JOB DESCRIPTION POST: LOCATION: Director of Finance Trust Corporate HQ/Finance Directorate WORKING RELATIONSHIPS Accountable to Chief Executive Executive & Non Executive Directors Clinical Managers & Clinical Directors Clinicians Care Quality Commission Clinical Commissioning Groups Health Watch Monitor Local Authorities Other NHS Providers Clinical Teams Govenors Internal & External Audit Manages: Finance, Procurement and Estates JOB PURPOSE As a key member of the Board of Directors, the post holder will influence the Trust s strategic direction, development of the organisation, and implementation of the Trust s key objectives to deliver services that provide safe patient care and experience, ensuring efficient use of resources. 1. The Director of Finance has responsibility for the development of a financial strategy, which will ensure the Trust s continued viability and long term sustainability. This includes a key responsibility for ensuring that proper accountability and stewardship is maintained. 2. Provide expert advice to the Board of Directors and the Hospital Executive Group on all appropriate financial issues, ensuring the achievement of targets, whilst ensuring the highest quality care. 3. Represent the Trust externally, developing, maintaining effective relationships, so that the aims, objectives and the performance of the Trust are understood, and well perceived. 4. The Director of Finance will be a key member of the Finance and Investment Committee This will include supporting the transformation work streams and the
development of service strategies and service reconfiguration as part of the Trust s long-term strategy for the future. 5. In conjunction with the Chief Operating Officer, develop clearly defined clinical and business management frameworks within which Clinical Service Groups can improve the performance of their services. 6. Working with Executive colleagues, establish appropriate performance frameworks to ensure delivery of services to plan, and against agreed quality indicators, and ensuring accountability. This will include leading contract negotiations with the CCG and LAT Wessex. PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Finance & Procurement 1. Advise the Board of Directors and Hospital Executive Group on matters of financial strategy, to formulate and implement the financial strategy as approved by the Board of Directors. 2. Translate corporate objectives into financial strategies, policies and associated procedures that enable those objectives to be met whilst maintaining the financial viability of the Trust. This will include taking a lead role in the implementation and monitoring of plans as part of the Finance & Investment Committee. 3. Advise the Chief Executive, in particular and also the Board of Directors on all investment matters, ensuring that decisions are reached through the proper appraisal processes, using accepted commercial techniques in assessing the financial viability of proposals. 4. Oversee the establishment of systems to monitor performance against revenue budgets, to ensure that the Board of Directors and appropriate supervising bodies. 5. Provide leadership for the development of Service Line Reporting and the roll-out of Service Management to Clinical Directorates and the engagement of clinical leads in devolved financial management and control. 6. Provide the expertise for financial input into major business cases/plans and other business critical documents. 7. Manage, by exception, the financial aspects of the Capital Programme and the commercial issues regarding the Annual Plan in close collaboration with the Head of Estates. 8. Effect financial stewardship through value for money, financial control and strategy whilst ensuring that the highest standards of corporate governance are maintained in the Trust. 9. Ensure that an adequate Internal Audit Service is in place that meets the NHS Mandatory Audit Standards. Also, through liaison with the Chief Executive, act
as the interface between the Trust and External Auditors, in particular ensuring that issues highlighted in the Management Letter are actioned in a timely manner. 10. Ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place for the receipt of Charitable monies, the creation of appropriate Charitable funds and the expenditure there from, to comply with donor wishes, Charity Commission guidelines and Charity Accounts. 11. Provide sufficient resource to enable financial planning to secure Service Level Agreements that support the activities of the Trust and enable such agreements to be monitored so that appropriate levels of income are secured. 12. Establish and maintain appropriate liquidity controls through effective working capital and cash management procedures, ensuring that the Trust maximises cash surpluses, minimizes any need to call on credit facilities and obtains an appropriate return on cash investments. 13. Provide support to the Finance Committee and Audit Committee. 14. Provide leadership and support for the procurement function to ensure it supports the Trust in delivering the Annual Plan and strategy Performance Management 1. Assume professional accountability for the finance input into the negotiation of Service Level Agreements/contracts with Commissioners and their subsequent performance monitoring and management. 2. Collaborate with the Chief Operating Officer in implementing performance monitoring and accountability arrangements ensuring the effective reporting, evaluation and monitoring of progress against key performance indicators. 3. Ensure that both internal and external deadlines are met for all financial monitoring information requirements. General 1. Responsible for the co-ordination, monitoring and review of the Finance Directorate s activities to optimise use of resources, ensuring the activities of the Directorate are completed to high, professional standards and agreed deadlines that enable the Trust to meet its statutory financial and other reporting deadlines. 2. Ensure appropriate resources and skills are available to develop the competencies of staff and self through training and development activities, ensuring that progress towards Individual Personal Plans is maintained, reviewed and updated. 3. Ensure that the Associate Director of FInance understand and fulfil their professional accountability to the Director of Finance and meet their wider responsibility to the Trust as well as their individual Clinical Directorates.
4. As an Executive Director ensure all appropriate stakeholders, including the public, are kept well informed in terms of service development; and change is influenced by stakeholders and key partners. 5. Cultivate and promote a positive image of the Trust in the local and national media. 6. Participate in the Executive Director On Call Rota. 7. Undertake projects or tasks outside of stated responsibilities on behalf of the Chief Executive. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION During the course of your employment, you may see, hear or have access to information on matters of a confidential nature relating to the work of the Trust or to the health and personal affairs of patients and staff. Under no circumstances should such
information be divulged or passed on to any unauthorised person(s) or organisations. Disciplinary action may be taken against any employee who contravenes this regulation. If you are involved in any procedures which include access to computer systems or data, you are responsible for your own actions and for ensuring security in compliance with UK/EEC legislation, the Data Protection Act 1984 updated to 1998 (etc) and Trust Policies. In particular you should note that security passwords may not be shared or divulged. Media enquiries should be referred to the Chief Executive s office or in his/her absence, to any Director of the Trust. Nothing in this clause restricts the provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES It is the aim of the Trust to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of disability, race, sex, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins or is not placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements that cannot be shown to be justifiable. To this end, the Trust has an Equal Opportunities policy and it is for every employee to contribute to its success. HEALTH AND SAFETY You have a statutory duty to observe all health and safety rules, attend appropriate training courses and take all reasonable care to promote the health and safety at work of yourself and your fellow employees. Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, to ensure that the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for all employees and visitors. In accordance with this legislation, the post holder has a duty of care to themselves and to others with whom they come into contact in the course of their work as to report / ensure that any defect which may affect safety at work is brought to the attention of the appropriate manager. NO SMOKING POLICY All Trust buildings are smoke free environments. All main entrances to buildings are also smoke free areas. Staffs who fail to comply with the policy will be subject to disciplinary action. REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS ACT Under this Act, offences, which are spent, need not be revealed to a potential employer; however, there are some occupations which are exempt from the Act. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, all employees of the Trust are not protected by the Act and therefore employees and applicants do not have a right not to reveal spent convictions if asked.