Head of Finance

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Mansfield; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Head of Finance in Mansfield to provide strategic financial leadership across Care Groups. You will oversee budgeting, forecasting, reporting and cost improvement programmes while guiding budget holders and partnering with senior leaders on financial direction.

You will lead a team, ensure governance and value for money, and contribute to annual plans and the Trust's financial strategy in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Professional accounting qualification (CCAB or equivalent).
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• A minimum of 2 years post CCAB experience; knowledge of NHS finance and business planning regimes.
• Ability to lead and motivate a team; communicate with senior managers.

Responsibilities

• To ensure the preparation of accurate and timely financial reports for Care Group/Corporate Group.
• Provide guidance and support to budget holders to enable effective budgetary control.
• Identify and discuss with managers and clinicians areas where savings and efficiencies can be made.
• Analyse detailed and complex financial statements and forecasts and create understandable reports.
• Manage the financial plan setting and cost improvement identification process within Care Group/Corporate areas.
• Work alongside the Deputy Director of Finance in producing annual financial plans.
• Responsible for the Care Group/Corporate area financial forecast.
• Direct, lead and motivate the Care Group/Corporate finance team.
• Lead on development of costing strategy and NHS costing roadmap.
• Authorised signatory and ensure compliance with Trust financial policy.

Education

Professional accounting qualification (CCAB or equivalent)

Degree level education or equivalent

Job description

Head of Finance

The closing date is 18 September 2026

Join our dynamic Finance Department making a real impact in specialist healthcare services. We are excited to announce an exceptional leadership opportunity for experienced finance professionals to help shape and support our Care Groups.

As a Head of Finance, you will play a pivotal role in delivering strategic financial support to services that touch lives daily. This is a key leadership position where you'll work closely with operational leaders supporting secure and complex care pathways to ensure financial sustainability, drive service innovation, and promote best value for service users and the wider community.

You will be forward thinking and looking to add value to the clinical services you will support. You will oversee key areas across the Care Group including financial management, financial performance, planning, and monthly reporting. You'll lead and inspire a management accounts team in a fast-paced, ambitious environment that fosters excellence and continuous improvement. You will bring strong analytical skills and a collaborative approach. As a senior leader across the wider department, you will also play an important role in driving forward the Trust's strategic and operational financial goals.

Main duties of the job

• Support clinical and operational leaders in decision-making.


• Oversight of budgeting, forecasting, and Care Group cost improvement programmes.


• Business partner with Care Group Directors or Executive Directors on the financial direction of Care Group services.


• Provide financial input and support to contract negotiations and their performance.


• Ensure comprehensive business advice and information is provided to budget holders and managers within the Care Group.


• Advise and inform the Head of Financial Management of the current and prospective financial position of the Care Group.


• Ensure Care Group compliance, governance, and value for money.


• Lead a team of finance professionals with a focus on continuous improvement.

About us

#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment

Job responsibilities

To ensure the preparation of accurate and timely financial reports for Care Group/Corporate Group. To produce monthly summary data on actuals/forecast with appropriate narrative for inclusion in the Trust Board reports. To review, interpret and present accounts and reports, ensuring that work meets best practice standards and is used appropriately to support proposals and recommendations for decision-making.

Provide guidance and support to budget holders to enable effective budgetary control. Identify and discuss with managers and clinicians areas where savings and efficiencies can be made to enable more effective use of the Trusts resources. Analyse detailed and complex financial statements and forecasts and create reports and presentations that make them readily understandable to non-financial managers.

Manage the financial plan setting and cost improvement identification process within the Care Group/Corporate areas in accordance with Executive Leadership Team agreed timetables. To be solely responsible for agreeing virements to enable the production of a balanced budget.

Work alongside the Deputy Director of Finance in the production of the Trusts annual financial plans, by providing summaries of relevant financial information.

Responsible for the Care Group/Corporate area financial forecast.

Indirectly contribute to the completion of annual accounts.

Staff and Leadership

Direct, lead and motivate the Care Group/Corporate finance team. Recruit and train new members of staff where appropriate including team induction. Appraise directly line managed staff through the PAD process to identify their training and development needs, and performance manage the team in order to maximise their potential and the contribution they make to the organisation. To oversee sickness and absence management of the finance team.

Responsible for ensuring all budget holders in the designated directorates fully understand the financial information presented to them, identifying and implementing any training needs as necessary.

Contribute to development and delivery of Trust wide training to non-financial staff as required

Demonstrate continuing professional development, through development of knowledge, skills and keeping up to date with professional practice.

Work with external Stakeholders

Represent the Trust providing support to develop system plans with colleagues across the ICs.

Business Partnering

Support the relevant managers across Care Group/Corporate to fulfil their statutory duties including the proprietary responsibility and stewardship of public funds. Support the Trust in achieving its planned financial outturn.

Contribute to current departmental issues which may change over time

Ability to present complex financial reports to groups of senior managers and Executive Directors

Service & Policy Development

Lead on ensuring the development of the Trust costing strategy incorporating the NHS England costing roadmap and ensuring our patient level costing system is adequate to provide requirements of the roadmap

Manage the production of costing information in the Trust including the implementation and development of costing systems that will support the production of statutory reference costs and specialty cost returns, and service line reporting.

Utilise financial expertise and in depth specialist knowledge of business, legislative and NHS environment to assist General Managers in developing proposals and production of Care Group/Corporate plans in line with the Trust Strategy.

Direct the implementation and monitoring of compliance with Trust financial policy within Care Group/Corporate areas, so ensuring that best practice is disseminated and Directorate policy is consistent with Trust strategy. To interpret the impact of Organisational Policy as it affects individual Care Units/Corporate areas and prepare them for such impact. Ensure as far as possible budget holders adhere to Trust financial policy.

Efficiency Programme

Finance lead supporting the overall Trust efficiency programme. Assistance across the organization with development and monitoring of cost improvement plans for services, providing financial support and challenges where appropriate.

Training

Lead on finance staff development needs and ensure all finance staff receive mandatory training in a timely manner. Lead on the Finance training offer working with Learning & Development.

Finance Skills Development for the Trust, contributing to decisions on appropriate courses set by FSD, and ensure information on courses is made available to relevant staff.

General

Authorised signatory in line with Scheme of delegation.

Responsible for ensuring Health and Safety policies are implemented and adhered to within Care Group/Corporate finance team.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Possess a Professional accounting qualification (CCAB or equivalent)


• Educated to degree level or equivalent

Further Training

• Demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development

Work Experience

• A minimum of 2 years post CCAB or equivalent experience.


• Knowledge of NHS finance and business planning regimes.


• Appointing and Managing staff.


• Ability to problem solve and find solutions.


• Ability to communicate at a high level internally & externally.


• Possess numerical and analytical skills and have the ability to assimilate and interpret data to make resultant judgements.


• Able to lead and motivate a team.


• Ability to work under pressure and meet changing deadlines.


• Excellent written & report writing skills & have the ability to convey complex financial issues to non Finance Managers.


• Possess excellent negotiating & influencing skills.


• Ability to work on own initiative, integrate within the team.

Values and Behaviours

• Demonstrate the application of professional ethics, values and judgement in support of the core values underpinning the Finance Department, professionalism, empathy and respect.


• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness.


• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness.


• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness.

Values and Behaviours

• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate at interview that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork


• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and how it applies to their role. The Trust's expectations are highlighted within our EDI Policy, and associated EDI and Human Rights legislation

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.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

£79,504 to £91,609 a yearper annum (pro rata for part time)