Business Unit Accountant

UHDB; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Business Unit/Divisional Finance Manager to provide high-quality financial support to budget holders and operational management across multiple sites. The post holder will produce regular budget reports, forecasts and variance analyses, while advising on business cases and financial improvements.

The role requires CCAB qualification or substantial NHS finance experience, and the ability to influence senior clinicians and

Qualifications

• Experience of financial management within a large, complex organisation.
• CCAB qualification or equivalent NHS financial leadership accreditation.
• Strong analytical, commercial and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide holistic financial support and guidance to a range of stakeholders.
• Lead proactive forecasting and ensure engagement of operational leads in budgeting.
• Oversee month-end reporting in line with Trust requirements.
• Analyze data to identify trends and drivers of cost or income.
• Support development and mentoring of junior team members.

Skills

Financial Management

CCAB Qualification

Job description

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual to join the finance team at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton.

The Business Unit Accountant will provide high quality financial support to the Trusts budget holders and operational management. The post-holder will produce regular budget reports, forecasts, and comprehensive variance analysis to tight deadlines, ensuring that financial issues are pro-actively addressed as well as provide financial support to wider Trust financial initiatives. The role also involves provision of financial advice on business cases and improvement projects along with an active involvement in the finance and procurement improvement programme.

Highly professional and resourceful individuals are sought with a customer focused attitude alongside the ability to balance competing priorities. Highly developed communication skills are essential with the ability and confidence to influence Senior Managers and clinicians across the Trust.

The teams are equipped to work flexibly across the five sites, with the two main bases being at Royal Derby and Burton Hospitals with some home working. Travel between sites is required as and when is needed for meetings.

The successful candidate will be welcomed into our Future Focused Finance accredited level 1 team with a strong focus on wellbeing, collaboration, reflection and continuous improvement. We pride ourselves on the relationships with our stakeholders and adding value.

Main duties of the job

• Provide holistic financial support, advice & guidance to a range of different stakeholders.
• Be the first point of call for any finance queries and therefore understand the whole finance function.
• Lead on a pro-active approach to financial forecasting, ensuring that operational stakeholders are fully engaged in the forecasting process.
• Lead on the production of all month-end reporting in line with the Trust’s requirements.
• Conduct detailed analysis of a wide range of data, in order to identify key trends and drivers of cost or income.
• Review reporting processes with a view to continuously improve.
• Support the development of junior members of the team.
• Play a key role in the financial planning process of the business unit(s), with a detailed understanding of the relationship between income & expenditure plans.

To be considered for this role, you must be a qualified accountant or have substantial relevant experience. You would have experience of working within a large and highly complex organisation. You will need to evidence your delivery in core financial management and performance, incorporating analytical review, commercial awareness, and process improvement.

Closing date of applications: 1 November 2026

Interview date: 13 November 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Important visa information: Due to UK Home Office immigration rule changes effective from 22 July 2025, applicants sponsored under Occupation Code 6131 (Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants) may not be eligible to bring dependants under the Skilled Worker route if their Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on or after this date. Applicants are responsible for understanding how these rules apply to their individual circumstances. The Trust cannot provide immigration advice. Further information is available on the Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children - GOV.UK

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa

Read about the Health and Care Visa for employing overseas nationals (excluding Irish citizens) under the points-based immigration system.

Person specification

Knowledge and experience

• Experience of Financial Management
• CCAB Qualification

Analytical & judgement skill

• Can demonstrate analysis of complex finances
• Can demonstrate analysis of complex finances in a NHS or comparable organisation

Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.

Follow us on Twitter @UHDBTrust or find us on Facebook & LinkedIn - UHDBTrust

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If we receive a high number of applications for this position we reserve the right to withdraw the post before the closing date, therefore it is advisable that you apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/flexible shifts/annualised hours/ term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.

Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.

We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.

Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.

Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.

UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right the work in the UK via:

• the points-based immigration system
• the EU settlement scheme
• eVisa

During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Name Will Craft Job title Divisional Finance Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07385 374090 Additional information

Please see the job description and person specification for full details of the requirement for this excellent opportunity.