Management Accountant - Provider-to-Provider Agreements

Job summary

This vacancy is open to employees of Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust only.

NHS Band 6 Salary: £39,959 - £48,117 per annum

Contract Type: Temporary for 12 months

Hours Per Week: Full time 37.5

The Management Accountant (Provider-to-Provider Agreements) will lead the financial management, costing, negotiation and monitoring of inter-provider agreements across the Trust and wider healthcare system. The post holder will work collaboratively with Contracting, Clinical, Operational and Finance teams to develop, maintain and review fully costed service specifications and agreements, ensuring financial sustainability, transparency and compliance with system P2P principles.

They will take a lead role in the calculation and review of service costs, contract values, invoicing arrangements, aged debt management and the resolution of complex financial disputes. Representing the Trust at Provider-to-Provider contract review meetings and system finance forums, the post holder will support the development of innovative funding approaches, identify efficiency opportunities and drive continuous improvement in financial processes and partnership working.

Main duties of the job

The role requires strong analytical, negotiation and relationship management skills, working across organisational boundaries to ensure robust financial governance and effective income recovery.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading the costing, financial evaluation and pricing of services provided under inter-provider agreements.
• Developing and maintaining robust financial models to support service specifications, contract negotiations and service developments.
• Providing expert financial advice to Contracting, Operational and Clinical teams on P2P agreements and funding arrangements.
• Ensuring agreements are supported by accurate, transparent and evidence-based costing methodologies.
• Supporting the development and implementation of system-wide P2P financial principles and best practice.
• Representing the Trust at contract review meetings and negotiations with partner organisations.
• Work closely with the Contracts Team to develop and maintain service specifications and associated financial schedules.
• Coordinate input from clinical services, operational managers, management accounts, income teams and financial services to ensure agreements remain current and accurately costed.
• Monitor the financial performance of inter-provider agreements and report variances against planned income and expenditure.

About us

Working as a partnership, both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have a shared vision for excellence in care for our patients and communities; with a set of strategic aims underpinning how we will achieve this.

The single corporate service is delivered across both organisations. You may be based at either IWT or PHU and individuals may be required to undertake business travel between sites. For leaders managing staff across multi-site locations, you will need to be visible and provide in person leadership. The arrangements and frequency will be agreed locally.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and Disability, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veterans' status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

Job responsibilities

Specific Core Functions

Lead the Financial Management of Inter-Provider Agreements:

• Working within the department's policies, Standing Financial Instructions and agreed system governance arrangements, lead the financial management of Provider-to-Provider (P2P) agreements by:
• Leading the costing, financial evaluation and pricing of services provided under inter-provider agreements.
• Developing and maintaining robust financial models to support service specifications, contract negotiations and service developments.
• Providing expert financial advice to Contracting, Operational and Clinical teams on P2P agreements and funding arrangements.
• Ensuring agreements are supported by accurate, transparent and evidence-based costing methodologies.
• Supporting the development and implementation of system-wide P2P financial principles and best practice.
• Representing the Trust at contract review meetings and negotiations with partner organisations.

Coordinate the Development and Maintenance of Costed Service Specifications:

• Work closely with the Contracts Team to develop and maintain service specifications and associated financial schedules.
• Coordinate input from clinical services, operational managers, management accounts, income teams and financial services to ensure agreements remain current and accurately costed.
• Ensure changes in service delivery, activity levels and workforce requirements are reflected within financial agreements.
• Provide financial analysis and recommendations to support service redesign and contractual changes.

Lead Contract Financial Monitoring and Performance Reporting:

• Monitor the financial performance of inter-provider agreements and report variances against planned income and expenditure.
• Produce regular financial reports and analyses to support contract management and decision making.
• Investigate and explain financial variances, identifying risks and opportunities to maximise income recovery.
• Ensure all contractual income is accurately reflected within financial plans, forecasts and management accounts.

Lead Provider-to-Provider Invoicing and Income Recovery:

• Oversee the financial processes supporting inter-provider invoicing arrangements.
• Ensure invoices are supported by robust activity and costing evidence and issued in a timely manner.
• Lead on the management and recovery of aged debt relating to provider agreements.
• Work collaboratively with partner organisations to resolve outstanding balances and improve cash collection performance.
• Escalate significant risks and disputes as required.

For full details of the role and person specification, please refer to enclosed job description.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• CCAB part-qualified accountant (Diploma level) or finalist or extensive relevant experience.
• Advanced computer skills including spreadsheet techniques.
• Track record of delivery to tight deadlines.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of financial analysis, costing, budgeting and performance reporting.
• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders to deliver financial objectives.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Detailed knowledge of management accounting techniques.
• Proficiency in the use of the Trust's computerised financial system and other systems where appropriate.
• Knowledge of NHS Trust Finance and NHS structural relationships.
• Operational awareness to provide effective financial support and deal professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Understanding of service costing methodologies and financial analysis techniques.
• Knowledge of budget setting, forecasting and financial reporting processes.
• Ability to identify problems and causes, secure relevant information from a variety of sources and provide practical solutions.
• Ability to review and analyse information from multiple sources and organise it into a suitable form to support decision-making.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.