Financial Income And Sla Analyst

Description:

Responsible for the design, operation and maintenance of the Trusts SLAs, income pricing and monitoring software systems, which produce the national tariff clinical income and both central and divisional non-clinical income reports which are presented to the Board and are available to the whole organisation and external organisations. Working for our organisation St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission. We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit. Our '5 Star Patient Care' strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time. Our latest achievements include: Acute Trust of the Year – HSJ Awards November 2019 Trust rates Outstanding by the CQC – Inspection August 2018 Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers and Health Service Journal) Best acute Trust in England for quality of care for the 3rd year running (NHS Staff Survey) In the NHS Staff Survey 2020 the Trust scored the highest marks in the following areas; Quality of care Staff engagement Support from managers Detailed job description and main responsibilities CONTRACTING ARRANGEMENTS To assist the Head of Income & Contracting with contractual, local, SLA arrangements, ensuring timescales are delivered. Supported by the Head of Income & Contracting, become a lead officer for agreed subject matters of the contract, and provide historical and current advise, knowledge, guidance and information on the agreed subject matter. INCOME & ACTIVITY To interpret National guidance on the National Tariff, or other Payment Systems and ensure that The Trust is well placed to implement the guidance and so ensuring maximum income gain for the organisation. To plan, through modelling of options, the expected income to the Trust under the National Tariff, or other Payment System, including the changes to prices due to the introduction of new guidance, local pricing arrangements. This involves planning over the year ahead, and for future years to assess the financial impact on the Trust. To ensure effective monitoring arrangements are in place for all healthcare contract SLAs and reports produced for both internal management use by the Trust Board, clinicians and managers, and externally for Commissioners and regulators. This involves developing the contract SLAs monitoring systems in conjunction with Information Department colleagues, by way of a close and efficient working relationship, to accurately record activity and cost data and to liaise with the software providers to adapt the systems for the requirements of the Trust and its commissioners and regulators. To provide training, advice, guidance and support to the specialities as to the impact on activity and income of introducing new, or amending existing, pathways, services with reference to relevant guidance, e.g. National tariff guidance, best practice and local tariffs, CQUINS and other payment regimes. To advise finance colleagues, senior managers and clinicians about the financial implications arising from changes to national guidance on National Tariff Payment System and other associated topics and suggest service changes/service redesign to implement national guidance, local, SLAs in accordance with best practice guidelines. To interpret, understand and identify the impact to the Trust on the anticipated future changes to the identification rules (IR rules) for Prescribed Specialised Services and other Commissioners where relevant. To develop and maintain an effective and efficient automated system for documenting, monitoring and reporting healthcare contractual SLA arrangements, which can record and reports internal and external requirements. To ensure that the Trust is billing all monies which it is due within the required timescales and that commissioner queries on activity and invoicing are dealt with, within national or contractual timelines. To monitor related Cost Improvement (CIP) schemes and identify opportunities in the future. ANNUAL PLANNING To support specialties to set internal activity baselines and provide monitoring information. This will involve supporting finance business partners with looking at current year outturn and adjusting activity plans within the pricing systems and general ledger systems, for specialities, to account for any anticipated changes to the service for the next financial year. To support the Head of Income and Contracting with the Trusts income planning process by scenario planning, using models within the SLA monitoring systems to produce plans based on case-mix. This will include a review of all guidance issued by NHS regulators for any changes to existing guidance. Liaise with Commissioners to support the process of agreeing annual baselines for healthcare contract SLA’s and monthly monitoring. To benchmark activity, income and case-mix against prior years and external providers. INFORMATION Assess the accuracy of the current months, year to date and forecast positions and develop improvements to the process, to increase the reliability for reporting and decision making. To assist the Head of Income & Contracting in ensuring regulator returns (annual and monthly) are completed accurately and within mandated and locally agreed timescales. To ensure the provision of robust, accurate and timely activity and financial information to the Commissioners in line with contractual obligations and agreed mandated and locally agreed timetables. To ensure that contract challenges received from Commissioners are dealt with fully within the required mandated and locally agreed timescales and in line with contract terms, and that, where action is required internally, this is flagged up to the relevant internal lead officer and pursued, responded to and closed within mandated and locally agreed timescales. Understand and operate the pricing system with responsibility for maintaining and developing existing models as well as the construction of new versions. Ensure the systems are kept updated with any current releases, and that reports generated are meaningful to the Finance Department, throughout the organisation and external organisational requirements, in accordance with contractual obligations. Ensure contractual information submissions data set requirements are submitted in accordance with contractual timetables, ensuring the Head of Income & Contracting is made aware one week prior any deadline of risks associated with failing to hit timescales and datasets affected. Liaise with the information department on a regular basis regarding data requirements and setting and agreeing timetables to ensure strict deadlines are adhered to. Ensuring any changes required to reporting are made aware to the information department and that audit checks are undertaken confirming changes have been implemented correctly and accordingly. CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES (MANDATORY) Maintain Professional Body Registration and adhere and act in accordance with relevant Code of Practice of Professional body. Adhere and act in accordance with governing financial & information legislation. Ensure to keep up to date with mandatory training and appraisal requirements and in accordance with professional body requirements, actively participate in continued professional development, specific to this role. Actively keep up to date with current NHS guidance and apply within the role. ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES Maintain a keep updated, procedure notes associated with this role to ensure they accurately reflect current practice. TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES Provide training to finance and non-financial managers within the Trust on all matters relating to income and contracting; including effective use of information systems/reports. LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY/MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Oversee and allocate work to junior staff members within the department and provide training within own areas of work, enabling them to develop in accordance with their KSF outline. Manage the workload of junior staff members, ensuring departmental objectives are delivered and deadlines achieved. Ensure procedure notes associated for junior staff members within the department are keep updated and accurately reflect current practice. To line manage junior staff members within the department, ensuring that appraisal, mandatory training and personal development plans, are carried out within policy timescales. Upon occasion deputise for the Head of Income & Contracting where necessary, which can include representing the Trust at external meetings and updating the Head of Income & Contracting, as well as informing of issues which require their overall decision / agreement. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Support the Head of Income & Contracting with investment appraisal analysis options relating to systems required to legitimately optimise, realise and accurately report and monitor income. Ensure that the use of information technology contributes to improving the processes and documenting, monitoring and reporting of the team. RESEARCH & AUDIT Support the Head of Income & Contracting with: Internal audit requirements associated with income and contracting, External audit requirements associated with income and contracting, Routine audits requirements associated with contracting (e.g. Data validations, activity query notices), Add Hoc audit requirements associated with income and contracting, Imminently advise the Head of Income & Contracting: On changes in advice and guidance from NHS Regulators and other organisations regarding Clinical and Non-Clinical income. Please refer to job description for detailed responsibilities. Person specification Qualifications Essential criteria Qualified CCAB / CIMA Accountant or Masters in Health Informatics or in a mathematical related subject. Desirable criteria Member of professional organisation e.g. ASSIST: IHM, UK CHIP To have a business qualification entailing legal elements within its curriculum Knowledge & Experience Essential criteria Substantial experience working within NHS Income & Contracting Department or within Information Department, conducting statistical analysis. Experience of interpreting and working with specialist financial guidance Specialist and highly experienced in routinely using healthcare contractual SLA monitoring systems and SQL server software and/or statistical packages Specialist experience routinely working with & applying identification rules for prescribed specialised services Specialist knowledge & detailed understanding of NHS contracting regime Specialist knowledge & detailed understanding of the National Tariff Payment System regime. Experience of analysing, investigating, reconciling, problem solving & interpreting detailed & highly complex information & queries for presentation and discussing to a range of users Desirable criteria To have worked in a legal environment involving contractual issues Experience of using financial ledger systems. Experience of using patient based clinical information systems (PAS) systems Experience of using healthcare pathway systems (e.g. Medway Maternity System). In-depth knowledge if the main aspects of NHS Finance. Skills Essential criteria Ability to work with both financial & non-financial staff at all levels in an NHS organisation & externally, advising on complex financial & contractual matters. Ability to discuss complex financial, contractual and non-financial matters to a wide variety of internal & external stakeholders. Staff management skills. Ability to report & present financial, contractual and non-financial information to both finance & non-finance individuals (internal and external). Ability to be both team leader & team player. Ability to work without supervision & to deliver extremely challenging deadlines, clearly presenting assumptions made. Ability to interpret & implement NHS national guidance at local level across the organisation and externally. The ability to switch between complex tasks. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, & ability to maintain effective working relationships, both internal and external. Excellent negotiating skills and experience Strong IT skills & experience using Microsoft Office suite & able to develop & use IT appropriately to meet given objectives. Other Essential criteria Identifies & takes responsibility for continuing professional & personal development & learning through the PDP process St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are committed to providing an environment and services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity, we welcome applications from all sections of the communities we serve to enable us to reflect their diversity and improve the delivery of the services we provide. Any information gathered during the application process relating to protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, is gathered for statistical purposes only and is not made available to recruiting managers at any stage of the recruitment process. As a ‘Disability Confident Leader’ we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who consider themselves to have a disability and who meet the minimum selection criteria (essential) at each stage of the selection process. You can indicate your wish submit an application under the Trust's guaranteed interview scheme in the personal information section of the online application form. Transitional arrangements are in place for EU,EEA and Swiss Citizens following the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Should you this apply to you, you are advised to familiarise yourself with these arrangements to ensure you continue to have right to work in the UK and how to evidence that right in the future. Please see the document attached to this vacancy. This requirement does not apply to Irish citizens, who can continue to freely enter, live and work in the UK. The Trust is a non-smoking site. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. Please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated, should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed therefore you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience. 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