Chief Finance & Strategy Officer: Sponsorship Available

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

We are seeking an exceptional Chief Finance and Strategy Officer to join our Board and Executive team.

Like many NHS organisations, we face a significant financial challenge alongside the need to improve performance, transform services and respond to the ambitions of the 10Year Plan. Achieving long term sustainability will require clear strategic choices, clinically led transformation, disciplined planning and effective collaboration across organisational boundaries. Against this backdrop, we have created this new, expanded executive portfolio.

Reporting to our new Chief Executive, you will provide outstanding leadership of the Trust’s finance function, with full executive accountability for financial strategy, management, control and reporting; financial governance and stewardship; capital and investment; productivity, value and long term financial sustainability. Alongside this, you will lead the development and coordination of our organisational strategy, strategic planning and development, ensuring a strong connection between our clinical ambitions, the resources available to us and the plans through which we deliver them.

Given the breadth of the role, this represents an outstanding opportunity for an established Chief Finance Officer seeking an increased scope. For outstanding candidates, we will also be open to designation as Deputy Chief Executive.

Main duties of the job

Working closely with colleagues, you will help translate clinical strategies into affordable, prioritised, deliverable plans & bring analytical rigour & clarity to our choices. You will lead our planning framework, strategic analysis & investment prioritisation, play an important role in identifying & developing major strategic opportunities. You will lead the development of key strategic partnerships ensuring that ESNEFT plays a purposeful role within the wider system.

You will be an established highly credible finance leader with an outstanding record of achievement in a large complex NHS organisation. You will bring strong technical, professional expertise alongside the strategic breadth to operate as an influential corporate leader. You will have demonstrated your ability to develop organisational strategy, lead transformation in a financially constrained environment & work effectively with clinical & operational leaders. You will be able to build trusted relationships while providing constructive challenge & maintaining the highest standards of financial control, governance & stewardship.

You see finance as an enabler of better decisions & sustainable improvement. You will be able to move the conversation beyond financial constraint, helping colleagues consider outcomes, value, prioritisation & affordability together. Collaborative, inclusive & values led, you will be comfortable operating across organisational & system boundaries & will share our ambition.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Fully qualified accountant with membership of an appropriate recognised professional body
  • Educated to Master’s level or able to demonstrate equivalent senior professional and leadership experience.

Desirable

  • Postgraduate qualification in leadership, management, business, strategy or public sector management.
  • Participation in a recognised senior NHS or public sector leadership programme.

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial senior finance leadership experience in a large and complex NHS organisation, including current or recent Board level responsibility for financial strategy, governance and performance.
  • A strong record of developing and delivering financial strategy, annual and medium term financial plans and sustainable financial improvement.
  • Experience of leading financial recovery, productivity, cost improvement and transformation in a financially constrained environment.
  • Experience of developing organisational strategy and translating strategic priorities into affordable and deliverable plans.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 9 October 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.