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University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
About
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust was formed on the 1st October 2020 when Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospital NHS Foundation Trust merged with Poole Hospital.
Hospitals covered by the Trust include:
Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Castle Lane East, Bournemouth, Dorset BH7 7DW
Poole Hospital, Longfleet Road, Poole BH15 2JB
Christchurch Hospital, Fairmile Road, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 2JX
Associate Director of Finance
Accepting applications until: 06-Aug-2026 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 06-Aug-2026 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- Cornelia House Poole
- Town
- Poole
- Postcode
- BH15 2JB
- Major / Minor Region
- Dorset
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Salary
- Salary
- £94,356 - £108,814 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 8d)
Specialty
- Main area
- Finance
- Interview date
- 14/08/2026
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to lead a high-performing finance team, delivering excellent support across the organisation while driving continuous improvement. As a key member of the Finance Senior Management Team, you will provide strategic and operational financial leadership across the Medical Care Group portfolio, overseeing financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and compliance, while offering expert advice to executive leaders, senior managers and clinicians.
Recognising that every pound spent in the NHS is a patient care decision, you will champion Finance Business Partnering as a strategic service, working closely with operational and clinical leaders to support informed decision-making and drive transformation.
The role includes leading the annual budget-setting process, monitoring financial performance, identifying risks and opportunities, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality financial services. You will also develop and motivate the finance team, build strong organisational relationships, and promote best practice across all areas of financial management.
UHD is entering a significant period of change, with a £500m transformation programme set to reshape hospital services across Dorset, alongside ambitions for a more sustainable and digitally enabled future. This is a unique opportunity to influence the future of finance within the Trust, leading your team through a period of substantial transformation, innovation and opportunity.
Advert
- Lead strategic and operational financial management for the Medical Care Group at University Hospitals Dorset.
- Manage and coordinate the annual budget-setting process.
- Monitor financial performance, forecasting, risks, and opportunities.
- Provide expert financial advice and training to senior leaders and clinicians.
- Lead and develop finance teams, ensuring integrated and effective service delivery.
- Ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory financial reporting requirements.
- Deliver clear, accurate financial information to support decision-making and organisational performance.
- Provide financial leadership to support the Trust's strategic objectives.
For further insight into this role, please view the recruitment brochure. If you are applying via Trac please click here – Recruitment Brochure
If you are viewing via NHS Jobs, you can find the brochure under the ‘Supporting Links’ section.
Our closing date for applications is 12 midnight on Thursday 6th August 2026.
Shortlisting will take place from Friday 7th August 2026.
We will be contacting applicants from Friday 7th August 2026.
The interview selection process will take place on Friday 14th August 2026. Please ensure you are available on this date.
Working for our organisation
UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.
If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.
UHD has active networks including Women’s, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.
AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Medical Care Group you will support could be considered an organisation in its own right. As one of UHD's largest and most operationally complex portfolios, it encompasses major specialties including cardiology, stroke, neurology, gastroenterology, older people's medicine, acute medicine and emergency care. You will provide financial leadership across a significant budget, managing complex risks while identifying and realising opportunities to enhance performance and value.
Drawing on your expertise in GIRFT, Model Hospital, PLICS and a range of other benchmarking tools, you will work closely with clinical and operational leaders to translate data and insights into meaningful action. Through robust analysis and effective business partnering, you will support services to deliver sustainable efficiencies, productivity improvements and high-quality patient care.
Everything you do will make a difference. Your contribution will directly support patient outcomes, staff experience and organisational performance. At University Hospitals Dorset, our finance leaders are more than technical experts—they are trusted strategic partners who work alongside clinicians and operational teams to drive improvement and deliver the best possible outcomes for patients. By ensuring resources are used effectively, identifying opportunities for investment and supporting evidence-based decision-making, our finance teams play a vital role in delivering safe, high-quality and sustainable healthcare.
Please refer to the Job Description attached to this advert for full details of the responsibilities and requirements of this role.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Professional Accountancy (CCAB) Qualification
- Evidenced continuous professional development
Desirable criteria
- Completion of a recognised leadership programme
- First Degree
- Masters level qualification or equivalent knowledge, training and experience
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Full driving license and access to own transport
Experience
Essential criteria
- A successful track record of operating within a senior financial management role within the NHS
- Extensive post-qualification experience in a complex financial organisation such as a NHS acute hospital
- Previous experience of driving change in a complex and fast moving environment
- Expert management of large and highly complex budget setting and reporting processes
- Significant experience of working with senior management particularly Operational Managers, Executive Directors and Clinical Directors
- Expert experience of managing budgets, developing business plans and producing business cases in a large complex organisation
- Experience managing a team of professional staff
- Preparation and delivery of financial recovery plans
Desirable criteria
- Previous experience operating at Deputy Director of Finance level within the NHS
- PMO/ strategic finance project experience
Technical Skills / Competencies
Essential criteria
- Able to effectively manage, motivate and develop a team, and lead them through significant changes to working practices
- Able to plan and prioritise own and team workload, to balance competing priorities and meet personal and organisational objectives within a demanding workload
- Able to work effectively and collaboratively
- Able to work without supervision and on own Initiative
- Able to work systematically and methodically
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral to non-financial managers as well as to Finance colleagues where information provided and/ or received may be sensitive or contentious
- Excellent negotiation and persuasion skills
- Excellent presentation skills, including public speaking to large audiences
- Excellent analytical and numeracy skills to interpret and report on highly complex statistical data
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Expert understanding of accounting standards
- Expert understanding of financial techniques used to support decision making
- Expert understanding of NHS financial regime
- Strong computer literacy with particular regard to Microsoft Office applications
- Thorough understanding of elective recovery targets
Interpersonal Skills
Essential criteria
- People management, development and appraisal
- Ability to manage expectations at all levels
- Ability to influence and provide strategic advice at the highest level
- Able to deal with frequent interruptions
- Fluent in English language
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- Emotionally resilient with the ability to provide and accept constructive criticism and to reflect and learn from guidance and feedback
- Credibility with ability to report at highest level
- Outstanding organisational skills, able to plan and organise long term and short term projects
- Ability to work under pressure and rise to challenges
- Excellent customer care attitude and skills
- Political awareness and sensitivity
- Courage to challenge status quo and lead change
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Adrian Tron
- Job title
- Deputy Chief Finance Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07900927553
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