Head of financial accounts

Go back NICE – The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Head of Financial Accounts

The closing date is 24 June 2026

As Head of Financial Accounts within NICE, you will be a qualified accountant (CCAB or CIMA), having overall responsibility for managing and developing NICE's financial accounting function, including accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll.

You will be an expert in all matters relating to accounting standards and key financial controls. You will lead the production of the Annual Accounts, including being the key point of contact for external audit. You will create and lead on systems and processes to ensure the Statement of Financial Position including all control accounts are correctly maintained and reported.

Do you want to do meaningful work that makes a genuine difference to society? Our main purpose here at The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is to improve health and wellbeing by putting science and evidence at the heart of health and care decision making. As an organisation we all collaborate to achieve this same goal through empowering our workforce to do great things!

Please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. Please refer to the Direct Gov website for further information regarding eligibility.

Please note this vacancy may be closed early if sufficient suitable applications are received so we encourage an early application.

Main duties of the job

The Head of Financial Accounts will be responsible for the financial accounting function, including managing a team of 6 people and being the contract manager for our accounting payroll shared services provider. Key duties of the role include:

• Producing the annual accounts and key statutory information within the annual report, including responding to updated financial reporting standards.
• Responsible for Treasury Management in line with NICE's policies and managing public money.
• Day‑to‑day management of the Payroll and Financial Accounts Team, including planning training and development opportunities aligned to continuous improvement of the service provided.
• To manage systems which ensure NICE has in place procedures to receipt income and allocate expenditure in accordance with the Standing Financial Instructions.
• Responsible for the coordination of all Financial Services management information required for inclusion in the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC) reports.
• To chair the regular Capital Review Board and allocate, prioritise and monitor capital expenditure plans.
• To promote and lead financial awareness amongst staff across NICE, providing training as appropriate.

About us

The Finance team sits within the Finance, Corporate and Commercial directorate. You will be joining a team of 17 people who perform a range of financial accounting, payroll and financial management services for an organisation with approximately £90m budget and 800 employees.

We are passionate and proud of the work we do and the impact we make. NICE offer:

• Generous NHS Pension – Secure your future with one of the most rewarding pension schemes in the UK
• Flexible working – Enjoy a healthy work‑life balance with options like remote working, compressed hours and flexible start/finish times
• Exclusive discounts – Save on shopping, dining and more with a Blue Light Card
• Time to recharge – Start with 27 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
• Inclusive staff networks – Join supportive communities like Women in NICE, Race Equality Network, Disability Advocacy and NICE and Proud – we celebrate diversity
• Tailored development – Grow your career with personalised learning and development opportunities

If you feel this is the type of environment you will enjoy working in, apply today!

Job responsibilities

To be considered for this role, you should be able to particularly demonstrate the person specification criteria in the job advert in your application. However, applicants should be able to demonstrate all essential criteria through the entirety of the recruitment process to be considered for the job. Please see job description attached for full list of responsibilities.

As part of our commitment to supporting colleagues who are at risk of redundancy, we operate a redeployment process. Candidates who are registered as at risk redeployees will be given priority consideration for this vacancy in line with organisational policy.All applications from redeployees will be reviewed before any external applications are progressed.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Recent experience of leading the production of Annual Accounts.

Experience

• Demonstrates effective communication with a range of audiences at all levels.
• Experience of working with a range of individuals or organisations in a public sector setting.

Skills/Knowledge

• Up‑to‑date knowledge of accounting standards.
• Leadership skills and ability to manage staff and co‑ordinate staff workloads.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex information and present it clearly and precisely, both verbally and in writing.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

NICE – The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

£66,582 to £77,368 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours