CFO

Propel Recruitment; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

CEO pathway

Hybrid working

Staff development

Job summary

Propel Recruitment in Australia is seeking a commercially minded finance leader to step into a newly created CFO role with a clear runway to CEO within 2–3 years. You will own the back office across finance, HR, risk, marketing and potentially IT, reporting to the Managing Partner, and guiding a team of 8+ through strategic governance decisions. Flexible/hybrid work awaits.

Qualifications

• CA or CPA qualified with hands-on experience in professional services.
• Experience leading or preparing for CFO roles, with ambition to become CEO.
• Broad operational exposure to risk, HR, marketing, or IT; comfortable with governance and strategy.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end financial and operational responsibilities across the firm.
• Lead a team of 8+ and participate in major governance decisions.
• Drive M&A due diligence and business development efforts as needed.

Skills

CA/CPA qualification

hands-on accounting

leadership

strategic governance

M&A due diligence

Education

CA or CPA (required)

AICD Directors Course (advantage)

Job description

An exceptional opportunity has emerged for a commercially astute, operationally-minded finance leader to step into a newly created CFO role with a clear runway to CEO within 2–3 years.

This is far more than a traditional finance seat — you'll take end-to-end ownership of the operational backbone of the business, spanning finance, HR, risk, marketing, and potentially IT as the function is brought in-house.

Reporting directly to the Managing Partner, you'll lead a team of 8+ and sit at the table for every major strategic and governance decision the firm makes.

ORGANISATION

Our client is a fast-growing professional serivices firm with a national footprint and a total staff of 35-40. Known for a strong culture of investing in its people — both through structured learning and development and a genuine focus on staff wellbeing — the firm has ambitious growth plans and is now looking to build out its senior leadership bench to match. This is a business in growth mode, and this hire will be instrumental in shaping what comes next.

YOU

You're a CA or CPA-qualified finance professional (AICD's Company Directors Course would be highly regarded) with deep, hands-on experience gained in a professional services environment — whether that's an insolvency, accounting or audit firm, law firm, corporate finance, architecture practice, or similar.

You may have prior experience as a CFO, or you may be a high achieving Financial Controller looking to step into the CFO role, with ambitions to eventually move into the CEO seat.

You bring a strong technical grounding in accounting alongside genuine breadth: ideally you've led or been closely involved in one or more operational function like risk, HR, marketing, or IT, and you're comfortable operating across strategy and governance as well as the detail.

Critically, you're driven and ambitious, with a genuine desire to grow into a CEO role — and the operational versatility to earn it. You're a proven people leader who can inspire and develop a team, but you're equally willing to roll up your sleeves on hands-on work, including some initial bookkeeping responsibilities before this is transitioned to an offshore team.

M&A due diligence experience would be highly advantageous, as would a genuine interest in technology and AI and how it can shape the future of the firm.

BENEFITS

• A defined and realistic pathway to the CEO role within 2–3 years
• Rare breadth of remit spanning finance, HR, risk, marketing and IT, giving you influence over the entire operational engine of the business
• A firm that genuinely invests in its people, with strong culture around learning, development and wellbeing
• The chance to shape a growing, ambitious business from a true seat at the leadership table
• Flexible / hybrid working - set your own days from home vs in the office
• $200,000–$250,000 + superannuation + performance bonus depending on level of experience