planning/budget setting cycle at the business unit level and strong Financial Control across the business unit. The Trust operates in a financially challenged environment; the post holder should be a confident individual who can influence and act as a critical friend with wider business unit leaders to ensure delivery of a very ambitious Financial Improvement Plan (FIP) target.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications

• Professional qualification in accountancy (CIMA, ACA, CIPFA, ACCA)
• Experience in a senior finance role, advising Executive Directors and other senior management
• Evidence of maintaining and developing technical accounting expertise and staying up to date with current accounting rules since qualification

Experience

• Experience in business partnering, supporting senior managers and/or directors in service developments
• Experience using complex financial models for assessing risk and informing decision-making
• Experience in making or advising on complex decisions involving financial risk
• Experience leading large business cases or developments and helping internal customers understand assumptions and risks
• Experience working with large, complex datasets, drawing inferences and developing strategy from analysis
• Experience presenting complex financial information to non-finance managers and directors
• Understanding of Payment by Results financial regime
• Leadership qualities and influencing skills with the ability to work under challenging deadlines
• Ability to work autonomously and proactively
• Strong analytical, verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to use systems (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) to prepare and present information
• Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise
• Flexible and able to manage workload to deliver regular commitments and support Trust-wide initiatives
• Ability to provide cross-disciplinary advisory support and influence strategic outcomes

Personal Qualities

• Strong sense of quality and customer focus
• Self-motivated, proactive and positive
• Resilient under challenge and criticism
• Willing to lead on operational issues and policy development for financial reporting
• Ability to inspire confidence when presenting
• Team player who is willing to roll up sleeves
• Can-do attitude, highly organised, able to prioritise to meet deadlines
• Embraces change and demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to persuade and negotiate to ensure delivery of balanced financial plans

Other information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975; a DBS check will be submitted as part of recruitment. Certificate of Sponsorship: Applications from job seekers who require Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered. UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration. See NHS Careers for details. Employer details: Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, ECC, Civic Centre, Enfield, EN1 3XA. Employer's website: https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/