The Role:

Reporting to the Head of Income & Contracting you will be responsible for the overall management and performance of the Income & Contracts Team. This will ensure the ongoing development and maintenance of a sound contract monitoring system which ensures data accuracy, maximises income and manages risk appropriately. Also to provide specialist support to the corporate decision making process in respect of the financial and statutory obligations of the Trust's management of contracting and income.

The Person:

A qualified accountant with a proven track record of working collaboratively with senior, multi-disciplinary individuals on both an internal and external basis.

An individual with an innovative outlook, who has a flair for influencing and negotiating in high pressure situations whilst building strong and lasting relationships.

Proven leadership skills, working with a range of stakeholders in a change orientated environment.

Motivational, team player keen to develop staff and the team to deliver excellent internal and external outputs.

Able to demonstrate a high level of technical expertise in the field of income and commissioning.

Main duties of the job

Reporting to the Head of Income & Contracts the post holder is responsible for the overall management and performance of the Income & Contracts Team. This ensures the ongoing development and maintenance of a sound contract monitoring system that ensures data accuracy, maximises income for all services provided. Provides specialist support to the corporate decision making process in respect of the financial and statutory obligations of the Trust's management of contracting and income.

The post holder will be responsible for the provision of accurate activity and financial datasets for use in contract negotiations, in-year contract monitoring, business plans and bid submissions. In addition, the post holder will provide proactive information analysis and system development skills and contribute to the development of the Trust's Finance service.

Outside of the main healthcare contracts the post holder will provide a lead role in the area of non-clinical income being responsible for producing comprehensive financial management information to meet external and Trust deadlines. This role will assist operational management in negotiating, advising and commercially assessing service level agreements and contracts. Then will assist and promote good governance to comply with the Trusts guidelines and Financial Instructions.

The post holder must be fully conversant and up to date with all financial regulations to eCommunication and listening skills are essential.

About us

Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is nearly 6,800 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Our objectives are simple:

• Best services for local people
• Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
• Best use of resources
• Best people

Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Duties:

This role focuses on income reporting and the contract environments for the Trust.

Within the Income reporting element of the role the following responsibilities are important.

To be prepare the month and year end income finance position of over �600m for the Head of Income & Contracts and then onward to Board level.

To understand the most recent NHSE financial and contracting policies and guidance and be able to explain how these complex pricing and income rules changes apply for any particular user being financial or non financial. The users range from lead nurses to senior budget leaders to Execs. The method can be written, one to one or group setting presentation.

Be able to apply new NHSE finance and contracting policies resulting from NHS legislation to complex accounting procedures whilst maintaining integrity of the reporting.

Take the highly complex and patient level data recorded for patient attendance from Trust systems and price that activity per the NHSE pricing rules for PbR or fixed as appropriate and provide income statements to each commissioner. The reporting of the income position will be to the Trust Management Executive, Finance and Performance Committee and Trust Board on a monthly basis.

Prepare the income sections of the monthly NHSE Financial Return.

Liaise with internal and external auditors to ensure that appropriate financial aspects of Corporate Governance are in place. Document, review and regularly update financial systems and procedures in order to develop and maintain a sound environment of financial control both within the department and throughout the organisation.

To enable managers to manage resources within financial limits and to ensure that the Trust meets its statutory financial obligations.

To monitor the income being charged and paid to the regional ICB Commissioners, identify trends & variances and then constantly seek to improve underlying understanding of our service.

To provide business units with constructive advice and guidance on how to attain the NHSE or ICB designed contractual incentives and mitigate penalties.

Provide expert level advice to the Trust CFO and Head of Financial Planning on technical accounting issues with Income and NHSE reporting of Income. Also act with the Head of Income & Contracts to explain impacts and implement reporting changes to meet Accounting Standards.

Keep operational plans to deliver an income plan under review and proactively adapt to changes in NHSE guidance, contracts and Commissioner positions to deliver a quality plan on time. Then deliver the forecasts and annual commissioner income plan.

Be able to interpret and apply trust strategy and then explain how the income finance plan and the underlying assumptions meets short term goals, medium term and long term plans. Where underlying assumptions do not meet the strategy be able to identify and explain to senior decision makers with recommendations.

Develop and maintain current and new systems to produce a comprehensive integrated method of financial reporting. Demonstrate innovation and developing new systems and challenging existing methods to ensure that the Finance Department and Trust is well placed to deliver high quality financial information to assist in the decision making process.

Maintain and update the monthly performance reporting to Commissioners also known as SLAM.

Interpret and advise on the likely implications of income changes as a result of the new NHSE guidance and support the process by which this is managed.

To take a lead role in the completion of routine and ad hoc returns which are required internally and externally, by the commissioners, NHS Improvement / England and the Department of Health.

Move towards encompassing all income within the department.

Monitor Trust performance on activities that drive income. Advise Ops Directors & Managers on risks of underperformance and negotiate with commissioners for resources or deferred resources to meet the commissioner healthcare policies and objectives.

To provide contract monitoring information (activity, finance and quality standards) for each Commissioner.

To provide expert and accurate analytical services regarding current and future income incentive models.

Within the Contracting element of the role the following responsibilities are important.

Management of the main healthcare contracts and relationships

Working with the Head of Income & Contracts be able to take the lead in negotiating the NHSE Specialised Commissioning Contract and take the lead in negotiating agreements and contracts with other parties working with Operations. This will include the construction and agreement of contractual terms and conditions with Commissioners in line with NHSE guidance.

To be able to understand and explain the cost/opportunity and risk/reward in the contracts being negotiated. Ensuring the users understand these key points is fundamental to good governance. These contracts will range from simple to complex.

Negotiate a range of contracts in a range of areas and complexity with Commissioners and external contracts/legal/commercial senior management

To be responsible for financial issues Contracts, including investigating and advising on highly complex and sensitive issues and providing corporate reports/strategic financial and business planning advice in this area.

To be able to present risk and financial analysis to support business decision making in business cases where no precedent or incomplete information exists. To be able to think indepently, understand the decisions needed and then present advice and recommendations on complex healthcare issues.

To be comfortable in debating situations and presenting supporting evidence that have competing or different conclusions with others that have different priorities to come to a decision understood by the group.

To recognise and advise on overlaps/interactions between multi-faceted business cases / contracts.

To be responsible for the provision, interpretation and modelling of the financial impact of Service Level Agreements, from negotiation through to monitoring and reporting on operational performance.

Regular meetings with Commissioners to assess performance and ensure appropriate managers are involved to meet Commissioner and contract requirements.

Provide income and contracts related briefings to financial, operational and clinical staff. This can be written, verbally or presentations. The ability to convey complex and sometimes overlapping contract principles with their risk and financial impacts to a non financial or Executive audience is required.

Maintain full awareness of national, regional and local health economy guidance and priorities with respect to performance issues and objectives.

To establish systems and processes to ensure the Trust recovers income due and that it is reported appropriately both internally and externally.

To develop and maintain the contracting information database.

Understand existing Trust policies that apply to a contract and then be able to advise on how they apply to the running of that contract or advise on gaps in Trust policy in order to achieve that contract. Ops Directors and managers can require commercial, contracting and financial advice and guidance in writing Trust policies.

To lead the development of procedures and system documentation within the Commissioning function and provide appropriate system development environments, standards and controls.

To support both the income and contracting elements the following responsibilities are relevant.

Assess new SLA proposals based on commercials and risks and advise accordingly

Data queries range from the month end hospital activity to be priced to be able to drill down with specific enquiries for ad hoc reporting and business cases.

Provide Senior support and guidance in the production of business cases. Develop system and modelling tools for use in advising operational managers and clinicians.

The post holder would be expected to demonstrate initiative in interpreting new guidance and then acting upon it.

To ensure that all members of staff within the section receive adequate on the job training and coaching in the functions allocated to them. Ensure that this training remains up to date in the light of changing financial and non financial procedures and the introduction of new techniques.

To be responsible for the recruitment selection and appointment of staff working within the department in accordance with the Trusts employment policies and procedures and legal requirements.

To ensure that the Trusts standing financial instructions and codes of procedures are adhered to at all times.

Management experience as there is one direct report. This involves recruitment, appraisals and implementing Trust employment policies.

Support the Trusts R& D department when presented with material value or risk contracts.

To utilise at a sufficiently advanced level all the relevant software required to successfully undertake this role, including Microsoft Office, ORACLE, MS SQL Server and the BI system

To maintain knowledge of best practice and developments in areas covered by the post

General Duties:

The role will involve managing, analysing and presenting the results of large volumes of data. Experience of a 'big data' environment would be an advantage.

To represent the Head of Contracting and Income in various internal and external meetings as and when required.

To assist generally in the financial management of the Trust.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

C9365-23-1014-3