Finance Director Maternity Cover

Job Description

Location: Flexible. HDR UK are flexibly working across a number of geographical locations as well as remote workingReporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HDR UKContract: Maternity cover, 12 month ftcAbout Health Data Research UKHealth Data Research UK (HDR UK) is the national Institute for data science in health. Our UK team of experts develop and apply cutting-edge data science approaches to clinical, biological, genomic and other multi-dimensional health data to address the most pressing health research challenges facing the public. Our mission is to make game-changing improvements in the health of patients and populations through data science research and innovation.For the first time we are bringing together our unique nationwide data assets and specialists across academia, research and healthcare to unlock knowledge and deliver new insights from molecule to man. By undertaking research at scale, across a population of up to 65 million people, we have an unrivalled opportunity to use data to the highest ethical standards to drive breakthroughs in medical research. This unleashes the potential to improve the way we are able to prevent, detect and diagnose diseases such as cancer, heart disease and asthma.At Health Data Research UK, we employ talented individuals who bring their own unique skills and experience to support the vision and benefit the whole team. Purpose of the postThe HDR UK Finance Director (FD) is responsible for leading and managing the finance function, which includes finance, procurement and contracting activities. The FD ensures that colleagues across the organisation are supported to deliver their responsibilities to a high standard, decisions are financially robust, compliance obligations are met and risk is effectively managed. The finance team manages accounting systems and controls throughout the organisation to ensure that HDRUK operates at the highest levels of financial probity, accountability and transparency.As part of the HDR UK Executive Committee, the FD contributes to the development and implementation of the financial strategy for HDR UK and represents financial operations at the HDR UK Audit & Risk Committee and HDR UK Board.Main Responsibilities Lead and managing financial reporting, control and risk, including HDR UK Board and Board Committee reporting. Lead, manage, develop and support the finance team to ensure efficient and effective operations across procurement, contracting and finance activities to support timely delivery of projects and programmes. Provide strategic financial planning, modelling and analysis: Develop the long term financial strategy, in particular for HDR UKs next five year core funding period (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2028). Lead on the annual financial planning cycle, including budgets and in-year strategic changes Responsible for approval of financial aspects of new funding proposals. Support resourcing, governance and corporate structure strategies, providing practical implementation advice. Support CEO and executive team members with strategic partner relationships, including: Funder relationships and financial reporting. Research and strategic delivery partners, including supporting strategic investment management and the intake and consolidation of financial reporting on a quarterly basis. Lead key financial external relationships, including audit, tax, banking, procurement, payroll bureau etc. Investment and treasury management Risk and assurance: Responsible for the internal financial control environment. Responsible for developing and implementing the road map for financial system, process and control improvements. Collaborate with CEO to champion appropriate risk management throughout the organisation. Implement risk management through procurement and contracting activity, in collaboration with HDR UK Legal Counsel. Develop and implement appropriate risk-based internal audit plans, including ISO90001 internal audits, to evaluate the effectiveness of controls taking into consideration HDR UKs distributed federated nature. Planning and organising Lead and coordinate all financial and risk reporting. Lead financial communications within HDR UK, across the wider Institute and with key external parties. Produce financial papers for the HDR UK Executive Committee, Governance committees, Board and Board Committees and Funders. Manage and prioritise personal workload, with an appreciation of longer-term issues and organisation wide priorities and factors. Lead the team to enable the organisation to proactively plan and prioritise procurement, contracting and finance activities to support timely delivery of projects and programmes.Problem solving Proactively identify, communicate and support the resolution of problems arising across the diverse areas of the organisation. Proactively analyse business needs and business processes, generating original ideas and innovative solutions to complex problems. Provide specialist financial leadership and advice.Decision making Identifying financial opportunities to realise HD RUKs vision and mission, and leading the prioritization and decision making processes associated with these opportunities. Proactively supporting the determination of the most effective and impactful use of funding that best delivers HDR UKs strategic requirements in compliance with funder terms and conditions. Identifying, initiating and developing opportunities for streamlined and effective working with the members of the HDR UK team across the UK and with relevant national and international partners and organisations.Continuous improvementHDR UK is dedicated to continuous improvement through our quality management system and demonstrated by our commitment to achieve ISO 9001 certification. The post-holder will review, analyse, identify and implement opportunities for quality improvement within their specialism and as part of the wider team through our strategy development and internal audit processes. Close relationships with the HDR UK site teams will be essential and the post-holder will be required to trouble-shoot specific delivery challenges, as well as identifying opportunities to develop more systematic approaches to facilitate the smooth running of research across HDR UKs distributed sites.Key contacts/relationships Working collaboratively and closely with staff from across HDR UK, funders, strategic partners (including research partners) and other key stakeholders. Supporting HDR UKs CEO and Director of Business Operations in ensuring resourcing requirements are met. Providing financial leadership across the HDR UK community. Knowledge, skills and experienceEssentialExperience Should hold a relevant professional chartered accountancy body qualification with post qualification experience of at least 10 years. Proven financial leadership and governance experience in the charity sector, with experience of managing significant funding relationships Experience of providing e