Finance Business Partner

Avery Healthcare Group Ltd.; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Plymouth seeks a Finance Business Partner to provide high-quality finance partnering services to directorates. This influential role involves strategic advice, complex financial analysis, and supporting decision-making. Ideal candidates are fully qualified accountants or in the process of obtaining their qualification, with experience in financial management within the NHS. The position promotes innovation and supports sustainable service delivery to enhance patient care.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified or currently studying for a professional accountancy qualification.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development in line with Institute requirements.
• Experience in NHS finance and financial management.
• Recent professional development in NHS policies and accounting standards.
• Experience in financial management and NHS finance policies.
• Awareness of NHS Agenda and governance aspects.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and business planning advice to management teams.
• Influence cost-effective decision-making using persuasion and negotiation skills.
• Investigate complex financial queries and carry out analytical reviews.
• Interpret complex financial data and advise on financial risks.
• Assist teams in executing performance targets within financial resources.
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of Service Line/Directorate financial information including patient level reporting.
• Identify opportunities and threats from market analyses and advise on financial impacts.
• Review monthly contract monitoring reports to ensure robust income capture and coding.
• Develop robust activity and income forecasts based on demand, RTT, and capacity.

Skills

Excellent numeracy

Data analysis

NHS finance policy knowledge

Education

Fully qualified Professional Accountant or studying towards qualification

Degree or equivalent

Tools

NHS budgeting systems

Job description

About the job Finance Business Partner

Job Summary

To provide a comprehensive and high quality finance business partnering service to directorates. To promote innovation and improvement by providing expertise and analysis to inform good financial decision making and optimal use of resources.

Main Duties of the Job

An exceptional opportunity has arisen for an ambitious, high calibre finance professional to join a respected and forward thinking Finance team at a pivotal time for the Trust. This is a genuinely influential role at the heart of decision making across Finance and Operations. You will help shape the Trust's future by providing insight that informs clinical and operational strategy, supports sustainable service delivery, and enables investment in patient focused care. Your work will span demand and capacity planning, service line viability, benchmarking performance, delivering transformational savings, and developing major capital and revenue business cases.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and business planning advice to Directorate and Divisional Management teams.
• Encourage and influence Directorate Management Teams to ensure cost-effective decision making by management, using high developed persuasion, motivation and negotiation skills.
• Investigate highly complex financial queries on income and expenditure, carrying out regular complicated analytical reviews of the Service Line/Directorate financial position, predicting income, developing and using complex models and multiple inputs including activity projections and case mix issues.
• Interpret highly complex financial data and give advice on financial risks to ensure the budgets are achievable and owned by the Directorate Managers and Budget Holders.
• Assist and advise Directorate Management Teams in the execution of plans to achieve the performance targets set out in the Trusts Annual Plan, within the financial resources allocated to the Directorate for that purpose.
• Oversee the accuracy and integrity of Service Line/Directorate financial information relating to Patient Level reporting and reference costs in particular.
• Identify business opportunities and threats arising out of market analyses and work with Directorate to identify financial impacts and mitigating actions.
• Thoroughly review monthly contract monitoring reports with Directorates to ensure robust capture and coding of income.
• Work with Directorates and Accountants to develop robust activity and income forecasts based on changes to demand, RTT requirements and capacity constraints.
• Benchmark the Service Lines/Directorates against other similar hospitals using nationally recognised activity and management information and peer data (such as GIRFT and the Model Hospital) – identify areas for improvement and advise Directorate Management Teams and work closely with Directorate Management teams to effect such changes.
• Ensure best practice is developed and delivered at department and organisational level, challenging ways of working and motivating and influencing others.
• Provide financial support for revenue and capital business cases as appropriate describing the financial implications of the business case and investment appraisal techniques.

Qualifications and Experience

• Fully qualified Professional Accountant or studying towards qualification.
• 'A' levels and 5 x GCSE Grade C or above or equivalent, including Mathematics and English Language at GCSE level (A-C/ 4-9).
• Commitment to continuing professional development in line with relevant Institute requirements.
• Experience in financial management, accounting procedures, relevant legislation and NHS finance policies.
• Recent Continuing Professional Development including specialist training and demonstrable experience relating to NHS Finance as well as national accounting standards.
• Awareness of the current NHS 'Agenda', national directives and all Governance aspects.

Desirable

• NHS Management Accounting demonstrable experience.
• Degree or equivalent.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent level of numeracy.
• Ability to deduce key points from large/highly complex volumes of data analysing several aspects of data.

Additional Information

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams.

Applicants should check and maintain a current UK professional registration. Applications from job seekers who require Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Disclosure and Barring Service check will be required.

Employer Details

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Ground Floor, Brittany House, 1 Brest Road, Plymouth, PL6 5YE.

Contact

For an informal discussion, please contact Steve Cavendish, Associate Director of Finance.