Finance Business Partner

NHS; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Plymouth is seeking a Finance Business Partner to offer comprehensive finance business partnering services. This role involves strategic planning, influencing day-to-day decisions, and maintaining financial integrity in a dynamic environment. The ideal candidate will be a qualified accountant with extensive experience in NHS finance and excellent analytical skills.

Benefits

Flexible working

Dynamic working environment

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Professional Qualified Accountant with current registration.
• Proven experience and expertise in financial management.
• Commitment to continuing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and business planning advice to Service Line and Care Group Management teams.
• Encourage and influence cost-effective decision making.
• Investigate complex financial queries on income and expenditure.

Skills

Financial management

Data analysis

Communication skills

NHS finance policies

Education

CCAB or equivalent (e.g., CIMA)

A levels and 5 x GCSE Grade C or above

Job description

Overview

Job summary

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

The Trust is one of the largest acute healthcare providers in the country. Our services include Emergency and Acute Assessment units, General Medical and Surgical Services, Cancer Care, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Dentistry, Ear Nose and Throat, Neurosciences and Renal services. We offer a full range of general hospital services to around 450,000 people in Plymouth, North and East Cornwall and South and West Devon. These include emergency and major trauma services, maternity services, paediatrics and a full range of diagnostic, medical and surgical sub-specialties.

Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as Priority and At Risk status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.

Main duties of the job

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and hardworking individual to join an established Finance team. You will be the interface between finance and operations, where you will actively influence day to day decisions and help shape strategic and business planning of the Trust which will include undertaking Demand and Capacity planning, understanding Service Line Viability, Benchmarking, developing Transformational Savings Plans and support the production of large Business Cases for capital and/or revenue investments. You must be able to manipulate, analyse and interpret data appropriately for your audience with excellent communication skills, and be a Professionally Qualified Accountant.

Consideration will be given to applicants who do not fully meet the person specification but who have the relevant demonstrable experience for the role and would meet the person specification in a short timeframe. These applicants would be offered a training role at the band below the position advertised.

For an informal discussion please contact Lauren Fuller, Care Group Finance Business Partner ([e-mail]) or Steve Cavendish, Associate Director of Finance - Financial Performance ([e-mail]).

About us

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is a dynamic and challenging environment, which provides acute healthcare for people in Plymouth, South West Devon and South East Cornwall, and has more than 6,500 staff working in its services. We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care.

Please note that all communication will be electronic; please check your email account regularly. If you have any issues with applying online or need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment team on 01752 432100. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Details

Date posted: 23 September 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 8a

Salary: £55,690 to £62,682 a year Per Annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number: 216-AH-A7481096

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

Job responsibilities

Utilising specialist knowledge of complex NHS/Trust accounting systems, processes, regulations, financial techniques and relevant legislation; NHS Tariff guidance and Contractual requirements, together with general commercial awareness, for individual Services to:

• Provide strategic and business planning advice to Service Line and Care Group Management teams;
• Encourage and influence Service Line 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 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 Service Line Managers and Budget Holders.
• Assist and advise Service Line 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 Service Line for that purpose;
• Oversee the accuracy and integrity of Service Line financial information relating to service line reporting and reference costs in particular;
• Identify business opportunities and threats arising out of market analyses and work with service lines to identify financial impacts and mitigating actions;
• Thoroughly review monthly contract monitoring reports with service lines to ensure robust capture and coding of income. Work with service lines and Accountants to develop robust activity and income forecasts based on changes to demand, RTT requirements and capacity constraints;
• Benchmark the Service Lines 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 Service Line Management Teams and work closely with Service Line Management teams to effect such changes.

For further details please see attached JD&PS.

Person Specification

Knowledge & Experience Essential

• Ability to demonstrate highly developed theoretical and practical proven knowledge at an advanced level and demonstrable experience and expertise in financial management, accounting procedures, relevant legislation and NHS finance policies.
• Ability to demonstrate recent Continuing Professional Development including specialist training and demonstrable experience relating to NHS Finance as well as national accounting standards.
• Demonstrable experience of liaising with Internal and External Auditors.

Desirable

• NHS Management Accounting demonstrable experience

Qualifications Essential

• CCAB or equivalent (eg CIMA) Professional Qualified Accountant with current registration and relevant demonstrable post qualification experience.
• 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.

Desirable

• Degree or equivalent

Aptitude & Abilities Essential

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

Other information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship: Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website. From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer details: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Ground Floor, Brittany House, 1 Brest Road, Plymouth, PL6 5YE. Website: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/