Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and we are looking to recruit an Income and Contracting Accountant.
Are you highly motivated and can you make a difference? This role is pivotal to the Trust and the Finance Department providing financial leadership, advice, training and support to the Division to ensure the achievement of financial targets and reporting requirements.
We are seeking an excellent communicator, a team player, someone who enjoys a challenge and is motivated by financial continual improvements.
You need to be a CCAB qualified accountant with experience of working closely with Divisional Directors, Clinicians, Directorate Managers and budget holders.
Provide financial leadership in matters relating to Income and Contracting, including Directors, Commissioners and Divisional Business Managers, and other budget holders in support of maintaining a balanced budgetary position.
Deliver internal and external reporting requirements, enabling managers to provide an efficient and effective service within the resources available.
The role is wide ranging, encompassing financial performance management, business planning and efficiencies.
Main duties of the job
Financial Planning & Budgeting
Invoicing and Commissioner Income
Contracting
External Reporting
Business Planning
Income and Activity
Internal Financial Control
Working for our organisation
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our award winning Finance Team!
The Finance Department has been at the forefront of change and continual improvement and has won a national HFMA award for embracing technology and the Public Sector Finance Award for Training & Development.
The Department is both FSD and FFF level 3 accredited showing our commitment to being a leading edge Finance Function, supporting the wider improvement of the North West finance system and influencing local and national strategy.
We actively participate in mentoring and coaching programs. With our training schemes and support networks, you will be empowered to play a leading role in the future of healthcare, whatever your specialism or interest.
The Trust supports collaborative working with other Acute NHS Providers across Lancashire and South Cumbria and in particularly across Pennine Lancashire.
Future Focused Finance
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, the finance team are committed to embedding the Four Strengths Framework. This covers the four key attributes the NHS Finance Leadership Council have created to ensure NHS finance departments are capable of playing their part in a modern, patient-centred NHS. All applicants for ELHT finance roles will be assessed against the four strengths as part of the interview and assessment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Financial Planning & Budgeting
Work with the Divisional Accountants to ensure that the Trust’s income streams are accurately identified, costed and translated into budgets, and that they are realistic yet challenging and are appropriate for the service they are funding, including consideration of inflation and overheads.
Responsibility for the maintenance and reconciliation of the recurring and non-recurring budgetary position on a monthly basis.
Responsibility for providing financial advice, analysis and reporting of the Trust income position, using information from the ledger and SLAM system.
Responsibility for providing direction on the divisional Income budgets, consistent with the overall financial framework
Responsibility for maintaining a robust reconciliation of deferred income, including supporting the Divisions in understanding their deferred income position and forecast.
Invoicing and Commissioner Income
Responsibility for ensuring that all invoices to Commissioners are raised in a timely manner with appropriate backing information, and that any queries are resolved to support swift payment to support the Trust’s cashflow position.
Support the Agreement of Balances exercise through accurate and timely invoicing, reviewing statements and resolving any queries as they arise.
Work with Financial Accounts to forecast Commissioner income, as a key component of the Trust cashflow forecast.
Responsibility for allocating all Commissioner income to the correct codes in the ledger, to support meaningful run rate and variance analysis, and for ensuring that income received reconciles to contractual values.
Provide advice to Divisions on Commissioning matters e.g. what additional services or activities can be invoiced, what backing information is required, what further information is required to ensure payment
Provide advice to Divisions on how to maximise income within appropriate contractual arrangements and whilst adhering to guidance, e.g. ensuring that all costs are correctly captured, ensuring that patient activity is correctly recorded.
Contracting
Actively participate in and contribute to the review of Commissioner contract offers in accordance with the Trust’s strategic aims and objectives.
Support the Head of Contracting in reviewing and updating draft Commissioner contracts, in particular populating the Postholders and Trust Policies sections, and co-ordinating relevant Trust functions in reviewing Schedule 4 (Governance) and Schedule 6 (Information), to ensure the Trust can comply with contract conditions.
Provide advice to Divisions on appropriate contractual arrangements for new or changing services, including whether a sub-contract, Service Level Agreement (SLA) or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be used.
Responsible for drafting sub-contracts, SLAs and MoUs under the direction of the Head of Contracting.
External Reporting
Responsibility for populating and checking relevant sections of the monthly Monitoring Return (PFR) to report the Trust’s total income position and forecast to regulators, including addressing any errors/validations, reconciling to ledger and explaining any variances.
Business Planning
Actively participate in and contribute to the formulation of the Divisional Income Budgets in accordance with the Trust’s strategic aims and objectives.
Responsibility for coding Commissioner contract values in the ledger, to support meaningful variance analysis.
Income and Activity
Lead the Income Analyst in the production of monthly SLAM information for the reporting of priced patient activity information to Commissioners.
Review SLAM outputs to ensure that all activity is correctly captured and priced, by working with the Income Analyst to embed robust control processes.
Lead the process to reflect SLAM income in the ledger, to promote visibility within Divisional budget statements.
Undertake monthly triangulation of ‘Pass Through’ Drugs and Devices costs to ensure that all expenditure is being correctly captured and reimbursed by Commissioners.
Support General Office with the income aspects of Private Patients and Overseas Visitors, including reviewing and updating Trust policies as necessary.
Internal Financial Control
Ensure that the divisions and directorates adhere to the Trust Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions and financial procedures.
Ensure that authorised signature lists are maintained for the division and directorate in respect of both exchequer and charitable funds, consistent with the scheme of delegation established by the Divisional General Manager.
Review the divisions’ business processes and where appropriate identify and implement improvements to efficiency and internal control, for example, stock control routines.
Work with Trusts internal and external auditors as required ensuring that agreed recommendations are implemented in a timely manner.
Staff Management
To be responsible for the day to day management of the Income Analyst including identifying training and development requirements in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework requirements and ensuring that Personal Development Plans are in place.
To play an active role in the leadership, support and development of the wider financial management team.
To be responsible for the recruitment, selection and appointment of staff working within the department in accordance with the Trust's employment policies and procedures and legal requirements.
To actively participate in an annual review and using a personal development plan, develop own knowledge and skills and support the development of others in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework requirements for the post.
To act in a way which supports equality and diversity and encourages others to do so.
To contribute towards our Finance Staff Development agenda, ensuring that work is undertaken to maintain our Level 3 Finance Staff Development accreditation. Ensure involvement in Future Focused Finance and take an active participation in relevant groups both internal and external to the organisation.
Finance Continual Improvement
To contribute towards the continual improvement agenda, and encouraging others to do so, often leading on projects to improve the way the function operates, and ensuring that an improvement culture is engendered within the team.
Communication
Use motivational skills to encourage collaborative working to improve services and performance
Use motivational and influencing skills to combat resistance to change
Use communication and empathy skills to discuss highly sensitive and emotive issues with staff groups, in particular around performance and service improvement within their departments.
Encourage innovation and identify opportunities for continual improvement through existing communication mechanisms or undertake their development when none is in existence
Training and Development
To ensure all mandatory training requirements are met
To ensure all professional development needs are met
To ensure direct reports all mandatory training requirements are met
To ensure direct reports all professional development needs are met
To work with the finance team as a whole to ensure a standard financial approach is taken
Deputise for the Finance Staff Development Lead when required
Provide training and coaching support to the finance team
Provide training to the wider Trust as required in relation to, Finance and performance Management, Measurement and other subjects as agreed
To train non finance managers the financial responsibilities of the Trust and of individuals.
Plan, deliver and review interventions to enable people to learn and develop
Person specification
Essential
Essential criteria
* Degree (Honours) or equivalent qualification or qualified CCAB accountant with evidence of continued professional development
* Considerable previous NHS experience post qualification
* Staff management
* Management accounts experience
* Experience of computerised ledger
* Communication skills with budget holders dealing with complex information
* Negotiation skills with the ability to secure co-operation
* Self motivated & manage time effectively
* Budgeting & forecasting experience at Divisional level
* Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft office products
* Highly developed analytical and problem solving skills
Desirable criteria
* Report writing & performance management
* Working with teams to produce cost improvements / waste reduction
* Involved in training & development of finance & non finance staff
* Have a thorough working knowledge of all accounting standards
* Have a working knowledge of NHS Income and Contracting guidance and processes.