Chief Finance Officer

Chief Finance Officer

We are seeking an exceptional Chief Finance Officer (CFO) to play a central role in leading and shaping the future of health and care across the region. This is a rare and significant opportunity to join a maturing integrated care system at a pivotal moment to shape the care of 1.4 million people. With responsibility for over £4 billion of public resources, you will help ensure that investment is aligned to population need, supports innovation and transformation, and delivers improved outcomes while tackling health inequalities. As CFO and a member of the unitary board, you will share collective responsibility for the strategic direction and performance of the organisation. You will lead the development of a clear and robust financial strategy, ensuring the Integrated Care Board (ICB) meets its statutory duties while enabling long‑term sustainability and transformation. Working across organisational and system boundaries you will collaborate closely with partners including local authorities, providers, primary care and the voluntary sector. You will play a key role in shaping commissioning decisions, supporting service redesign, and ensuring that financial considerations enable better care and improved population health across a diverse and challenging geography. You will also provide strong stewardship of public funds, ensuring effective financial planning, governance, transparency and accountability, while leading and developing a high‑performing and inclusive finance function.

The closing date is 28 May 2026

Job responsibilities

You will bring a strong track record of senior financial leadership, alongside the ability to build trusted relationships, influence across organisational boundaries, and navigate challenge and change. Just as importantly, you will demonstrate a deep commitment to NHS values, with a clear focus on improving outcomes and addressing health inequalities.

The Chief Finance Officer will be required to ensure that the integrated care board (ICB) meets the finance targets set for it by NHS England, including living within the overall revenue and capital allocation and the administration costs limit. The Chief Finance Officer will support the development and delivery of the long‑term plan of the ICB and be responsible for ensuring the financial performance of the organisation and the delivery of our agreements and contracts with service providers.

As a member of the unitary board (ICB), you are jointly responsible for planning and allocating resources to meet the four core purposes of integrated care systems: to improve outcomes in population health and healthcare; tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access; enhance productivity and value for money and help the NHS support broader social and economic development.

The Chief Financial Officer will be responsible for developing the funding strategy for the Integrated Care System (ICS) to support the board in achieving these aims and making use of benchmarking to ensure that funds are deployed as effectively as possible.

Key accountabilities

The Chief Finance Officer reports directly to the ICB chief executive officer and is professionally accountable to the NHS England regional Finance Director.

As the strategic financial lead, the chief finance officer is accountable for all matters relating to the financial leadership and financial performance of the ICB. The Chief Finance Officer will also be responsible for ensuring that the ICB implements a robust financial strategy and for ensuring that system resources are effectively deployed to provide the best possible care for the population.

The Chief Finance Officer will also be responsible and accountable for a wider portfolio including capital planning and corporate functions.

The Chief Finance Officer, along with other executive members of the ICB, will have an influential executive role and shared accountability for the development and delivery of the long‑term financial strategy of the ICB, ensuring this reflects and integrates the strategies of all relevant partner organisations within the ICS.

The Chief Finance Officer will be responsible for building partnerships and collaborating with wider CIC system leaders, including provider collaboratives, public health, primary care, local government and voluntary and community sector, other partners and local people to make real transformational differences for the population through the ICB’s role as strategic commissioner.

As the NHS payer, the Chief Finance Officer will provide financial influence across the CIC to ensure that opportunities to drive improvements in population outcomes, delivery against core national standards and achieving the aims of the 10‑year Health Plan are maximised.

Alongside other members of the ICB, you will ensure that population health management, innovation and research support continuous improvements in health and well‑being. You will influence and work collaboratively as part of a wider system to create opportunities for sustainable long‑term improvements to population health with key partners. This may include developing approaches that are non‑traditional, ambitious and wide‑ranging in areas that incorporate the wider determinants that influence improved clinical outcomes, better life outcomes and reduced health inequalities for the population of the CIC.

Alongside other members of the ICB you will work to develop digitally enabled transformation, including financial outcome‑focused improvement.

The Chief Finance Officer is professionally accountable to the NHS England regional Finance Director and may from time‑to‑time be formally requested to act on behalf of NHS England on key performance, monitoring and accountability matters. This will include identifying key financial risks and issues related to robust financial performance and leadership and working with relevant providers and partners to enable solutions.

As a qualified accountant, you will be accountable for your own practice and conduct in the role.

It will be for the CEO to determine what other specific corporate functions each executive board member is accountable for within the ICB.

Person Specification

Knowledge

• Extensive knowledge of the health, care and local government landscape and an understanding of the resourcing implications related to the social determinants of public health.
• Current evidence and thinking on practices which reduce health inequality, improve patient access, safety and ensure organisations are Well Led.
• Extensive knowledge of health and care financial planning and budgeting at a board and/or system level.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with full membership and evidence of up‑to‑date credentials.
• Experience of utilising health economics experience in a relevant role/setting and/or a relevant qualification.

Personal Values

• Personal commitment to the values of the NHS Long Term Plan, the NHS People Plan, Nolan principles and the Fit and Proper Persons regime.
• Demonstrates a compassionate leadership style with a track record of improvements to equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice.
• Lives by the values of openness and integrity and has created cultures where this thrives.
• Committed to continuing professional development.

Experience

• Substantial board level leadership experience and/or system leadership experience within a regulatory or similar environment is essential.
• Experience of managing highly sensitive situations with stakeholders.
• Experience of managing relationships with the media and political stakeholders.
• Experience of providing financial leadership, mentorship and professional development at a very senior level with demonstrable outcomes.
• Experience of leading highly complex and contentious transformational change at significant scale.

Skills

• Exceptional communication skills which engender community confidence, strong collaborations and partnership.
• Strong critical thinking and strategic problem solving; the ability to contribute to a joint strategic plan and undertake problem resolution and action. Analytical rigour and numerical excellence.
• Highly sophisticated leadership and influencing skills; building compassionate cultures where individuals and teams thrive at organisation, partnership and system levels.
• Extensive knowledge of health and care financial planning and budgeting at a board and/or system level.

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.

NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

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