Head of Finance

Bluhat Consulting; Greater Dandenong; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Bluhat Consulting in Melbourne is seeking a Head of Finance to lead an eight-member finance and administration function through a period of real growth and change. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will strengthen reporting, controls and governance across the enlarged balance sheet while enabling margin improvement from recent growth initiatives.

The role combines hands-on leadership with strategic input for budgeting, forecasting, cash management and board reporting.

Qualifications

• CA/CPA or equivalent preferred.
• Experience as Head of Finance or senior Finance Manager.
• Industrial manufacturing background ideal.
• Experience with board reporting.
• Strong controls and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the eight-member finance and administration function.
• Oversee monthly management reporting and Board reporting.
• Manage budgeting, forecasting and banking covenants.
• Conduct margin analysis, product costing and pricing support in a manufacturing environment.
• Oversee FX and input-cost management, including hedging where appropriate.
• Lead working capital and cash management, ensure robust internal controls.

Skills

Leadership

CA/CPA

Financial reporting

Budgeting

Forecasting

Risk management

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Accounting degree

CA/CPA

Tools

ERP systems

Board reporting tools

Job description

• Lead the finance team through a period of real growth and change
• Executive role in a well-established, family-owned business

The opportunity

Our client, a long-established Melbourne-based industrial manufacturer, is in the process of consolidating and growing their business from a position of strength. To support this, they now seek a Head of Finance; a hands-on senior leadership role created to strengthen reporting and controls across an enlarged balance sheet, and help capture the margin upside the their recent growth initiatives have created.

The company

Multi-generational and family-owned, our client is a well-regarded Victorian manufacturing business with a long track record of steady growth.

From its base in Melbourne’s south-east, the company manufactures and supplies a range of engineered products used in infrastructure and the built environment, sold to engineers, specifiers and contractors across the State.

The business is backed by a strong balance sheet and a long-term ownership horizon. While proudly family-owned, it is professionally run. Led by an experienced Managing Director, it has deliberately invested in governance maturity as it has grown, and its recent acquisition signals a business with the confidence and capital to keep growing. It is a company that combines the pace and pragmatism of private ownership with the discipline of much larger organisations.

The role

Reporting to the Managing Director and as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Head of Finance will lead an eight-member finance and administration function. Key accountabilities include:

Leading the financial integration of all finance related systems and processes;

In conjunction with the Managing Director , oversee monthly management reporting and analysis, and preparation of Board reporting;

Budgeting, forecasting and banking covenant compliance;

Margin analysis, product costing within a manufacturing environment and pricing support;

Foreign exchange and input-cost management, including forward cover within Board-approved policy;

Working capital and cash management;

Internal controls, compliance and financial risk;

Developing the finance team’s capability, systems and processes to match the enlarged business.

The candidate

Qualifications and experience

Degree qualified in accounting, finance or commerce, with CA/CPA or equivalent qualification highly regarded;

Experience as a Head of Finance, Financial Controller or senior Finance Manager, ideally in an industrial manufacturing environment;

Experience with the financial integration highly regarded;

Background in manufacturing, industrial products or the construction materials sector preferred;

Exposure to Executive Leadership Teams, with experience preparing Board reporting;

Experience managing input-cost and foreign exchange exposures, including hedging or forward purchasing;

Strong command of management and statutory reporting, controls and compliance.

The person

High-level financial expertise, high emotional intelligence, with a proven track record of developing teams;

Energised rather than daunted by change, with an appetite to do things differently;

Confident with senior stakeholders, yet hands-on enough to stay close to small finance team;

Commercially sharp, with the ability to turn financial insight into business decisions;

Well organised and highly articulate communicator, who can relate at all levels of the organisation.