About this role
Job summary
Join us as a Commissioning Finance Accountant and play a key role at the heart of NHS commissioning, partnering with finance colleagues, contract managers, and providers to ensure services are high quality and financially sustainable.
From leading contract negotiations and helping shape contract strategies to providing analysis and forecasting, you will help turn data into meaningful insights that support informed decision-making to maximise value from NHS resources. You will lead on key pieces of work and continuously improve the way we manage and report contract finances, ensuring risks are identified and managed proactively.
This is an opportunity for a collaborative finance professional who enjoys influencing decisions, building relationships, and driving continuous improvement. In return, you'll join an organisation that values innovation and professional development, where your contribution will help shape the future of healthcare delivery for patients and communities across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Main duties of the job
Provide finance and activity information for contract negotiations, and participate in the negotiation of financial elements.
Provide updates to activity and finance schedules in contract documentation, and ensure the accuracy of service variations.
Develop systems and reporting to enable effective management of contract finances, including tracking of service variations and payments.
Maintain awareness of the National Payment System and technical guidance relating to contract finance.
Ensure awareness, and compliance with the latest national policies that may impact on the financial performance of the organisation along with recommendations to minimise risks and maximise opportunities.
Provide financial support for the evaluation and due diligence of business cases relating to service re-design, major transformation, cost efficiency programmes, contract variations and contract negotiations.
Provide costs and modelling of options for service transformation and redesign.
Ensure compliance with the financial control and governance framework, including change initiatives, identifying weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
Work with the Finance Team to ensure accurate reporting of contract finance and provide analysis and forecasts to support budget holders.
Work to further develop contract finance reporting and monitoring procedures and processes.
About us
We manage an annual budget of £4.9billion to commission safe, highquality and accessible health services for 1.7million people living in Norfolk and Suffolk.
We work with hospitals, GP practices, dentists, pharmacies, community, mental health and ambulance services, alongside local councils and voluntary organisations, to improve care. We involve local communities in shaping decisions and use their insights to improve services. As a statutory NHS organisation, we are accountable to NHS England and the UK Government.
Our role is to ensure services meet current and future needs by setting local NHS strategy, allocating funding, maintaining quality and safety standards, improving access, reducing health inequalities and enabling joinedup care.
Norfolk and Suffolk include rural, coastal and deprived communities, with an olderthanaverage population. Around half of residents live in rural or coastal areas, where access can be harder, and about 219,000 people live in the most deprived areas, where early deaths are significantly higher. These factors shape our planning and focus on reducing inequalities.
Our vision is for people to live longer, healthier lives with access to safe, joinedup, patientcentred care. We prioritise improving healthy life expectancy, reducing inequalities and ensuring consistent access to highquality services.
We work across five local Places and partner with NHS providers, councils, the VCFSE sector and communities to deliver locally responsive care.
Job description Job responsibilities
The job description and person specification are an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line manager.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area. CCAB or CIMA qualified accountant with evidence of professional membership and significant relevant post qualification experience, or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
Other Essential
Used to working in a busy environment Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change Willing to engage with and learn from peers, other professionals and colleagues in the desire to provide or support the most appropriate interventions Professional calm and efficient manner Effective organizer, influencer and networker Demonstrates a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals. Completer/Finisher
Equality & Diversity Essential
Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems in the area
Experience Essential
Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to masters level equivalent Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement Should have an appreciation of the relationship between the Department of Health, NHS England and individual provider and commissioning organisations
Skills Essential
Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups Negotiate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change. Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action. Strategic thinking ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others. Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals. Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to Sponsor/ Manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies. Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills. Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy. Experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (advising on policy implementation)
Desirable
Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects
Financial and Physical Resources Essential
Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board
Address Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board
County Hall
Martineau Lane
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 2DH
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.norfolkandsuffolk.icb.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)