Head of Costing

The Head of Costing will take responsibility for the day to day management of the costing team in the provision of expert advice and recommendations to divisions on all costing issues including national cost collection, service line reporting and patient level costing.

The post holder will support the Head of Productivity & Efficiency and the Associate Director of Finance in the implementation of the organisation's Costing and Service Line Management Strategies, ensuring that policies, systems and resources enable the Strategy of the Trust to be delivered whilst ensuring compliance with appropriate technical, professional and quality standards.

The post holder will lead on the production of the Trust's national cost collection return in accordance with the national reporting timetables. They will also lead on the preparation of benchmarking reports in liaison with other trusts and communicate the findings to Divisions, the Head of Productivity and Efficiency, the Associate Director of Finance, and the Deputy Director of Finance.

They will direct, motivate and manage the team and play a key role in developing their skills and working with other senior finance colleagues to ensure the finance function overall provides high quality, professional financial support to the Trust that meets the needs of the business.

The post holder must have a recognised CCAB or equivalent qualification and have significant experience in senior roles within finance.

Main duties of the job

Costing and Reporting

1. Lead on the implementation of SLR and PLICS system, acting as the lead liaison with the external partners.
2. Responsible for the development of PLICs and SLR to ensure that they meet the multiple specifications required of it across the Trust and that the systems to deliver best practice, working closely with internal and external key stakeholders on highly complex tasks.
3. Perform advance data analysis with the ability to write, modify and run complex SQL queries on single or multiple tables/views from the same or linked servers. Additionally export and import data to SQL databases from various sources and formats and create/edit complex stored procedures using SQL.
4. Provide support to Clinical Divisions where service development opportunities have been identified to ensure they are supported by accurate fully costed activity assumptions and are in line with Trusts strategic objectives.
5. Lead on the production of the Trust's national cost collection in line with the costing manual for submission to the Department of Health inclusive of the education and training cost return, in accordance with NHSI timetables and guidance, including reconciliation to Final Accounts and submitted HES data.

About us

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:

• 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
• Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
• Improving the experience of staff with disability
• Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
• Making equalities mainstream

Job responsibilities

1. Responsible for the development of PLICs and SLR to ensure that they meet the multiple specifications required of it across the Trust and that the systems deliver best practice.
2. Perform advance data analysis with the ability to write, modify and run complex SQL queries on single or multiple tables/views from the same or linked servers. Additionally export and import data to SQL databases from various sources and formats and create/edit complex stored procedures using SQL.
3. Provide support to Clinical Divisions where service development opportunities have been identified to ensure they are supported by accurate fully costed activity assumptions and are in line with Trusts strategic objectives.
4. Lead on the production of the Trusts national cost collection in line with the costing manual for submission to the Department of Health inclusive of the education and training cost return, in accordance with NHSI timetables and guidance, including reconciliation to Final Accounts and submitted HES data.
5. Act as the lead point of contact for the clinical divisions for all cost issues and providing expert advice in advanced practical and theoretical costing.
6. Act as the technical lead for the Trust in all matters relating to costing.
7. Provide and apply expert knowledge in reporting applications/software at an advanced level, being able to update existing reports and developing new dashboards for the Trust ensuring functionality is centred on user preferences.
8. Apply knowledge off and keep updated on changes to PbR currencies and HRGs to ensure this is fully reflected in the patient level data and data requirements needed to maintain the patient level costing system.
9. Support the development and presentation of the Trusts costing reports year on year taking account of the wide range of issues including impact of clinical activity, national guidance and long-term trends.
10. Ensure all clinical and internal recharging activity is being recorded and collected routinely highlighting any significant deviations to the Head of Productivity & Efficiency and Associate Director of Finance.
11. Hold regular meetings with divisions to communicate the unit costs and their compilation to ensure that all apportionments are accurate.
12. Lead on and sign off updated apportionment methods to support further refinement and greater accuracy and transparency in line with best practice guidance.
13. Provide an analysis of revised costs to support the implementation of internal recharging system.
14. Liaise with the Department of Health to resolve any queries or concerns regarding new guidance or services.
15. Ensure costing timetable is consistent with the monthly / quarterly reporting timetable as required.
16. Be responsible for the development of an integrated Service level management tool linked to the production of national cost collection and patient level costing and ensure that a full audit trail is maintained between all systems.
17. Provide costing seminars to budget holders as part of an on-going programme within the trust with particular reference to patient level costing methodology.
18. Liaise with the Performance team and clinical divisions to maintain up-to-date records of all clinical activity required for HRG cost apportionment.
19. Be aware of changes in NHS Finance and the impact they might have on the service and ensure that clinical activity is in line with requirements of the costing guidance issued annually.
20. Understand cost drivers within the trust and their impact on performance and provide a unit costing service to those departments that require it.
21. Lead on the development and document processes to meet the changing requirements NHSI Mandated Costing standards.
22. Maintain close links with the Income and Contracts Team and lead on providing patient level costing information to advise and ensure local patient prices are competitive, realistic and in accordance with practice set out in NHS Executive guidance.
23. Provide an executive summary on the final national cost collection index and the impact this has on the trusts overall financial position referring to previous years and other trusts index scores.
24. Review your role periodically identifying training needs and ensuring that these are fulfilled either via mandatory CPD or PDR in consultation with the Head of Productivity & Efficiency.
25. Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade as determined by the Head of Productivity & Efficiency.

Person Specification Costing Experience

• Evidence years of experience working in costing at senior level

Experience using costing systems

• Costing System Experience (IQVIA)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum plus HCA