Finance Business Partner

Department - Finance

Reports to - Head of Finance

Reports to you - None, but matrix management relationship with 2 / 3 Finance colleagues

Hours of work - 37.5 hours a week over five days

Base - Hybrid working for the foreseeable future with regular attendance to the office at least 2 -3 days a week at our office in Hampstead North London

The role

The successful candidate will play a crucial role by being the lead accountant within the finance function supporting our corporate activities, including HR, Comms, Finance and Property & Operations.

You will also lead our annual budget-setting process and annual refresh of our Five Year Plan.

The team

The Finance department is structured around two strands; financial control and strategic finance with the prior responsible for financial accounting, compliance, audit process management, policies, balance sheet control and taxation, the latter strand is responsible for financial planning, performance reporting, treasury management, property operations, value for money and investment appraisals.

Organisation

The Royal Free Charity stands at the threshold of its most important period of development.

Our vision is for everyone served by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) to have access to world-leading healthcare, delivered by a thriving workforce, and driven by medical research that has a global impact.

We support the 10,000 staff of the RFL and their 1.6 million patients across Barnet, Chase Farm and Royal Free hospitals and more than 30 NHS services.

Job Purpose

• To be the lead accountant within the finance function supporting our corporate activities, including HR, Comms, Finance and Property & Operations
• To lead our annual budget setting process and annual refresh of our Five Year Plan

Remit

Finance Business Partnering support for HR, Comms & Finance

• Be the primary point of contact between finance and heads of department
• Support budget holders in managing their budgets, advising and upskilling them where necessary
• Challenge budget holders in the event of variances to budget
• Respond to queries from the business, acting as the 'face of finance’, and escalating where necessary
• Working with budget holders and finance staff to ensure that management accounts are accurate and accompanied by a strategically useful narrative
• Support continuous improvement of productivity and efficiency

Finance Business Partnering support for Property & Operations

• Lead finance relationship with outsourced service providers (utilities, facilities management, service charge management)
• Lead finance relationship with tenants
• Manage all BAU estates related budgets
• Manage VAT treatment of estates costs
• Advise on strategic estates options to maximise the financial and social returns on our investments

Cash and investments

• Monitor and report on the performance of our investment portfolio
• Working with colleagues to maximise returns on our cash balances while ensuring that we have sufficient liquidity to meet our expenditure needs

Annual and five-year budget setting process

• Own the annual charity budget setting process in collaboration with the FD / Head of Finance
• In parallel, refresh the charity’s five year financial plan

Management

• Matrix management relationship with accounts payable officer and assistant financial accountant
• Approval of journals and invoices for posting
• Work as team member of the Finance department
• Take part in cross-directorate corporate projects and working groups
• Deputise for the Head of Finance and FD for own areas of responsibility

Key Relationships

• Director of Finance
• Budget Holders
• Trustees
• Tenants (UCL, NHS Trust)
• Suppliers
• Investment managers

Person Specification

Qualifications, Experience, Skills & Knowledge :

• Experience as a Finance Business Partner or similar role (essential)
• CCAB qualified (desirable)
• Excellent IT skills, including a thorough knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and databases (essential)
• The ability to manage and juggle a large workload whilst maintaining an excellent service level to internal & external stakeholders (essential)

Communication :

To have excellent communication skills both verbally and written

Managing Own Performance & Development :

• Strong commitment to growing own knowledge and skills
• Can-do attitude to problem solving and unfamiliar challenges
• Strong drive to take responsibility for own work

The recruitment process

To apply for this post, send your :

• CV (please include your last employer and dates of employment)
• Cover letter addressing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description and person specification

Please note, that applications submitted without a cover letter will not be considered for this role.

Closing date for application : Monday 15 April 2024, 12 noon.

Interview date : w / c Monday 22 April 2024

Applications will be assessed in order of receipt and interviews may occur at any stage after applications are received.

You must be eligible to work in the UK

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may require during the recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage during this process, please contact us as soon as possible.

As an equal opportunities’ employer, the Royal Free Charity is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join the Royal Free Charity and act in line with our values of dedication, innovation, partnership, energy and respect.