NHS Capital Finance Policy and Briefing Lead and Finance Business Partner

If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.

DHSC is responsible for ensuring the healthcare system consistently delivers a high standard of care, and secures the best possible value for money from over £180bn of taxpayer’s funds allocated by Parliament.

Capital investment is recognised as a key factor to maintain, reconfigure services as well as enabling services changes and driving efficiencies. Investment in NHS infrastructure is one of the key priorities of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health.

The team also supports the Department’s strategic and long-term planning of financial systems, together with ensuring that financial systems operate effectively and support the wider financial sustainability of the NHS. A key element of this is meeting public accountability requirements, supporting ministers and ensuring clear reporting to stakeholders and the public.

Within the team you will be responsible for leading on capital briefing requests and areas of the national capital programmes’ management as well as being the finance business partner for the New Hospital Programme (NHP). This will require you to lead on reporting commissions and assist with implementing changes to the capital systems, e.g. changes to legislation.

This team comprises of three Grade 7 roles, each reporting to the Grade 6 head of the team. This vacancy is for one of these Grade 7 roles and has 1 direct report. This role provides good exposure to senior leaders and forming close working relationships with NHS England colleagues and will suit someone who has strong communication skills and considers the wider strategic picture, whilst also ensuring accurate and robust financial controls.

The job will consist of an initial maternity cover that will consist of:

• Leading on briefing requests on capital matters in a timely and high-quality manner, working collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and ensuring compliance with Parliamentary performance requirements. This will involve good drafting skills to prepare responses to PQs (Parliamentary Questions), correspondence, minister’s briefing requests and committee hearings, e.g. PAC (Parliament Account Committee). It will require the ability to look across the range of capital activity and associated policy to draw out a strong and coherent strategic narrative in support of the Department’s capital aims.
• Ensuring smooth and effective interaction with the Strategy, Policy and the New Hospital Programme teams to ensure full alignment of Parliamentary and stakeholder messaging.
• Finance Business Partner for the New Hospital Programme (NHP), including balancing the NHP revenue and capital positions against budgets and supporting the NHP policy and finance team in developing robust reporting processes and ensuring good financial management and control.
• Assessing NHS investment programmes and projects, including developing monitoring and reporting on new capital initiatives and preparing briefing for announcements. This will involve high quality analysis and use of evidence as well as strong communication and influencing skills.
• Working with NHSE to improve and evolve the NHS capital regime, including the implementation recommendations from reviews (for example The Hewitt Review: an independent review of integrated care systems).
• Providing technical advice on capital to policy and other stakeholders including the NHS, applying knowledge of Government budgeting and finance rules.
• Leadership and supportive line management, with a strong focus on building capability for all and role modelling the core DHSC values and behaviours.

Once the maternity cover is over, the postholder will be offered another financial role within the team or directorate where similar skills and experience are required.