Head of Commercial Finance

Minter Ellison; Sydney; On-site; AUD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Minter Ellison is recruiting for a Head of Finance, Commercial to partner with Partners and Business Unit Leaders across the Australian practice. You will shape practice economics, drive profitable growth and lead finance, pricing and client insight initiatives.

You will influence senior stakeholders, translate market developments into practical commercial actions, and lead transformation in pricing, delivery models, and governance across the firm.

Qualifications

• Senior commercial finance leadership experience in professional services.
• Strong understanding of partnership economics and pricing models.
• Proven ability to influence partners and senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Line of Business Managing Partners and Business Unit Leaders to shape strategy and drive profitable growth.
• Own practice budgets and forecasts, influencing pricing, resourcing and delivery economics.
• Identify commercial opportunities and risks with clear points of view.
• Collaborate with Pricing team to shape fee strategies and test profitability.
• Translate market developments and client expectations into practical pricing and business models.
• Drive finance transformation, simplifying reporting and enabling strategic partnering.

Job description

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MinterEllison is one of Australia’s largest independent law and consulting firms. With a heritage of almost 200 years, we are known for our excellence, and our authentic and enduring relationships with our clients, our people and our communities. Clients seek out MinterEllison to help them solve complex problems every day. We do this by our full-service legal offering and complementary consulting offering.

We offer opportunities to work on industry-leading mandates for top-tier clients, while being part of a high-performing and collaborative team that values excellence, diversity of thought, curiosity, and inclusion. We value our people and empower them to achieve their ambitions - with the support, trust and autonomy to grow their careers in meaningful ways.

At MinterEllison, we're leading the way with AI and other emerging technologies, powering innovation right across our firm. You will have the opportunity to engage with AI tools we've built, and other external AI tools, to enhance efficiencies and excellence internally and with our clients.

Our Finance team supports the commercial and financial performance of the firm, working closely with senior leaders and partners to turn financial insight into better business decisions. The Head of Finance, Commercial is a senior, business-facing leadership role with a national remit. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, you will work directly with our Line of Business Managing Partners and Business Unit Leaders to help shape the commercial performance of their practices. Your day-to-day home will be in the business, developing a deep understanding of our clients, practice economics and changing market context. This is an opportunity to operate at the centre of some of the firm’s most important commercial decisions. You will bring together finance, pricing, client insight, resourcing and delivery economics to help leaders identify opportunities, address issues early and make informed choices that support profitable growth. The work is increasingly forward-looking. As technology, AI and changing client expectations reshape professional services, you will help the firm understand the commercial implications and translate them into practical choices about pricing, delivery models and practice strategy.

Your Role

As Head of Finance, Commercial, you will be the senior finance partner to our Line of Business Managing Partners and Business Unit Leaders. You will move beyond explaining financial results to influencing what happens next, using evidence, commercial judgement and a strong understanding of partnership economics to shape decisions. You will build credibility by understanding each practice in depth, bringing a clear point of view and following important decisions through to measurable outcomes. Success will depend on your ability to influence senior stakeholders, navigate robust commercial conversations and turn complex information into a story that changes decisions.

Key responsibilities include:

• Partner with Line of Business Managing Partners and Business Unit Leaders to shape practice strategy, translate financial insight into commercial action and drive profitable growth.
• Own practice budgets and forecasts, using them to influence decisions about clients, pricing, resourcing, utilisation and leverage.
• Identify commercial opportunities and risks early, bringing a clear point of view and using client, matter and partner insights to deliver measurable outcomes.
• Work closely with the Pricing team to shape fee strategies, test commercial assumptions and model profitability.
• Help leaders respond to changing client expectations, competitor activity, technology and AI by translating market developments into practical choices about pricing, delivery and business models.
• Commercial finance transformation, simplifying reporting, improving processes and using automation to create greater capacity for strategic business partnering.

We welcome applications from commercial finance professionals who bring:

• A business-first mindset and the commercial judgement to understand how a professional-services practice grows, with deep finance expertise used to enable better decisions.
• Senior commercial finance, pricing or FP&A leadership experience in professional services, together with a strong understanding of partnership economics. Legal-sector experience is helpful but not essential.
• A demonstrated ability to influence partners and senior leaders, constructively challenge assumptions and hold a commercial position in robust conversations.
• Evidence of using insight to change pricing, client, resourcing or operating-model decisions and deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
• Practical transformation and leadership experience, including process and systems change, AI and automation, supported by CA, CPA, an equivalent qualification or a comparable senior commercial background.

If you would like further information, require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or for a confidential discussion, please contact [e-mail].