Deputy Head of Financial Reporting
Job Description
Job summary
The Deputy Head of Financial Reporting will act as a senior member of the Financial reporting team, supporting the Head of Financial reporting in delivering high quality financial reporting, governance, and statutory returns.
This role is crucial to the delivery of high-quality financial information to the ICB Board, Committees, NHSE, and other stakeholders.
Main duties of the job
All senior leaders are required to be able to work in a complex environment and lead transformation and improvement by working in partnership with others. The postholder will be an authentic leader, able to practice and develop a culture of trust, a team player, able to develop solutions, challenge the status quo, deliver break-throughs, and make practical change happen.
All senior leaders are required to demonstrate emotional intelligence, recognise their own strengths and those of others, with a mind-set and determination to deliver our vision.
As a senior leader, the postholder will lead and be part of teams. They will have a genuine commitment to building and nurturing effective working relationships; be willing to listen, reflect, learn, and adapt; be self-motivated, proactive and resilient; be able to develop and support talent; be able to foster a positive culture whilst tackling complex issues.
About us
Together, we have an ambitious vision for improving health and care services across Surrey and Sussex.We are working to:
Improve health and care outcomes for everyone, with a focus on preventing ill health and proactive care.
Tackle inequalities to reduce unfair gaps in access, experience, and outcomes.
Get better value from our services by enhancing productivity and value for money.
Support local communities to grow and thrive through social and economic development.
We also work with NHS trusts and organisations which deliver healthcare services through developing Provider Collaboratives to improve healthcare pathways, so local people experience better care and outcomes.
To achieve this, we need a team of people who can think beyond organisational boundaries, strong collaborators who can navigate complexity, challenge constructively, and keep communities at the centre of decisions.
The personal attributes of everyone who works in, or joins the ICB, are:
Empathy and listening skills: essential for understanding diverse community needs.
Resilience: integrated care is complex and politically sensitive.
Openness to innovation: willingness to rethink traditional models of care.
Commitment to co-production: working with communities, not doing things to them.
Job responsibilities
Support the Head of Financial Reporting in the preparation and consolidation of corporate and system-wide financial reporting.
Ensure accurate and timely submission of monthly reports to the Board, Committees, NHSE, and other statutory bodies.
Develop, maintain, and improve reporting processes, templates, and timetables to ensure efficiency and compliance with deadlines.
Oversee the reconciliation of the initial budgets based on the approved financial framework to the ledger and coordinate and maintain budgets throughout the financial year and reconciliation to the resource limit.
Support the development of financial models and budgetary planning aligned with ICB strategy, across the finance function, to maintain the reconciliation of allocations to the medium-term financial plan and preparation of the financial framework.
Review and quality-assure reports prepared by Finance Managers and other team members.
Oversee the preparation of accruals, provisions, forecasts, and reconciliations across corporate budgets and resource limits.
Coordinate the information for the preparation of Freedom of Information requests.
Provide financial interpretation, insight, and recommendations to senior management to support informed decision-making.
Identify risks, opportunities, and trends in corporate financial data and provide actionable recommendations.
Maintain robust governance arrangements and ensure compliance with financial policies, procedures, and the financial scheme of delegation.
Promote value for money, efficiency, and consistency in financial reporting practices across the ICB.
Lead initiatives to improve financial reporting processes, systems, and data quality across the ICB including the development and maintenance of financial reporting systems, tools and dashboards to support decision making.
Ensure compliance with emerging NHS reporting standards and regulations.
Ensure data integrity across financial systems, spreadsheets, and reporting tools.
Support the Annual Accounts processes and liaison with External Audit.
Person Specification
Knowledge, Training and Experience
Essential
- CCAB qualified accountant or equivalent professional qualification.
- Significant post-qualification experience in financial reporting, statutory accounts, financial governance or NHS finance.
- Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
- Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current health and care policies, priorities and strategy in ICBS and appreciate the implications of this on engagement.
- Should have an appreciation of the relationship between key systems partners, including County Council and wider regional and national bodies e.g., NHSE.
- Member of relevant professional body.
Analytical
Essential
- Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems in relation to project or service delivery.
- Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution.
Communication & Relationship Skills
Essential
- Developed communication skills for delivering key messages to a range of stakeholders both internal and external (including outside the NHS) to the organisation, some at very senior level.
- Good presentational skills for conveying complex concepts.
- Ability to use informed persuasion to influence others.
Management Skills
Essential
- Abilities for financial and staff management.
Planning Skills
Essential
- Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time.
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
Surrey and Sussex ICB
Address
TBC
TBC
GU21 5BH
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.surreysussex.icb.nhs.uk/home (Opens in a new tab)
