Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services. Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients. In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research. We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’. The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients. We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS. Job overview The Evelina London finance team within GSTT are looking for a experienced finance leader to join our team as Deputy Head of Finance. This is a senior role, leading the Evelina's finance team and delivering expert financial guidance to the clinical group. The role reports to and deputises for the clinical group's Head of Finance, has direct line management of 4 individuals, and provides support to the whole 13 person team. As well as holding group wide reporting and planning responsibilities, the post holder specifically looks after the finances of our three Children's Hospital Directorates, which have a combined turnover of £340m. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and clearly explain complex financial matters to non-finance stakeholders in ways that bring finance to life. The role requires strong negotiation skills and the ability to effectively challenge and influence senior stakeholders to maintain a sustainable financial performance. Strong analytical skills and a keen eye for detail are critical, along with excellent organisational and planning abilities to enable the team to deliver high quality business partnering in a fast paced environment. The role would suit someone with significant business partnering experience in a complex acute care environment, who is looking to step up into a challenging leadership role. Main duties of the job Responsible for providing financial leadership for a set of designated directorates within the Clinical Group and their finance teams. Leading the Month End process across the designated directorates by lending support, guidance and experience to the finance mangers as required Responding to and coordinating additional reporting requirement s as instructed by the Associate Finance Director /Head of Finance Working with Finance Managers and Directorate Management Teams (DMTs) to prepare and present financial performance at monthly clinical group Performance Review Meetings Annually, supporting the Head of Finance in designing the clinical group financial planning process in conjunction with Financial Planning, and providing review & challenge of directorate financial plans. Support the Head of Finance in Long term finance planning in partnership with directorates and lead on specific long term projects. Be the prominent Finance contact for non-routine, contentious and complex matters with an ability to challenge , recommend and influence Undertake team recruitment & development Lead/deputise as the financial expert at quarterly Executive Director Performance Review Meetings & other executive meetings. Lead on the development & production of group finance reporting Support the Head of Finance in delivering programmes for improving productivity, quality and efficiency. Working for our organisation Evelina London is one of four Clinical Groups within Guys and St Thomas's NHS FT, responsible for providing womens and childrens services. The group has close to 4000 staff and an annual turnover of £450m. We provide comprehensive health services from pre-conception, before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life. Evelina London is here for children, young people and women from London to South East England, and provides specialist care for families around the UK and across the world. As the only NHS Trust in London with women’s and specialist children’s services on one site we have unique opportunities to provide excellent, high-quality, integrated care for mothers, babies and children. We operate through five clinical directorates: Children’s Medicine and Neonatology; Children’s Surgery, Theatres and Anaesthesia; Children’s Cardio-respiratory and Intensive Care; Children’s Community Services and Women’s Services. We provide care at our hospital sites, Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital, and provide community services for families in Lambeth and Southwark. We operate a hybrid working model with some remote work and some time on site. This post maybe required to travel to any of our sites, though most on site time will be split between Evelina London's offices near Waterloo and Finance offices near London Bridge. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Key Areas of Achievement To coordinate the provision of financial reports and analysis through the Finance Manager and supporting staff. To manage the provision of financial management information, analysis and advice to Clinical Directors, Directorate General Managers and other senior staff throughout the Trust To lead on the annual financial planning agenda developing business plans and presenting these to Directorate Management Teams, The Clinical Group Board & Trust Executive Directors. To deputise for the Head of Finance as and when required and in such capacity to Attend the Clinical Group Board/Executive Director Reviews making a positive contribution to debates pertaining to the financial agenda Actively support on delivering Trust wide programmes concerned with improved productivity, quality and efficiency programmes Actively support or lead on Capital Projects for the Clinical Group and being the finance expert at the Project Boards. To lead the finance team in delivering common goals across all Directorates in the Clinical Group through the development and monitoring of KPIs. Generic Duties and Responsibilities Management and Leadership To recruit, induct, train and develop two teams of financial management staff within each Clinical Group. To develop and co-ordinate training programmes, training the finance managers to deliver these within the directorates and across clinical groups and treated every integration as an opportunity coach managers to develop their financial knowledge and understanding. To provide expert sectional operational management, set objectives and priorities, and to motivate and appraise staff To coach and mentor the Senior Finance Manager in their development To take an active role in developing finance staff through on the job training, professional academic studies, and other approaches such as mentoring, career and personal PDP’s To provide financial leadership and present complex financial management information to senior staff across the Clinical Board, Directorates and Trust Executive Directors. To coach and mentor professionals across the finance function. Areas of staff professional development including, Records of Experience, annual CPD records, senior management skill coaching and mentoring. Financial responsibilities To provide professional expert guidance to Clinical Group Directors/ Directorate managers and when required challenge assumptions, understanding & intentions. To monitor and review directorate forecasts and ensure that plans are adequately implemented and monitored from the start of each year, and to ensure a consistent approach for new plans developed during the year To lead on the annual financial planning agenda developing business plans and presenting these to Directorate Management Teams, The Clinical Group Board & Trust Executive Directors. To develop with directorates an awareness of financial performance requirements, and of the need for budgetary control. To take the Financial Management lead on identifying the financial training needs and requirements of Directorates and to provide the resources and materials to address these To ensure that all managers are aware of, and act in accordance with Standing Financial Instructions. To be responsible for two or more teams and budgets within Finance. Productivity and Efficiency To identify ways to improve income generation across the Trust and to maximise income from current sources. To identify ways to reduce costs and enhance value across the Trust. To take an active role in working with Directorate General Managers, Clinical Directors and other managers in developing plans for efficiency savings and improvements in value for money To challenge current practices through benchmarking , patient Level costing and productivity tools Information management To identify, develop, recommend and implement improvements in financial management team performance, including regular review of team performance covering systems, processes, policies and individual performance. Triangulate clinical, HR and finance information to analysis and interpret highly complex data and make this available through a range of systems including QlikView and other end user systems and to lead the development of those systems to support local reporting needs. To work in collaboration to improve the effectiveness of accounting systems, working closely with the Chief Accountant and the Financial Operations team To work in collaboration to continually review and improve the effectiveness of the performance monitoring systems, working closely with colleagues in finance and the Directorate of Informatics To coordinate the provision of financial reports and analysis through the Finance Manager and supporting staff. To manage the provision of financial management information and analysis for relevant Boards, Directorate General Managers and other senior staff throughout the Trust To make use of comparative tools such as benchmarking in developing rolling financial plans and to lead on developing their use in directorates Research and Development, Education and Training Ensure that future education provision meets agreed goals and delivers greater research capability and capacity within Directorates and Clinical Groups Put in place mechanisms to audit and evaluate strategy and operational performance Make use of internal (e.g. Patients level information costings) and external benchmarking (e.g. Model Hospital, GIRFT and Pricing Data) to test and make recommendations to improve internal procedures and costing Actively engage in a number of educational activities to support knowledge development in areas of responsibility across disciplines and levels of staff. Design, implement and monitor arrangements which support the development of a learning culture within the organisation ensuring that cross organisational learning is shared and implemented where appropriate. To continue personal development and perform as a leading expert within the organisation, managing a team of professional accountants. Person specification Qualifications Essential criteria CCAB qualified Masters or equivalent relevant experience Desirable criteria Actively pursues professional development training and qualifications Experience Essential criteria Significant post qualification experience in a senior role A successful record of working with senior clinical and non-clinical leaders across the NHS Leading on & ability to challenge and influence financial plans, business cases, policies and procedures Leading teams, including recruitment & selection, appraisals, professional development, mentoring and performance management Change managment - working with senior leaders to successfully implement change within a financially challenging environment An in depth knowledge of NHS accounting, reporting issues and the required application of these in practice. Experience of interpreting relevant financial legislation & guidance from NHSE/I & advising on implementation of this Desirable criteria Experience in a similar role in a large complex acute trust Skills Essential criteria Excellent communication skills both orally and written. Able to present highly complex financial information to non-finance staff including directors. Ability to work autonomously within the national and internal reporting framework and will interpret and prioritise based on experience gained Able to analyse complex financial information to ascertain areas of challenge/concern and recommendation with an ability to convey outputs in a non-complex nature to senior management Strong judgement; Contributes to financial decision making in conjunction with assessing financial risk/probability and optimum bias An ability to continually review and improve processes , reporting and presentational outputs Strong negotiation skills, able to persuade & influence others at a senior level Strong team leadership skills; leads by example in ensuring the team delivers high quality outputs Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership. Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy. As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends. Flexible working We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process. Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis. Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now." Applicant requirements You must have appropriate UK professional registration. Further details / informal visits contact Name Hazel Childs Job title Head of Finance Email address [email protected] Additional information Stephanie Hendrickson (Acting Head of Finance from late Nov 2023) [email protected]