Management Accountant

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Grays; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Management Accountant to join the finance team. You will support clinical and corporate managers with financial management, prepare monthly reports, and provide advice on budgets and accounting procedures.

The role involves costings for developments, assisting in annual budget setting, and ensuring timely, accurate management information for budget holders and executive directors.

Qualifications

• Proficient IT skills including spreadsheets and word processing.
• Strong written and verbal communication with all management levels.
• Experience providing financial information to budget holders and directors.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and input journals, ensure correct coding and authorisation.
• Prepare budget virements according to policy.
• Meet budget holders to discuss financial performance and variances.
• Undertake costings for new developments and service enhancements.
• Assist with annual budget setting and staffing establishment costs.
• Raise invoices for directorate income with clear supporting information.
• Provide advice on financial systems and interpretation of statements.
• Ensure compliance with Standing Orders and financial procedures.
• Contribute to production of Trust Annual Accounts and returns.

Skills

IT skills

Communication skills

Management communication

Education

GCSE A-C

AAT or Level 4 finance

Job description

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You'll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you'll do the best work of your life - and make a difference to other people's lives. What we do together, matters.

JOB OVERVIEW

ROLE SUMMARY

• To support the provision of a comprehensive financial management service to clinical and/or corporate managers within one or more directorates. This will involve working closely with budget managers to provide financial management advice and support using information produced by the management accounting team.
• The role involves the production of timely and accurate management information, and requires both technical knowledge of accounting procedures and an understanding of the operational business of the Trust.
• The management accountant is part of a team providing support to one or more Executive Directors. Within this larger team, each management accountant works with a senior management accountant providing financial management information and advice to a defined group of budget holders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• To assist the Senior Management Accountant in the production of monthly budget reports for services within one or more directorates, ensuring that the monthly reporting timetable is achieved, the data within the reports is accurate, and correctly takes account of all appropriate accruals and pre-payments. This will include reconciling budget movements, monitoring savings plans, and identifying and investigating variances.

WORKING FOR OUR ORGANISATION

Putting our values into practice

• We Care: Better care leads to better outcomes. Our care will be individualised, therapeutic and trauma-informed, and we will support our staff to be resilient at work by prioritising their health and wellbeing.
• We Learn: We will develop our culture of learning, reflecting carefully when things go wrong and championing continuous improvement. We will embed gold standard learning processes and cycles that help us create new knowledge.
• We Empower: We will create a culture of co-production, with lived experience and staff experience informing all our plans. We will empower our service users, their families, and their supporters to set their own care and recovery goals and empower our staff to draw on and apply their managerial and clinical expertise.

DETAILED JOB DESCRIPTION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Prepare and input journals to correct coding errors, enter monthly commitments and pre-payments ensuring appropriate supporting information is provided and transactions are correctly authorised.
• Prepare and input budget virements ensuring that the trust virement policy and procedures are adhered to.
• Meet regularly with budget holders to discuss financial performance and to understand the reasons for any variances. In conjunction with the senior management accountant, provide challenge, support and advice to ensure that variances are dealt with, and financial control is maintained.
• Undertake costings for new developments and service enhancements within the service area supported.
• Assist with the annual budget setting process, which will include costing an approved staffing establishment and maintaining budget working papers.
• Raise invoices for directorate income correctly and regularly. Provide appropriate and clear supporting information for charges.
• Provide advice to budget holders on trust financial and purchasing systems and interpretation of the financial statements provided to them.
• Understand and comply with key financial procedures and policies including Trust Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and purchasing procedures. Provide advice and clarification to budget holders as required.
• Contribute to the production of the Trust Annual Accounts, completing working papers, analysis and returns as directed.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES

• Complete mandatory training in line with Trust policy and procedures
• To participate in the staff appraisal process and to undertake for any staff you manage
• To keep yourself updated on all matters relating to Trust policy
• To provide management supervision where appropriate

PERSON SPECIFICATION

PERSONAL QUALITIES

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Allignment with Trust Values
• Ability/Evidence of working under pressure
• Willingness to learn new skills

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Ability to travel across sites

QUALIFICATIONS

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• GSCE Grades A to C
• AAT or equivalent level 4 qualification in finance, accountancy, or business, or equivalent knowledge from significant experience

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Evidence of attendance on relevant short courses or training

KNOWLEDGE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Proficient in IT software (spreadsheets, word processing, email)
• Comprehensive knowledge of management accounting processes

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Knowledge of NHS and Foundation Trust finance regime

SKILLS/EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• IT/Computer Skills
• Good Communication Skills
• Confidence/Experience in Communicating with all Management levels

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Experience in an NHS Finance Department

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered 'suitable alternative employment' to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.