Main area Financial Management Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Able to work flexible during busy times such as Month end/ specific tasks etc.) Job ref 364-A-9235
Employer Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Thameside House, Thurrock Community Hospital Town Grays Salary £38,682 - £46,580 per annum + 5% High Cost Allowance Salary period Yearly Closing 07/09/2025 23:59
Senior Management Accountant
Band 6
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
To provide a comprehensive financial management service to 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 senior management accountant is part of a team providing support to one or more Executive Directors. Within this larger team, each Senior management accountant works with a management accountant providing financial management information and advice to a defined group of budget holders.
Main duties of the job
To produce monthly budget reports for services within one or more directorates. Understand the key drivers of the underlying financial position and communicate these effectively to budget holders. Meet regularly with budget holders to discuss financial performance and to understand the reasons for any variances. Identify areas of concern and communicate these to the budget holders and, where appropriate, senior finance team and service directors. Attend Directorate Senior Management Team meetings with senior management and clinical staff and present the financial information clearly. Undertake costings for new developments and service enhancements within the service area supported. Provide support and advice on the revenue implications of business cases, service developments and proposed service changes. Support managers to develop an annual budget to ensure services are planned within available resources and accurately reflect the expected cost of the service. Assist budget holders in identifying their Cost Improvement Programmes, and monitor delivery of cost reductions and achievement of any CIP targets set. Provide support to the Senior Finance Manager in monitoring contract income.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;
* Season Ticket Loans
* NHS discounts for staff
* Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
* Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
* The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
* Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
* Day One Flexible Employer
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To produce 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.
- Understand the key drivers of the underlying financial position and communicate these effectively to budget holders. Through knowledge of the service and dialogue with the budget holder prepare robust forecast income and expenditure estimates to feed into the organisational monitoring returns and performance reports.
- Meet regularly with budget holders to discuss financial performance and to understand the reasons for any variances. Provide challenge, support and advice to ensure that variances are dealt with and financial control is maintained.
- Identify areas of concern and communicate these to the budget holders and, where appropriate, senior finance team and service directors. Provide advice to managers to take corrective action, including identifying opportunities for cost reduction or income generation. Follow through on agreements for corrective action and provide appropriate level of challenge where performance does not improve.
- Attend Directorate Senior Management Team meetings with senior management and clinical staff and present the financial information clearly. Be able to explain and discuss financial performance in detail and deal with any queries arising.
- Undertake costings for new developments and service enhancements within the service area supported. Attend relevant meetings with operational managers and commissioners as required.
- Provide support and advice on the revenue implications of business cases, service developments and proposed service changes.
- Support managers to develop an annual budget to ensure services are planned within available resources and accurately reflect the expected cost of the service. This will include costing an approved staffing establishment, assessing the level of non pay expenditure, understanding income flows and identifying cost pressures.
- Assist budget holders in identifying their Cost Improvement Programmes, and monitor delivery of cost reductions and achievement of any CIP targets set.
- Provide support to the Senior Finance Manager in monitoring contract income, ensuring that contract variations are recorded in the ledger in a timely fashion and any payment issues are highlighted immediately. Responsible for ensuring that monthly block invoices for defined contracts are raised and income reconciled on a monthly basis.
- Ensure that all directorate income is invoiced correctly and regularly. Provide appropriate and clear supporting information for charges and liaise with debtor organisations to resolve any queries.
- Provide training and advice to budget holders on trust financial and purchasing systems and interpretation of the financial statements provided to them.
- Ensure that budget holders understand and comply with key financial procedures and policies including Trust Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and purchasing procedures. Provide advice and clarification as required.
- Contribute to the production of the Trust Annual Accounts, completing working papers, analyses and returns as directed.
- Responsible for the management, development and training of the Management
Person specification
Educational Qualifications
* Membership of AAT, relevant degree or equivalent qualification or equivalent knowledge gained through extensive experience in a similar role.
* Engaged in study for CCAB or equivalent qualification or willing to commence training
* Evidence of commitment to continuing and ongoing personal and professional development
* GCSE level or equivalent
* Willing to learn new skills
Knowledge
* Proficient in use of IT software including spreadsheets, word processing
* Knowledge of NHS finance regime
* Awareness of current NHS issues and challenges
Skills /Experience
* Literate in IT/Computer Skills
* Good oral communication skills based on fluency on the English language
* Experience working in NHS finance department using computerised financial information systems
* Ability to clearly present and explain complex financial information and concepts to non financial managers
* High degree of accuracy and excellent attention to detail
Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.
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. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email epunft.recruitment.adverts@nhs.net and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.
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.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Name Parrice Bruce Job title Senior Management accountant – Psychology Email address parrice.bruce@nhs.net Telephone number 07498789889
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