Deputy Finance Manager

Employer information

Guy's and St Thomas' is among the UK's busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

Guy's is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas' has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children's Hospital.

Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.

Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.

In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.

We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King's Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King's College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of 'good'. Our adult community services achieved a rating of 'outstanding'.

The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.

We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the National Institute for Health and Care Research London Applied Research Collaboration, known as the NIHR London ARC, as a Deputy Finance Manager.

The London ARC is a £22 million, pan-London research infrastructure partnership involving more than 20 organisations across the NHS, universities, local authorities, and the voluntary and community sector. It brings together London's research, practice, policy, innovation and commercial capabilities within a single applied research programme.

Hosted by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, the Deputy Finance Manager will provide strategic and operational financial management support across this complex, multi-partner programme. The postholder will lead on financial planning, budget monitoring, forecasting, reporting and financial governance, ensuring that funding is managed effectively and in accordance with NIHR requirements, Trust policies and wider public-sector financial governance standards.

This is an excellent opportunity for a finance professional who enjoys working collaboratively, analysing complex financial information and supporting senior stakeholders to make informed decisions. The successful candidate will need strong technical accounting and analytical skills, together with the ability to communicate financial information clearly to finance and non-finance colleagues.

Interview date: 23rd November 2026

Main duties of the job

The postholder will:

• Develop and maintain robust financial plans, forecasts and budget-monitoring processes.

• Produce timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports for ARC leadership, governance groups, partner organisations and external funders.

• Monitor expenditure against budget, identifying financial risks, opportunities and appropriate corrective action.

• Oversee partner funding allocations, expenditure claims, reconciliations and financial returns.

• Support annual budgeting, business planning, grant applications, contract negotiations and funding submissions.

• Prepare and process budget adjustments, accruals, recodes and other journal transactions required to maintain an accurate financial position.

• Develop financial models and scenario analysis to support planning, investment decisions and business cases.

• Provide clear financial advice and guidance to researchers, programme managers, workstream leads and senior leaders.

• Maintain effective financial controls, documentation and audit trails.

• Support internal and external audit processes and help implement resulting recommendations.

• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes, reporting systems and ways of working across the programme.

The role requires an individual who can work effectively across organisational boundaries and build strong relationships with stakeholders.

Working for our organisation

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best-known hospitals: Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital and Harefield Hospital. The Trust also provides community services in Lambeth and Southwark and has a long history of high-quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

The NIHR London ARC conducts applied health and care research addressing the priorities of patients, communities, practitioners and policymakers. Working across organisational and sector boundaries, the collaboration aims to improve health outcomes, reduce inequalities and accelerate the translation of research evidence into practice across London's diverse communities.

Although the post is employed and hosted by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, the successful candidate will work as part of the wider London ARC partnership. The role will operate through both local Trust management arrangements and the relevant London ARC leadership and governance structures.

Our Trust values are:

• Caring - we put patients first.

• Ambitious - we innovate and strive for excellence.

• Inclusive - we respect each other and work collaboratively.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Substantial progress towards completion of a CCAB/CIMA recognised accountancy qualification.
• Advanced Excel spreadsheet skills to 'macro' level.

Desirable criteria

• Fully CCAB/CIMA Qualified
• Experience of research grant or research infrastructure finance

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in a finance business partnering, management accounting or research finance role.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders and presenting financial information to non-finance audiences.
• Experience managing complex budgets and financial reporting processes.

Desirable criteria

• Experience within the NHS, higher education or publicly funded research environment.

Personal attributes

Essential criteria

• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgement.

Test

Essential criteria

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Ability to interpret complex financial data and provide clear recommendations.
• Understand and be able to apply the concepts and techniques for: 1. Budgeting and financial planning, 2. Costing and pricing, 3. Variance analysis and financial reporting, 4. The purpose of accounting accruals and provisions.

Additional employer information

Guy's and St Thomas' celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study's at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.

Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.

As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.

Flexible working

We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual's personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.

Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on the UK Government website.

Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.

Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."

Documents to download

• Job Description (PDF, 238.4KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 412.7KB)
• Functional Requirements (PDF, 240.2KB)