About this role
Job summary
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly and NHS Devon are responsible for planning, funding and improving NHS services for the people of Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
With an annual budget of around £5 billion, our purpose is to improve health, tackle inequalities and ensure services remain sustainable for future generations.
Since 2025, our two organisations have been working together, with a shared board, leadership team and staffing structure. While both ICBs remain separate statutory organisations, we operate as a single team to address some of the biggest challenges facing health and care across the peninsula.
At the heart of our work is partnership. We work closely with NHS trusts, primary care, local authorities, universities, the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, and many others to develop local services.
We also involve people with lived experience to shape services around the needs of communities across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Through these partnerships, we support innovation, improve access to care and help create healthier places where people can thrive.
Covering a diverse geography of cities, towns, rural communities and island populations, we stand together with a shared purpose: to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we serve.
Main duties of the job
The Finance directorate plays a pivotal role in ensuring robust financial stewardship and supporting digital transformation.
The directorate will contribute to the cluster's strategic direction, drive system-wide transformation, and champion collaboration across sectors and geographies. It provides financial, contracting, procurement and infrastructure leadership to deliver the greatest value, quality and impact for the population. It also develops insights into the cost behaviour and value achieved from commissioning services to inform strategy and the better allocation of resources.
As part of this role, there will be a requirement to work in a matrix and flexible way across multiple areas/teams to support business needs. The objectives of the role will be regularly reviewed to align to organisational priorities.
About us
We're looking for people who share our commitment to improving health, reducing inequalities and making the best use of public resources.
Whatever your role, you'll be working alongside colleagues, partners and communities to help shape how health and care services are planned and delivered.
We offer the opportunity to work across a large and diverse geography, drawing on the expertise of colleagues from across the peninsula and collaborating with a wide range of NHS, local authority, voluntary sector and community partners.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, supported and able to contribute.
We offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements, opportunities for personal and professional development, and access to a range of NHS employee benefits, wellbeing support and the NHS Pension Scheme.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the Job description for more details regarding this post
Specific duties include but are not limited to:
Contribute to the preparation of monthly and annual financial reports, ensuring accuracy, completeness and timeliness.
Ensure compliance with IFRS, NHS Group Accounting Manual (GAM), HM Treasury guidance, and local Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs).
Oversee balance sheet governance, including reconciliation, analysis and validation of all control accounts.
Support the production of yearend accounts, supporting external and internal audit processes.
Oversee the budget management of the ICBs running costs.
Ensure strong financial governance and internal controls are embedded and operating effectively.
Identify, assess and mitigate financial risks, escalating issues appropriately.
Support compliance with Better Payment Practice, VAT rules and statutory financial requirements.
Contribute to development and review of financial policies and procedures.
Lead the monitoring, management and forecasting of cash requirements, ensuring the organisation maintains adequate liquidity at all times.
Ensure compliance with NHS England cash drawdown and payment arrangements, including adherence to agreed limits and timelines.
Maintain and improve use of financial systems (e.g. ISFE2).
Lead or support process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, accuracy and value for money.
Contribute to transformation projects such as system upgrades or service integration.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to masters' level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
- Qualified CCAB Accountant.
- Member of relevant professional bodies, if applicable.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Experience of monthly financial reporting including annual financial accounts for NHS organisations.
- Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment.
- Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through a post graduate qualification or equivalent experience or training.
- An understanding of the relationship between NHS organisations and wider system, regional and national organisations.
- Ability to oversee and be responsible for a budget for a department and/or service.
- Must be able to provide and receive 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.
- Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required, to aid decision making.
- Skilled communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences.
- Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence where there may be barriers to understanding.
- Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks.
- Ability to analyse very complex issues, facts and situations where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources and develop a range of options in response.
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
- Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of managing risks and reporting.
- Experience of developing briefing papers and correspondence at SLT or chief officer level.
- Experience of monitoring budgets and business planning processes.
- Evidence of success in efficient and effective project and programme management.
- 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 improved performance (advising on policy implementation, where applicable).
- Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.
- Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
- Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and managing successful projects.
- Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
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
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board
Address
Exeter / Bodmin / Truro
Bodmin
PL31 2FR
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.cios.icb.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)