Appointment of the Executive Director of Finance and Performance
Thank you for taking time to consider joining the Executive Team at GP Care, I am delighted that you want to find out more.
At GP Care we provide a range of diagnostic and treatment services for patients where it suits them best – that is, in a community setting, nearer to home as opposed to hospital. We currently work in urology, ultrasound and DVT, although we also have experience in audiology, gynaecology and cardiology. We provide our services through a combination of clinicians who already work in the NHS and our own staff.
GP Care was established as a limited company over 15 years ago by a wide range of GPs and GP Practice staff to provide services in the Community. We are a registered Social Enterprise, with a primary purpose of making a positive impact in the communities we serve. The Covid-19 pandemic has put huge pressure on health and care services with rising demand leading to a significant increase in waiting lists which is of great concern nationally. We want to be part of the solution to the challenges faced by health and care services. We believe that our approach is perfectly suited to the new integrated care approach being adopted as we work together with the NHS and like minded partners, not compete with them.
We are delighted to have recently been successful in our bid to become a named provider on the national Community Diagnostic Centre framework and are working with NHS Integrated Care Systems in meeting both the diagnostic capacity challenges and to consider which services can move from hospital to community based settings to improve patient experience and outcomes. Our aim is to provide more care for more people, closer to home.
We are in a healthy financial position having operated at a surplus in recent years despite the pandemic and have a healthy level of reserves. We have invested in key clinical and corporate roles as we believe that the time is now right to extend the scope and range of what we do. The experience of the pandemic has shown greater willingness to consider new ways of working and new alliances presenting a great opportunity for us. At the end of last year, we developed a new set of strategic aims, a new service strategy and values and behaviours – further details, including a short video on our service strategy, can be viewed on our website here.
We believe it’s a fantastic time to be joining GP Care as our new Executive Director of Finance and Performance. You will be joining a very new, dynamic and aspirational Executive and Senior Leadership Team and will be a key member of GP Care’s Board. Just to give you a sense of the Team you would be joining – I was appointed as the new CEO in June 2021, the Executive Director of Service Delivery was appointed in December 2021. There are also newbies in the wider Senior Leadership Team including an Acting Head of Operations and a Head of Business Development who will join us in May 2022.
I am very open minded about the sector you will come from – beyond the professional and technical aspects of the role we ultimately want a values-based leader who shares a passion for improving access to health care and tackling inequalities. To me personally, there are few things more important than ensuring that people receive care and treatment in a timely and effective way which enables them to carry on with their lives. We are a small organisation, and there are significant benefits to this. You will need to be a jack or jill of all trades given our size – but that is the beauty of working at GP Care – you will be able and expected to get stuck in. We of course want someone who can competently crunch the numbers and produce financial reports, and financial models for business cases and tenders, but equally important is someone who can contribute to delivering our new strategic aims as an integral member of GP Care’s Board. As well as the finance function within the portfolio, we want you to be ambitious in helping us exploit digital opportunities and enhance our reporting capabilities which are also part of the responsibilities of the role.
I would like to share my own insights as a relatively new recruit to GP Care following an approach which was also via Anderson Quigley who we are using to recruit to this role. I can honestly say I have never been happier in my career. What I’ve found is a really positive ‘can do’ culture that is pervasive throughout the organisation. Importantly for me we are not big on hierarchy, bureaucracy or ego. I’ve experienced a refreshing ability to make decisions and get things done quickly, a Board that is both supportive and ambitious and a Senior Leadership Team which is relishing the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
The following microsite tells you much more about who we are and what we do and hopefully gives you a sense of how we do things. If you are encouraged by what you have read, and are excited about contributing to our continued success, then we would love to hear from you.
Who We Are
GP Care is an award winning social enterprise providing specialist health care services in the south west of England. We have existed since 2006, we treat over 20,000 patients and receive world class patient feedback with 96% of those who use our services rating us as excellent.
We currently provide a range of services in partnership with the NHS including community urology one stop shop service in three locality areas, DVT diagnostic service, Ultrasound and an in-reach service to a number of prisons across the South West.
We have recently expanded our service provision into Wales, working with NHS Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to support the post covid recovery.
Our Mission
We exist to reduce hospital waiting lists and patient waiting times by increasing the availability of rapid access specialist diagnostic, assessment and treatment services in local health care communities. To achieve this, we work in partnership with NHS Hospitals, GPs, and Clinical Commissioning Groups/ Integrated Care Systems.
Our Vision
We aspire to be recognised as the NHS partner of choice in the South West for such services.
Our Service Strategy
We have developed a new Service Strategy which focuses on further enhancing our collaboration with the NHS as it strives to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue to work in partnership with other organisations where we provide care in the community and closer to home, taking the pressure off hospital-based services. Instead of a lengthy document, we have developed a short 4 minute video to describe our ambitions which can be viewed here.
Our Values
It’s not just what we provide in terms of our services, it is how we provide these services which is important to us.
We truly believe that living our values of ‘Aiming HIGH’ will ensure we maintain and further improve the quality of our services for the benefits of patients. The culture of the organisation led by the Board, is based on our values and are tested in everything we do – supervision; appraisals; service development and through our partnerships.
Honesty – being fair and truthful
Integrity – listening without judgement and being respectful
AGility – being able to mobilise solutions quickly
Humility – keep an open mind and continuously learn and improve
Our Strategic Aims
Alongside our new Service Strategy, we have developed a set of tangible strategic aims and values following engagement with stakeholders, both internal and external to the organisation. Our ambition for growth is not based on some vanity or egotistical exercise, but on increasing the benefits to the communities we serve – more patients receiving great patient care, a variety of employment opportunities for local people and playing our role in addressing health inequalities.
We aim to:
- Expand services we currently operate to other areas providing high quality services to more people
- Move into other service specialties which would benefit from our community one stop approach
- Further enhance our positive culture and provide greater training and development opportunities for our staff as we expand our services
- Create strong partnerships with organisations with similar values that enhance our service offerings
- Improve service quality through innovation and by adopting practical ways of involving patients in the design and delivery of our services
- Contribute to addressing health inequalities by tailoring our services to the diverse communities we serve
- Ensure our services are financially and environmentally sustainable, achieving accreditation standards that endorse our service quality.
To view our organisation structure, please click here.
GP Care is in excellent financial health with main contracts with a number of CCGs in the South West Region including Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG); Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG and Bath, North East Somerset and Wiltshire CCG. There are also some small sub-contract arrangements with NHS Trusts in terms of prison healthcare and in providing additional diagnostic capacity.
Turnover is c£3.5m per annum. The cash balance stands at just over £1m with retained profit (excluding shareholders original investment) of c£350k.
Overview of 2021/22 Financial Performance
Despite the continued volatility caused by the Covid pandemic, GP Care has performed extremely well over the year against service contracts. GP Care has provided a number of services under the NHS Increased Capacity Framework (ICF) during the pandemic and was recently successful at being selected as a named provider on the national Community Diagnostic Centre Framework which will operate for the next 3 years.
There has been investment in strengthening the leadership capacity, both in support and clinical roles to ensure high quality service delivery and capacity for future business development. The financial forecast for this year is for a small surplus of £18k.
For 2022/23 there is a focus on extending capacity to support the NHS in its recovery from the pandemic, particularly in terms of challenges of addressing increasing waiting lists for treatment.
Financial Plan for 2022/23
All service contracts have been retained in 2022/23 with the exception of a small prison contract (less than 4% of total income) in the process of retender from October 2022. The Financial Plan for 2022/23 was approved by GP Care’s Board in January 2022. Turnover is forecast at a similar level to 2021/22 but an increase in gross margin of 2% is forecast due to maintaining the more profitable contracts and investment in minor surgery activity. Given recruitment and retention challenges across the health and social care sector, we have raised lower salary levels to attract more staff and strengthen operational capacity.
Information Management & Technology
The accounting software used is Xero which is linked to Approvalmax and Expensify to provide a paperless and entirely cloud based system. HR and logistics use a stand-alone system called Softworks which is in the final stages of development replacing the use of outlook diaries to manage clinic rosters. The clinical system used is EMIS and all reporting is currently done via EMIS, the Performance Team are currently exploring the manipulation of data through SQL reporting in order to streamline and automate the reporting process. IT support is outsourced to Solsoft, a local IT support company. An IT and digital strategy review has been externally commissioned to assess value for money from the current IT service provision and develop an outline digital strategy to enable the organisation to remain competitive and adapt and innovate its service delivery model.
Executive Director of Finance and Performance
Job title: Executive Director of Finance and Performance
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Hybrid working arrangement – flexible between home / office (GP Care’s Head Office is located at 160 Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol, BS32 4TU) and some infrequent travel may be required to other locations as required
Works with: Internally – GP Care Board colleagues; Senior Leadership Team; Corporate and Service Lead Colleagues; Externally – Integrated Care Boards; Suppliers and Partner Organisations; other external stakeholders
Who and what is GP Care?
We are a healthcare provider committed to providing high quality and cost effective healthcare services. We aim to provide innovative services that are valued by patients, referring clinicians, commissioners and primary and secondary care colleagues alike. We are proud that we achieve 96% patient satisfaction rates and continually look at how we can improve our services.
Having formed in 2006 as a federation of General Practices across Bristol, we have grown and evolved substantially into an organisation that delivers award winning, community based healthcare services to both NHS and private patients in the South West, in areas such as Bristol, Gloucestershire and Swindon.
Further details are located on our website at www.gpcare.org.uk
Job purpose
The Director of Finance and Performance is a voting Board member responsible for developing the financial and commercial capabilities of the wider business, giving due attention to regulatory and legislative requirements, developing and maintaining appropriate internal financial controls, as well as supporting operational delivery and improving existing services.
You will be responsible for leading:
- the finance team and the financial function of the business
- the performance reporting and analysis team
- ICT services for the organisation (via a contractual arrangement with an outsourced provider).
At GP Care we have recently developed a new service strategy, strategic aims and values that set out a vision of how we will work in partnership with the NHS and other health and care organisations. We are working in partnership to tackle the challenges of rising demand for health care services, and long waiting lists, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beyond the financial numbers, the Director of Finance and Performance will play an important role in the development of new services as a key member of the Executive Team and wider Senior Leadership Team.
Organisational Chart
You will be a core member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), along with the CEO and Executive Director of Service Delivery. This team also includes the Head of Operations and the Head of Business Development. This is a brand new leadership team, the CEO joined GP Care in June 2021 and the Director of Service Delivery in December 2021. The Head of Operations, a newly created role started in a similar timeframe and the Head of Business Development, also a new role will commence in May 2022.
Please find our organisational chart here.
Your direct reports will be:
- Finance Team (Management Accountant, Finance Assistant)
- Reporting Team (Senior Reporting Analyst, Data Analyst)
Key Responsibilities
Board / Executive level responsibilities
- Board meetings – prepare and present financial reports and business cases with associated commentary to provide assurance and enable clear decisions to be made at GP Care Board meetings;
- Develop and oversee implementation of plans to enhance the finance and IM&T functions (Reporting Team and IT services) to support the aims of GP Care;
- Act as Board secretary communicating and liaising with shareholders as required;
- Work as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and as a key member of the Board to realise GP Care’s strategic aims as described in our service strategy;
- Provide expertise and support to other GP Care team members on ensuring new business development opportunities are financially viable;
- Represent the organisation positively in all contacts both directly to the public and between health professionals and managers;
- Work in partnership with members of relevant networks and groups both GP Care members and others to achieve the organisation’s goals;
- Support the CEO to include liaison with professional advisors (Accountants and Lawyers) as directed by the CEO to ensure that GP Care UK Ltd. is fully compliant with current corporate legislation.
Role Specific Duties
- Line Management – responsible for the management and leadership of the finance team, and Reporting team, motivating and effectively performance managing the team;
- Production of accurate and informative management accounts according to a defined timetable;
- Budgeting/projections – prepare and maintain budgets and projections to support the annual business planning process and to provide financial information for ongoing business performance measurement;
- Service costings – develop costing models to support new service tenders/proposals, working with senior leadership and service lead colleagues;
- Lead the team in the production of annual budgets, forecasts, monitoring and high quality management reports for all levels;
- Financial advice – provide financial advice and support to managers within the organisation, assisting them in considering how to improve the commercial efficiency of services/proposals;
- Production of statutory accounts and statutory returns;
- Cash management – ensure cash flow is actively monitored and managed, preparing cash flow forecasts to ensure the business has sufficient funds and to maximise interest on credit balances via use of term deposits and money market accounts;
- Insurance – ensure that the business is properly protected from an insurance perspective, working with retained insurance brokers where appropriate;
- Company secretarial – perform company secretarial duties for the organisation, undertaking the legal role of Company Secretary. This includes communicating and liaising with shareholders and organising the Annual General Meeting and preparing supporting documentation;
- Developing, owning, and continuously improving the relevant Standard Operating Processes for the organisation;
- Effectively manage the relationship with the IT Support provider to include day to day service management, equipment ordering and delivery and IT business continuity;
- Other – perform such other miscellaneous job duties to support the development of the business and to fulfil the duties for which you are employed.
Business Development
- Work collaboratively with the Senior Leadership Team and in particular the Head of Business Development to ensure that business cases and responses to tender opportunities are robust;
- Provide advice and support to assessing different ways of providing services through various forms of partnership approaches;
- Contribute to embedding a business planning cycle which complements the annual financial plan;
- Contribute to due diligence undertaken on tender opportunities and on current and prospective partner organisations.
Communication
- Maintain a friendly, helpful, confident and professional manner at all times to both internal and external contacts;
- Exercise discretion with regard to the handling of commercially sensitive information;
- Liaise with multiple external stakeholders including Integrated Care Boards; health and care partners and multiple suppliers.
Other
- The post holder will take responsibility for their ongoing personal and professional development;
- To perform such other tasks as may reasonably be expected to fulfil the duties for which you are employed.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
Essential:
- ACCA/ACA/CIMA or equivalent accounting qualification and current professional registration
Desirable:
- Management / leadership qualification
Method of assessment:
- CV
Experience
Essential:
- Track record of working effectively at a senior management level in a senior financial role
- Significant experience in the production and presentation of financial management accounts and reports for internal and external stakeholders (incl. Boards; Senior Management Team; Commissioners)
- Financial modelling for business cases
- Recognised contribution to organisational strategy development / successful implementation
- Successfully led significant project developments / initiatives
- Experience of working successfully within a multidisciplinary team environment
Desirable:
- Experience of managing corporate functions other than finance (e.g. IM&T)
- Experience in the health or social care sector
- Experience of preparing tender submissions
- Supplier management and commercial contract experience
Method of assessment:
- CV
- Interview
Skills
Essential:
- Excellent report writing, project management and presentation skills
- High levels of emotional intelligence
- Ability to motivate and lead staff and groups effectively
- Interpersonal, influencing and team-working skills with proven track record of developing sound working relationships with all levels of the business and external agencies
- Ability to find creative solutions to complex problems
- IT literate
Method of assessment:
- CV
- Presentation by candidate
- Interview
Personal Qualities & Behaviours
Essential:
- Able to demonstrate strong values-based leadership and commitment to GP Care’s ‘Aiming HIGH’ values
- High level of personal and professional integrity
- A sense of humour!
Desirable:
- Ability to mentor / coach members of staff
Method of assessment:
- Interview
- References
Other Factors
Essential:
- Recognises accountability for the organisation as an Executive Board level Director
- Keen interest in health and social care
Method of assessment:
- CV
- Interview
This job description may be reviewed in the light of changing service needs. Any changes will be fully discussed with the post holder. The post holder may also be required to carry out other work appropriate to the grade of the post.
Salary c£65k
GP Care is a flexible employer and is open to discussing alternative working patterns.
Hybrid working – Minimum one day a week in the office (Bristol).
30 days annual leave.
6% pension employer contribution.
Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to GP Care. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.
The closing date is noon on Monday 18 April 2022.
Applications should consist of:
- A full CV including the names and addresses of two referees. Referees will not be approached until the final stages and not without prior permission from candidates
- Please complete a covering letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 which answers the following questions:
- What motivates you to join GP Care and why will you be successful?
- What will you bring of yourself, your life experience and your perspective to the organisation?
- As a leader, how will you apply the GP Care values (Honesty, Integrity, Agility, Humility)?
- Please complete an online Equal Opportunity Form.
Completed applications should be uploaded at www.andersonquigley.com/candidates using the AQ reference number AQ1387.
Should you wish to discuss any of these roles in strict confidence, please contact our advising consultants at Anderson Quigley: Rob Hilyer on +44(0)7719 325 771 or Elyse Turner-Pearce on +44 (0)7808 648 559.
Timetable
| Closing date: | 18th April 2022 |
| Longlisting meeting: | 21st April 2022 |
| Anderson Quigley Interviews: | w/c 25th April 2022 |
| GP Care interviews | Monday 9th May 2022 (Bristol) |
