Lead Planning, Costing and Productivity Accountant

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Swindon; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Planning, Costing and Productivity Accountant to enhance patient-level costing and service line reporting across their group. This role involves significant financial reporting responsibilities and collaboration with clinical and operational areas to drive improvements. The ideal candidate will be CCAB/CIMA qualified with strong NHS costing experience and excellent communication skills. This role supports hybrid working with a focus on professional development.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Professional development opportunities

Collaborative team environment

Qualifications

• Evidence of strong commitment to active continuing professional development.
• In-depth experience in management accounting and financial accounting techniques.
• Experience managing and training a team of staff.

Responsibilities

• Process, analyse and summarise total income and costs for national returns.
• Drive evolution of patient-level costing and service line reporting.
• Collaborate across clinical and operational areas to shape service evolution.

Skills

Management accounting

Cost accounting

Financial planning

Financial accounting techniques

Advanced spreadsheet techniques

Graphical analysis

NHS costing experience

Dashboard reporting tools

Education

CCAB / CIMA Qualified

HFMA Membership

Tools

Power BI

Computerised accounting systems

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Lead Planning, Costing and Productivity Accountant

The closing date is 29 December 2025

Our newly integrated Planning, Costing and Productivity teams across Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust (SFT), Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GWH) and the Royal United Hospitals Bath (RUH) are evolving how we understand and use cost intelligence. Together, we're looking to build a more powerful, group-wide approach to costing – one that strengthens decision‑making, improves productivity and ultimately enhances patient care. We are looking for passionate, forward‑looking individuals to shape our new group way of working. You can be based at any of our sites – Bath, Swindon or Salisbury – and we support flexible working.

As our Lead Planning, Costing and Productivity Accountant, you will be at the heart of this mission. You'll help to drive the evolution of patient‑level costing and service line reporting across the Group, lead the submission of the annual national cost collection, and support the pioneering of innovative tools that showcase cost, productivity and benchmarking insights in meaningful, actionable ways.

The Group supports hybrid working, with two to three days per week on site.

Main duties of the job

The role of Lead Planning, Costing and Productivity Accountant has significant financial reporting responsibility. The purpose is to process, analyse and summarise the total income and costs for the Group for use in national mandatory returns and for internal management and strategic decision making. The role covers costing, service line reporting and benchmarking. The role is key for exploring opportunities for costing and productivity improvements and engaging with internal and external stakeholders on the findings. The postholder will influence and aid senior managers, senior finance colleagues and clinicians in the use of costing data for performance management, business analysis, benchmarking and decision making.

About us

This role will contribute to the improved use of data and tools in the finance team including the development and interpretation of Power BI visualisations and reports. The postholder will contribute to the development of new designed reporting showing key cost and productivity information and analysis. This role will contribute to developing new opportunities across the hospitals' group and will strive for a joint working approach in processes and use of data.

Join a forward‑thinking group of three hospital Trusts – Bath, Swindon and Salisbury – now working together to deliver care to the communities we serve. Across all sites, our finance teams are known for their warmth, collaboration and commitment to nurturing personal and professional growth. With every team already accredited at Level 1 with Future Focused Finance – and a shared ambition to reach Level 2 by 2026 – this is a place where development genuinely matters.

Job responsibilities

This role is perfect for someone who thrives on improvement, collaboration and impact. You will work proactively across all clinical and operational areas, partnering closely with group finance and informatics colleagues to shape how our services evolve. Join us and help build a smarter, more connected, more insightful future for patient care across the BSW Hospitals Group.

Qualifications

• CCAB / CIMA Qualified
• Evidence of strong commitment to active continuing professional development
• NHS acute hospital finance
• HFMA Membership

Experience

• In depth experience of management accounting, cost accounting, financial planning and financial accounting techniques and principles as applicable to a large complex organisation
• Experience of computerised accounting systems
• Experience of managing a team of staff, including objective setting and training
• Excellent IT skills including advanced spreadsheet techniques, graphical analysis, PowerPoint and Word
• NHS costing experience, including the national cost collection
• Experience of NHS or public sector finance
• Awareness of the current NHS agenda and challenges
• Use of dashboard reporting tools

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.

Address

BSW Hospitals Group (Swindon, Salisbury, Bath)