Chief Finance Officer

We are recruiting a Chief Finance Officer to join our team at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust.

This is a rare opportunity to join a major NHS organisation at a significant point in its development. The Trust has ambitious plans for the future, including improving operational performance, strengthening financial sustainability, accelerating digital transformation, enhancing productivity, supporting neighbourhood‑based models of care and continuing to improve quality and patient experience.

The Chief Finance Officer will play a critical role in helping the organisation deliver these ambitions. Working alongside the Chief Executive, Executive Team and Board, the successful candidate will help shape strategy, drive organisational performance and ensure that the Trust remains financially sustainable while continuing to invest in services, staff and infrastructure.

This role offers the opportunity to influence not only the future of the Trust but also the wider health and care system across Hertfordshire and West Essex. The Chief Finance Officer is a statutory Executive Director and member of the Trust Board with collective responsibility for the overall leadership, strategy and performance of the Trust.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, the Chief Finance Officer will provide strategic leadership across Finance, Planning, Performance and Business Intelligence, ensuring that financial stewardship, operational delivery and strategic decision‑making are supported by high‑quality information, robust analysis and clear accountability.

As a member of the Executive Team, the Chief Finance Officer will be expected to model the Trust's values, contribute to collective leadership and support the development of a high‑performing organisation focused on delivering outstanding outcomes for patients and communities. The postholder will act as a trusted adviser to the Chief Executive and Board, providing expert leadership on financial sustainability, investment decisions, commercial opportunities, productivity improvement and organisational performance.

The successful candidate will contribute well beyond the traditional boundaries of finance leadership and play a major role in shaping organisational culture, strategic direction and system relationships.

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is on a journey of transformation. It was formed in 2000 following the merger of two former NHS Trusts serving the east and north Hertfordshire areas. It operates across four sites; acute services are offered at the Lister Hospital; specialist cancer services at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC); non‑acute services at Queen Elizabeth II and Hertford County hospitals.

The Trust underwent an extensive £150m reconfiguration some years ago which centralised all inpatient and complex services at the Lister in Stevenage.

The Trust provides a wide range of acute inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic, ambulatory and urgent care services – including an emergency department and maternity care – as well as regional and sub‑regional services in renal medicine, urology and plastic surgery.

Proudly, the Trust is ranked as the highest performing acute trust in the East of England and 19th nationally among all acute and specialist trusts, according to the latest NHS performance league tables. It was also shortlisted for the HSJ Trust of the Year Award.

Approximately 6,800 staff are employed by the Trust, dedicated to providing high‑quality, compassionate care to our patients. We also have an active volunteer network of around 350 people. The Trust’s annual turnover is approximately £725 million.