JOB SUMMARY

Are you ready to shape the future of health and care services in Scotland?
We are seeking an exceptional leader to take on the high-profile role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Health and Social Care. This is a critical position at the heart of government, where your strategic insight and financial expertise will directly influence the vision, planning, and delivery of health and care services in Scotland.

QUALIFICATIONS:

You must be a qualified accountant and a member of either the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) or of one of the five accountancy institute members of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies:

• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland (ICAI)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

EXPERIENCE:

• Financially astute with extensive knowledge of UK accounting standards, an understanding of the requirements and expectations for effective Board level financial reporting, monitoring, and governance frameworks, and experience of managing budgets of at least £500 million whilst leading multiple functions in a complex organisational setting.

ABOUT US

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.
Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.
We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.
As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting directly to the Director General and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, you will:

• Lead on the development and delivery of revenue and capital budgets, as well as finance plans, whilst providing advice to the Accountable Officer and Scottish Ministers in relation to both.
• Establish and oversee a sound effective framework of financial governance, control, risk management and mitigation.
• Manage and actively promote collaborative and single system working to ensure best value and optimal use of resources.
• Provide necessary advice, support and challenge to Health and Social Care Directorates (HSCD), NHS Boards and Integration Authorities.
• Work with HSCD, NHS and Integration Authorities, to develop sustainable and balanced financial plans.
• Develop constructive relationships with Chief Executives, Directors of Finance, Chief Officers, and Chief Financial Officers, which promotes transparency, and supportive challenge and with the Director General and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
• Develop strong and trusting relationships within DG HSC and across Scottish Government, particularly with the SG Chief Finance Officer and Scottish Exchequer.
• Be a member of the Health and Social Care Management Board, and also an active member and participant in both the Exchequer, and Infrastructure Investment Boards.
• Have budgetary responsibilities in relation to the Health and Sport Portfolio which has an annual revenue budget of over £21 billion and annual capital budget of c£1b.
• Have oversight and financial management of allocation of funding and spend by HSCD Directorates and 22 NHS Boards, including both revenue and capital budgets
• Lead the Health and Social Care Finance Directorate which has c78 FTE and an annual budget of c£6m.

As Chief Financial Officer, you will be responsible for financial planning, delivery and reform for the HSCD. This will include:

• Having oversight and management of the revenue and capital budgets and funding, whilst also playing a leading role in establishing, planning and delivering the actions required to manage our financial (capital and revenue) outturn, supporting and advising the Portfolio Accountable Officer and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (HSC) Directorate and NHS Scotland. This will be achieved via, working closely with HSC Directors, particularly the Chief Operating Officer and the NHS Boards.
• Providing leadership to NHS Directors of Finance and building a supportive and constructive relationship with NHS Board Chief Executives. This will include providing direction and advice to NHS Boards in relation to financial planning monitoring their performance, taking appropriate action where performance is not in line with agreed plans and providing regular reports and advice to the Director General & Chief Executive of NHS Scotland in relation to NHS Board financial performance.
• Having an oversight and responsibility for the capital programme for health and social care, ensuring that there is effective whole system planning, continuous risk assessment, and development of local and national investment plans aligned to the mitigation of key risks and priorities.
• Putting in place arrangements to support the Scottish Government year end accounts process and approval of the NHS sub consolidation certificate

You will undertake specific actions to drive, build and nurture advancements in equality by actively role modelling inclusive behaviours across your Directorate and more widely across Scottish Government, championing an inclusive culture. The actions will include:

• Building relationships through race allyship and mutual mentoring – understanding barriers in the workplace from individuals that are impacted by them and supporting individuals career development.
• Policy approach – enabling and providing support for your Directorate and wider Portfolio to publish high quality equality statement for the budget. You will champion an inclusive approach to the budget process by ensuring that budget decisions take into account the need to address health inequalities and the barriers faced by people with protected characteristics. You will ensure the Equality Budget Statement for health and Social Care is integrated and considered as part of the wider budget process

You will be responsible for developing and maintaining a medium-term financial framework, and medium to long term capital investment strategy, by providing advice to the DG and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Ministers and securing NHS Board engagement and support from wider SG officials. In particular:

• Develop an effective working relationship with Audit Scotland and support their programme of work including the NHS Scotland overview report and responding on behalf of the HSC Directorate to Audit Scotland recommendations as they apply to Health and Social Care Finance.
• Ensure the priorities identified in the 15-box grid, (including future iterations) are embedded in all NHS Boards with clear action plans and regular report of progress.
• Ensure that the Finance Delivery Unit provides support to NHS Boards to achieve financial balance and provides advice to National Planning and Performance Oversight Group (NPOG) on areas of concern