Description Are you a strategic and forward-thinking finance professional with a strong track record in leading complex financial operations, driving innovation, and championing continuous improvement? The Directorate for Health and Social Care Finance, part of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s portfolio, oversees the management of over £21 billion in public spending. This includes financial oversight and performance reporting for 14 Territorial NHS Boards, 8 National Boards, associated agencies, and internal programme expenditure across the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates. We are seeking a highly motivated and technically skilled Senior Financial Accounting and Governance Manager to play a pivotal role in the Health & Social Care portfolio’s financial accounting landscape. This includes leading the annual accounts process for the portfolio, managing consolidated reporting to the Scottish Government, and actively engaging with key forums such as the NHS Scotland Technical Accounting Group and Financial Accounting Network. In this role, you will work closely with internal stakeholders, NHS Board finance teams, and wider Scottish Government colleagues to ensure robust financial governance, high-quality reporting, and continuous improvement in financial processes. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on the financial stewardship of one of the largest public sector portfolios in Scotland. You will report directly to the Head of Financial Management and Reporting and lead a team of four finance professionals, providing direction, support, and development opportunities. Responsibilities Lead the preparation of the DG Health and Social Care (DGHSC) portfolio year-end financial position, including NHS Boards sub-consolidation, Scottish Government annual accounts, and UK Whole of Government Accounts, ensuring compliance with statutory accounting requirements, professional standards, and agreed timelines. Lead the NHS Scotland annual accounts sub-consolidation process, including the development of accounting templates and guidance, facilitating post-year-end reviews, and ensuring NHS Boards operate within delegated financial limits and appropriate authority levels. Oversee NHS Scotland’s technical and financial accounting processes, leading collaboration across DGHSC and NHS Boards to ensure consistent application of technical standards and consolidated budgetary reporting. Monitor and manage NHS Scotland’s non-core and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) budgets, and work closely with the Capital Finance Manager and Financial Reporting Manager to ensure accurate financial outturns across NHS Boards. Manage strategic relationships with key stakeholders, overseeing the consolidation of NHS Boards and Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSCD) financial data, coordinating the provision of information to central finance for consolidated reporting, and liaising effectively with external auditors. Provide expert technical accounting and budgeting guidance to the DG Health Finance community, NHS Boards, and other stakeholders, including active participation in the Technical Accounting Group and Financial Accounting Network. Manage and develop the Financial Control team, providing leadership, mentoring, and training to finance leads and trainee accountants to build capability and ensure high performance. Ensure robust financial governance and control frameworks are in place across DGHSCD and NHS Boards, including oversight of the scheme of delegation, certificates of assurance, and reconciliation of key budget processes and ledger balances. Champion process automation and continuous improvement, driving efficiencies in financial operations and enhancing stakeholder engagement through streamlined practices. Contribute to the ongoing restructuring and role review within the Division, with responsibilities subject to change as part of the evolving organisational structure. Responsibilities Qualifications The successful candidate must be fully CCAB qualified (or equivalent) with up to date CPD. Please include this in your CV and Personal Statement. Success Profile Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Experience: Demonstrated expertise in technical financial accounting and analytical practices, with a strong track record of translating complex financial data into clear, actionable insights. Behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture – Level 4 Changing and Improving – Level 4 Communicating and Influencing – Level 4 Making Effective Decisions – Level 4 You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot How to apply Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1,000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment. If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 15th September however this may be subject to change. Qualifications About us The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Working pattern Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. From October 2025, the Scottish Government will require staff in hybrid-compatible roles to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us. Security checks Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions). You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide. Equality statement We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation. Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them. Further information Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes. Apply before; 26th August (23:59) This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship organisations only