Head of Financial Improvement

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King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.7 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

Job overview

We are dedicated to fostering financial growth and efficiency across all areas of our business. As we continue to innovate and expand, we are looking for a forward-thinking financial leader with a passion for driving change and improving financial performance.

The Head of Financial Improvement is part of the senior team within Financial Strategy and Planning and sits within the Continuous Improvement function. Reporting to the Director of Financial Strategy, Planning and Investment, the Head of Financial Improvement is accountable for strategic improvement of the finance function and to drive the full portfolio of the financial improvement agenda Trust-wide. It is responsible for:

• Leading oversight and monitoring of Trust-wide delivery against the workstreams to deliver the financial governance improvement programme, enabling the wider Trust to improve and embed good financial process and control
• Leading oversight and monitoring of Trust-wide delivery against workstreams to deliver our financial strategy
• Continuous improvement and finance development for both the finance function and wider Trust.

The post holder will oversee reporting Trust-wide progress to King's Executive and Board Committees and lead work to report progress and update work programmes in line with key feedback from external stakeholders including the Trust's internal auditors, South East London ICB and NHSE.

Main duties of the job

Financial Improvement Programme

• Develop and maintain understanding of organisational goals, culture and constraints, ensuring workstreams are relevant to the King's strategic direction and financial challenge.
• The post holder will be responsible for leading oversight and monitoring of Trust-wide workstreams to deliver the financial governance improvement programme and workstreams to deliver our financial strategy.
• The post holder should be familiar with using tools such as NHSE's 'grip and control' checklist, HFMA's 'Improving NHS financial sustainability are you getting the basics right' checklist, benchmarking tools including Model Health System, and Statistical Process Control reporting to support delivery of their work.
• Must be able work with, support and influence wider finance team and key Trust-wide stakeholders outside of finance to develop and continuously improve good financial governance and enable delivery of the Trust's financial strategy for their areas, including how to evidence progress, and identify and mitigate risk. This will include working with colleagues across HR, nursing, medical, operations, transformation and estates at Site Executive level and across their teams.
• Work with the Financial Improvement Lead and Director of Financial Planning, Strategy and Investment to establish and maintain a benefits realisation framework and ensure assigned workstreams implement this.

Working for our organisation

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD: Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Leadership & Management Support

• Support the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officers to deliver engagement events to the finance function as well as developing other finance function and Trust-wide communication forums.
• Raise the profile of the finance function within the organisation and externally, including leading on applications for external award and recognition schemes.
• Ensure regular reports on financial improvement, directorate structure, culture & behaviour and training & development are presented at key financial committees within the Trust, ensuring highly complex information is shared in an appropriate and clear format reflective of the audience.

Reporting

• Responsible for reporting and assurance of progress on both programmes of work to the Trust's Senior Finance team, King's Executive, Trust Board Committees, as well as SEL ICB and NHSE.
• Able to receive, process, summarise, interpret and effectively communicate highly complex, sensitive and contentious information where there are barriers to acceptance and resistance to change in a highly pressurised or hostile environment or where negotiating/influencing skills are required to secure agreement or cooperation.

Risk Management

• Work with the Financial Improvement Lead and Director of Financial Planning and Investment to establish and maintain an effective risk and issue management strategy/framework and ensure assigned programme and projects implement this.
• Work with the workstreams management leads and SROs to resolve and mitigate any challenges.
• Escalate risks as appropriate to governing bodies and relevant stakeholders.

People Management and Development

• Lead, coach and manage the performance of the team in line with good people management practices. Ensuring excellence is recognised and underperformance is addressed.
• Participate in regular performance appraisal meetings and ensure each member of the team has a clear set of objectives and development plans.
• Ensure team compliance with all statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant.
• Manage team absences including sickness in line with Trust policy ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, e-roster is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.
• Identify and fill any vacancies that arise within the team in line with the Trust's recruitment policy and process.
• Identify talent and support the internal talent management process in order attract and retain and succession plan for your people.
• Review skills mix at regular intervals in order to identify any potential opportunities to maximise resource utilisation / allocation, ensuring job descriptions are kept up to date.
• Ensure overall wellbeing of the team is maintained. Continuously support in improving the morale of the team and implementing a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.

Please refer to the job description for full details

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Professional Accountancy Qualification (CIPFA, ICAEW, CIMA or Certified) and current registration with professional body
• Demonstrable evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

Essential criteria

• Extensive post qualifying experience covering the full range of responsibilities of a senior financial professional.
• Extensive experience of advising and working in tandem with senior managers and directors of a large, complex organisation
• Experience of financial staff development within a large NHS body or equivalent organisation
• Experience of developing training and development policies and practices, working jointly with other organisations to create a consistent approach.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Articulate with highly complex interpersonal communication and presentational skills that have been practiced and developed
• Tactful, diplomatic and at ease with all kinds of people. Acts with integrity at all times
• Experience of delivering highly complex work programmes and projects against multiple challenging deadlines
• Experience of leading or advising on long-term strategic behavioural changes for the whole organisation

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Click here to see the range of benefits we offer
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Due to a high volume of applications, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. It is therefore recommended that you apply promptly

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 296.4KB)
• Denmark Hill Site Map (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Princess Royal (PRUH) Site map (PDF, 1.4MB)
• Visa and Sponsorship Information (PDF, 352.6KB)