Associate Director of Finance - Financial Accounts and Investments

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

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We are seeking an experienced and forward‑thinking Associate Director of Finance – Financial Accounts and Investments to play a key strategic role within the Trust’s Finance Directorate and support delivery in an increasingly complex financial environment.

You will bring highly specialised financial expertise, strong technical knowledge and a forward‑looking perspective to support both operational delivery and long‑term planning.

The role requires advanced understanding of International Financial Reporting Standards, NHS and Department of Health and Social Care guidance, and relevant legislation. You will interpret changes in national policy, assess their financial impact, and help shape Trust policies and financial frameworks accordingly.

Main duties of the job

The role provides highly specialised, forward-looking and externally focused technical financial analysis and planning. To this end, the post holder must show very high levels of financial expertise and technical training, with specialist knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, NHS Improvement and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) guidance and a wide range of legislation.

The post holder is expected to work as part of a cohesive finance team and, when necessary, to take lead responsibility for Trust-based issues outside of their immediate sphere of responsibility. They will be expected to present, and advise on, highly complex and sensitive financial and business information/issues to large groups, such as the whole Finance function as well as clinical and non-clinical colleagues from outside of Finance.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

Colleagues across the department work flexibly and we encourage all employees to consider how best to work to suit your individual needs. Amongst other options we welcome applications from colleagues considering the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times and a hybrid working approach

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Result Areas & Performance:

• sociate
• The Associate Director of Finance will take responsibility for all financial reporting, decision making and analysis; as well as the development of effective financial control environment and the compilation of monthly management returns and end of year accounts for statutory and/or regulatory purposes. The post holder is required to provide expert, high level strategic support in many areas, and as such will have a wide-ranging remit.
• It is expected that the main work areas will include:
• Analysing and interpreting technical financial reporting standards, new statutory legislation and technical guidance and providing advice to the Trust on the impact of these.
• Accountable for setting and implementing trust-wide accounting policy based on standards and legislation.
• Provide financial advice to colleagues across the Trust.
• Lead on budget setting across the trust, including considering several methods and engaging stakeholders in the process.
• Presenting highly complex financial and business information to a variety of stakeholder groups.
• Acting as financial lead for Statutory External and Internal Reporting including the production of the Statutory Annual Report and Accounts, Financial returns to NHS England/Improvement and DHSC, and monthly Finance Committee and Board Reports.
• Active management of the financial position of the organisation, particularly thorough the Finance Business Patterning and Productivity and Efficiency teams
• Medium and long-term strategic financial planning and modelling including providing technical accounting advice to support significant developments and business cases and assessing the impact of these plans Trust-wide.
• Ensuring Trust Standing Financial Instructions and Trust-wide financial policies and procedures are developed, implemented and maintained to minimise Trust risk.
• Overall responsibility for the management (including budget management) of the finance department within the portfolio of the Associate Director of Finance
• Develop and provide leadership to the Business Partnering function
• Identification, measurement and management of impact of risk, and minimising exposure to risk. Accountable for producing risk-based Trust-wide financial controls in line with best practice and ensuring compliance with these controls.
• The post holder is accountable for the oversight of the Counter Fraud Service
• Oversight of the development of databases and financial systems to be implemented within Finance, or interface with Finance systems ensuring the integrity of the Trust’s computerised financial ledger system is maintained and appropriate information can be reported.

• Implementation and delivery of a financial strategy for the Trust within the context of the Trust's strategic direction and taking account of national resources and policy.
• Provide leadership to the Trust’s Improving Use of Resources programme
• Development and maintenance of systems to identify forward-looking financial risks to the organisation, and to effectively quantify and communicate these risks to the CFO and board and mitigate against them. This would include:
• Performing sensitivity analysis and modelling the impact of Strategic Capital Plan,
• Finance Lease proposals and analysis of off/on balance leases and
• Changes in assumptions and financial risks and appraising various different finance options including the impact of IFRS.
• Completion of the 1–5-year NHSI plan, using highly complex analytic and modelling techniques which are adequately risk assessed, looking at the financial position, including capital, cash flow, balance sheet, the Trust’s financial KPIs and risk ratings under NHS Improvement’s SOF framework.
• Providing Strategic Financial Modelling and development of significant capital financial business cases across the organisation as well as managing the transitions when bringing on significant projects or mergers.
• Performance management of External Contracts with various suppliers
• Negotiation of Working Capital Facility Terms and banking relationships and monitoring of these ensuring compliance with Strategic Plans of the Trust and reducing Trust Risk Exposure.
• Makes judgements regarding allocation of resources and is able to persuasively articulate the point of view to the wider organisation

• Development, implementation and maintenance of efficient and effective policies and procedures within Finance and Trust-wide to ensure accurate and reliable information and records are maintained and ensuring established Finance procedures are in place and are adhered to throughout the Trust and that Trust policies are adhered to by Finance staff.
• Along with other senior colleagues, acting as lead for the Finance Directorate on the development and implementation of local and/or national projects as may be required, and develop policies and procedures ensuring that they comply with relevant financial guidance and legal requirements, and having regard to the Trust’s financial interests. Put in place processes to ensure compliance with financial content of policies.
• Ensuring that the Trust’s Standing Financial Procedures are developed and maintained to minimise financial risk to the Trust and ensure that standing orders and standing financial instructions are complied with in the Trust.

• Overall responsibly for these areas and will ensure that high standards of accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness are maintained through review and management of senior managers, staff and reporting.
• Finance lead and contact with regard to outsourced Payroll Contractor and responsible for contract negotiations, compliance and key performance indicators management.
• Providing specialist advice and guidance and acting as Finance and Payroll lead with respect to Payroll/HR projects e.g. Pensions Auto-enrolment.

• Financial lead for the production of the statutory accounts in line with Trust accounting policies and project manage the year-end accounting process. Liaise with external auditors on technical issues and ensure that information and comprehensive working papers are available as required.
• Interpreting and applying requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards and the Annual Reporting Manual issued by NHS Improvement together with supplementary guidance and timetables issued by the DHSC.
• Analysing highly complex problems and summarising clearly and persuasively to large, often senior, groups.
• Providing financial reports, including analysis and interpretation, for the Finance and Performance Committee and Audit and Risk Committee meetings including actual and forecast Income and Expenditure, Cash Flow, Balance Sheet performance, Capital Expenditure reports and variances, aged debtor and creditor summaries, Improving Use of Resources programme against target and Key Financial Ratios.

• Lead, coach and manage the performance of the team in line with good people management practices. Ensuring excellence is recognised and underperformance is addressed.
• Participate in regular performance appraisal meetings and ensure each member of the team has a clear set of objectives and development plans.
• Ensure the team is compliant with all statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant.
• Manage team absences including sickness in line with Trust policy ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, e-roster is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.
• Identify and fill any vacancies that arise within the team in line with the Trust’s recruitment policy and process.
• Identify talent and support the internal talent management process in order attract and retain and succession plan for your people.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• Educated to degree level
• Expert specialist knowledge of financial and accounting procedures including current legislation and NHS accounting policies.
• Professional Chartered Accountancy Qualification (CCAB).
• Evidence of recent CPD including specialist training and experience relating to NHS finance as well as national accounting standards.

• Post graduate degree

Experience

• Extensive post-qualification experience in a large and complex organisation with significant autonomy
• Extensive experience of business partnering model
• Extensive involvement with year-end accounts preparation, financial planning, forecasting and scenario analysis and the production of robust financial information, including highly complex financial modelling
• Networking: being able to work within and external to the Trust with credibility out of area
• Experience of liaising with internal and external auditors
• Awareness: up to date with the NHS policy, national directives and all Governance aspects but with a specific emphasis on NHS Finance
• Significant and demonstrable previous experience or demonstrable capability and capacity for leading and managing staff
• Experience of developing and embedding new financial control and governance arrangements

• Management of shared and outsourced services
• Commissioning of procurement process / tender

Knowledge/Skills

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal
• Ability to communicate highly complex and sensitive information to large groups
• Ability to challenge and effectively manage and deal with highly contentious situations and issues
• Sound political judgment and astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy, information and diverse interest groups
• Highly developed influencing skills: with senior health care professionals across the Health Community and external organisations
• Ability to be intellectually flexible and to look beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries and organisations to produce more effective and innovative ways of working and partnerships
• High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement, and flexibility in approach and attitude
• Proven ability to make significant contributions to long term organisational strategy
• Proven ability to prioritise workload in a dynamic work environment and instruct and direct others which deliver positive outcomes
• Specialist knowledge of Accounting Standards (IFRS), NHS Manual for Accounts, Charity Commission requirements, VAT and Tax legislation and Employment Laws

• Evidence and demonstrable success of leading and facilitating significant change programmes within financeroject management techniques such as Prince 2
• Experience of PFI accounting

Personal Qualities

• Has the drive and energy to make things happen; frequently goes "above and beyond" the call of duty
• Has resilience, patience, authority, gravitas, and an ability to influence widely.
• Demonstrable commitment to and focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes
• Demonstrably involves patients and the public in their work
• Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisations
• Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
• Actively develops themselves and others
• Uses evidence to make improvements, seeks out innovation
• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note: Information provided during recruitment and pre‑employment checks must be accurate. Misrepresentation may be investigated as fraud and could lead to withdrawal from the process, professional sanctions, or criminal action.

Please note: that sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is subject to Trust allocation and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approval.