Assistant Director – Financial Operations

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Canberra; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Canberra seeks an EL1 Finance Manager to lead the Financial Operations Section within the Finance Branch.

You will oversee high-volume financial processes, uphold governance and internal controls, and deliver accurate, timely financial outcomes. Responsibilities include managing Accounts Payable and payment processing, cash management, reconciliations, CBMS drawdowns, and travel/expense support.

Qualifications

• EL1 with a strong financial background and proven leadership experience.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and stakeholder expectations.
• Experience in governance, internal controls and financial management.
• Familiarity with financial systems, particularly TechnologyOne, and end-to-end AP/AR processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage Accounts Payables and payment processing and reconciliations.
• Manage CBMS drawdowns, cash management and appropriation reconciliations.
• Build rapport and maintain internal and external relationships and provide timely factual advice.
• Prioritise payment runs, plan workloads, supervise quality assurance and deliver high-quality service.
• Prepare and approve end-of-month processes.
• Expense and travel support in Expense8 and administration.
• Process corporate credit cards, administration and acquittals.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic financial management

Performance management

Workload planning

Governance & internal controls

People management

Tools

TechnologyOne

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Treasury

Travel & expense systems

Credit card reconciliations

Job description

The Finance Branch is responsible for managing all relationships with external Departments, Agencies and organisations and provides strategic financial services across the department. The Financial Operations Section is responsible for the delivery of accurate and efficient financial services. The team supports effective financial management, strong governance, and internal controls, while ensuring financial transactions and systems are managed in accordance with relevant policies, legislation and organisational requirements. Financial Operation Section requires an EL1 with a strong financial background and with demonstrated experience leading and managing staff. The successful applicant shall have a diverse range of skills, including managing competing priorities, working effectively with stakeholders, setting expectations, developing capability and performance. It is essential they will be experienced in managing performance, planning team workloads and fostering an inclusive and supportive team culture. The candidate shall be a professional with strong leadership skills with a proven ability to manage high-volume financial operations in a complex environment. They will have a sound understanding of financial management, governance, internal controls together with the ability to identify risks, improve processes and deliver accurate and timely financial outcomes. Experience with financial systems, particularly TechnologyOne and a practical understanding of areas such as Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable functions, Treasury, Travel, Credit Cards and financial reconciliations would be highly regarded.

• Manage Accounts Payables and payment processing and reconciliations
• Manage all CBMS drawdowns, cash management and appropriation reconciliations
• Build rapport and maintain internal and external relationships, respond to enquiries, provide assistance and factual advice in a timely manner.
• Manage prioritisation of payment runs, workloads, ensuring work activities are completed to agreed timeframes and standard, undertake quality assurance reviews of information and work, and ensuring quality customer service and advice.
• Preparation and approval of end of month processes.
• Expense8/Travel support in Expense8 and administration
• Corporate Credit Cards processing, administration and acquittals.