Head Of Finance

Bluhat Consulting Pty Ltd; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Bluhat Consulting Pty Ltd seeks a Head of Finance in Melbourne to lead an eight-person finance team, strengthening reporting, controls and operating margins following recent growth initiatives. The role involves steering system improvements, process design and talent development, reporting to the Managing Director as part of the executive leadership team.

The successful candidate will bring CA/CPA qualifications, extensive senior finance leadership in manufacturing, and a hands-on approach to

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in accounting, finance or commerce; CA/CPA or equivalent is highly regarded.
• Experience as Head of Finance, Financial Controller or senior Finance Manager in manufacturing preferred.
• Experience with financial system integration and board reporting.
• Background in manufacturing, industrial products or construction materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead an eight-member finance and administration function.
• Oversee monthly management reporting and board reporting.
• Budgeting, forecasting and banking covenant compliance.
• Margin analysis, product costing in manufacturing, pricing support.
• FX and input-cost management including hedging under policy.
• Working capital and cash management.
• Develop finance team capability, systems and processes for growth.
• Maintain internal controls, compliance and financial risk management.

Skills

Head of Finance experience

Financial reporting

CA/CPA qualification

Manufacturing/industrial experience

Board reporting

FX / risk management

Internal controls & compliance

Education

Degree in accounting/finance/commerce

CA/CPA qualification

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.

This is a role with genuine scope to shape the future finance function within the company. The incoming Head of Finance will have a mandate to improve systems, processes and team capability, and to do things differently where a better result can be had.

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.

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.