Finance Manager

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development NSW; Coffs Harbour City Council; On-site; AUD 133,000 - 147,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35-hour week

Flex time

Generous leave

Job summary

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development NSW is seeking a Manager, Commercial and Finance Operations to lead finance across a defined regional portfolio. You will manage budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and commercial oversight across multiple offices, partnering with senior leaders to drive performance.

You will oversee financial planning, forecasting, and performance management, building capability within a dispersed team, and delivering actionable insights to inform

Qualifications

• CPA, CA, or equivalent tertiary qualifications.
• Experience in project-based businesses, forecasting, cost management, and project performance reporting.
• Advanced analytical capability with Power BI, Power Query, SQL, financial modelling and data transformation.

Responsibilities

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, month-end, financial reporting, and performance management for a defined regional portfolio.
• Ensure integrity and timeliness of financial information and controls.
• Monitor project financials, identify risks, variances and improvement opportunities.
• Develop financial models, dashboards and management reporting for planning and decision-making.
• Drive forecasting capability, transparency, and commercial performance across activities.
• Support management of revenue, expenditure, profitability, and resources for projects.
• Champion continuous improvement of financial systems, reporting frameworks and data quality.
• Provide insights to support investment decisions and business planning.
• Ensure compliance with policies, governance and statutory reporting obligations.
• Lead and develop a dispersed team with a culture of improvement.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Financial analysis

Forecasting

Budgeting

Education

CPA/CA or equivalent

Tools

Power BI

Power Query

SQL

Financial modelling

Excel

Job description

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development NSW – Coffs Harbour NSW

• Location: These roles can be based at any NSW Public Works office across NSW
• Our employees work principally in the workplace
• Clerk Grade 9/10, Salary from $133,348 to $146,945 plus super and leave loading

Diversity and inclusion are core DPIRD values. Everyone has the right to contribute and participate to their full potential. We are committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive culture that is respectful, welcoming and flexible – a workplace where our people feel supported, valued, and part of our collective success.

Join a team that helps shape the financial performance, commercial outcomes and continuous improvement of NSW Public Works.

We’re looking for an experienced finance professional who enjoys solving complex problems, turning data into meaningful insights and using their expertise to influence better business decisions.

This 9/10 opportunity provides the chance to work closely with senior leaders and stakeholders across a diverse, project-based business delivering essential infrastructure and services across NSW. You’ll have the opportunity to make a real difference by providing trusted financial and commercial advice, leading improvements and helping shape how finance supports business performance and decision-making.

Location

These roles can be based at any NSW Public Works office across NSW. We particularly encourage applications from regional NSW locations, as preference may be given to regional candidates to support the distribution of our workforce.

Successful applicants will be required to work from a NSW Public Works office and regularly attend their nominated workplace in line with departmental workplace arrangements.

This role offers flexible, people-first working conditions

• 35‑hour base working week
• Flexible start and finish times between 6am and 10pm, with core hours of 10am–3pm
• Flex time, allowing additional hours worked to be accrued and taken back as flex leave
• Generous leave arrangements, including carers’, parental and adoption leave
• Four weeks recreation leave as standard, with an additional week for some Western Region locations

About the role

NSW Public Works (PW) is part of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and supports many different local and state government agencies to deliver critical infrastructure initiatives by providing expert advisory, planning, design, delivery and support services.

We are seeking a Manager, Commercial and Finance Operations to lead finance operations across a defined regional territory encompassing multiple offices and a team of finance professionals. As a key member of the Business Operations and Strategy leadership team, you will provide financial leadership and commercial oversight across a geographically dispersed portfolio of infrastructure, advisory, and project delivery services, helping drive performance in a complex project-based operating environment.

You will be accountable for the financial performance, forecasting, reporting, financial controls, and commercial management of a defined regional portfolio, while driving improved financial transparency, performance insight, and commercial discipline across the business. This is a highly collaborative leadership role that requires the ability to influence across multiple functions, strengthen business performance, identify risks and opportunities, and support the successful delivery of critical infrastructure outcomes for regional communities across New South Wales.

About you

You are a hands-on, commercially minded finance leader who can build trusted relationships, influence decision-making and improve business performance in a complex operational environment.

You combine strong financial management expertise with the ability to translate financial and project data into meaningful insights and practical advice. You are comfortable partnering with senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams to solve complex business challenges, drive continuous improvement and support broader business strategy.

You will bring experience in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and performance management, together with the ability to lead teams, build capability and contribute to organisational performance.

You will:

• Lead the delivery of budgeting, forecasting, month-end, financial reporting, and performance management activities across a defined regional portfolio.
• Ensure the integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of financial information, reporting, and financial controls.
• Monitor financial performance across projects and business operations, identifying trends, risks, variances, and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and maintain financial models, performance dashboards, and management reporting that support business planning and decision-making.
• Drive improvements in forecasting capability, financial transparency, and commercial performance across project and operational activities.
• Support the effective management of project financials, including revenue, expenditure, profitability, resource utilisation, and project outcomes.
• Champion the continuous improvement of financial systems, reporting frameworks, data quality, and business processes.
• Provide analysis and insights that support investment decisions, business cases, operational planning, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with financial policies, governance requirements, and statutory reporting obligations.
• Lead and develop a geographically dispersed team, building capability, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Highly Favourable

• Experience within construction, infrastructure, engineering, project controls, capital works, professional services, or project delivery environments.
• CPA, CA, or equivalent tertiary qualifications and or relevant industry experience.
• Demonstrated experience supporting project-based businesses, including forecasting, cost management, resource utilisation, and project performance reporting.
• Advanced analytical capability, including experience with:
  • Power BI dashboard and report development.
  • Power Query and data transformation.
  • Financial modelling and scenario analysis.
  • SQL and structured data environments.
  • Process automation and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Translating complex data into clear, decision-ready insights for operational and executive stakeholders.

This capability will support the continued development of a more commercially focused, data-driven, and performance-oriented finance function within NSW Public Works.

If you are motivated by improving how finance supports project delivery and business performance and want to help shape a more commercially mature and insight-led organisation, we would love to hear from you.

About Us

NSW Public Works (PW)plays a significant role in the development of our state, our regions, and our infrastructure and associated industries, by supporting local and state government agencies to deliver critical infrastructure initiatives. We do this by providing expert advisory services; planning, design and delivery management; sustainability, asset management and support services. Our work is in community buildings and infrastructure, office fit outs, delivering advanced and sustainable buildings, hospitals, roads, bridges, dams, water treatment plants, housing and schools – the real foundations of prosperous communities. Every day we help shape the ambitious projects that bring progress to more people in NSW. From forging a more sustainable relationship with the land around us, to engineering the big ideas of the future. In every challenge we see the chance to build stronger and more connected communities.

Together, we are DPIRD

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) protects, supports and develops primary industries and regional economies.

Collectively we support strong and sustainable agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining industries, and regional economies. We actively manage our natural assets: our lands and soils, minerals, waterways and oceans, vegetation and forests.

The department brings together:Local Land Services, NSW Resources, Agriculture and Biosecurity, Fisheries and Forestry, Regional Development and Delivery.

Learn more about the benefits of joining our diverse and talented DPIRD team.

Applying for the role

Closing Date: Monday 5 October 2026 at 11:55pm.

A recruitment pool may be created for ongoing and temporary roles of the same role or role type that may become available for filling over the next 18 months.