Head of Working Capital

Corrs Chambers Westgarth; Sydney; On-site; AUD 250,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working as standard

Bonus leave

Wellbeing program

Diversity and Inclusion

Responsible business approach

Learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm, seeks a commercially astute Head of Working Capital to shape and lead our national capability. You will oversee the full working capital lifecycle—WIP, billing discipline, cash conversion and debtor oversight—with direct reporting to the CFO and collaboration with senior partners across the firm.

This newly created role combines strategic change leadership with hands-on delivery, offering governance enhancements, performance

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in working capital, revenue management or finance operations.
• Expertise in WIP management, billing cycles, debtor portfolios and cash flow forecasting.
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to influence partner behaviour and lead cultural change.
• Exceptional stakeholder management with executives.
• Advanced analytical capability including lock-up reporting and financial modelling.
• Strong knowledge of practice management and finance systems (CMS, Aderant or equivalent).
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience designing working capital governance frameworks and remediation programs.
• CA/CPA or equivalent qualification; postgraduate qualifications viewed favourably.

Responsibilities

• Lead the firm’s working capital strategy and operational rhythm across WIP, billing, cash conversion and debtor management.
• Design and embed governance frameworks, policies, delegated authorities, KPIs and performance targets.
• Lead monthly WIP reviews with partners, constructively challenging aged WIP and driving timely billing or write-off decisions.
• Strengthen billing discipline and cadence across practice groups to support the timely conversion of WIP to revenue.
• Deliver WIP and debtor forecasts, cash flow projections and executive reporting to the CFO and senior leadership.
• Drive the firm’s working capital remediation program, establishing targets and monitoring performance against lock‑up benchmarks.
• Provide commercial input at matter opening, including billing terms, fee arrangements and matter set‑up governance.
• Partner with Practice Group Leaders, Partners, Business Managers, Commercial Managers, Credit Control and the broader Finance team.
• Lead, mentor and develop two Working Capital Managers, creating a collaborative and high‑performing team environment.
• Champion process optimisation, technology enablement and automation across the working capital cycle.
• Lead partner education and change initiatives, using clear communication and early wins to build trust and momentum.
• Identify and report on key risks, including aged WIP exposure, write‑off trends, lock‑up performance and compliance with working capital policies.

Skills

Senior working capital leadership

WIP management

Billing discipline

Stakeholder management

Financial planning & forecasting

Governance & KPIs

Change leadership

Automation & process improvement

Education

CA or CPA designation

Tertiary qualification in accounting/finance/commerce

Tools

CMS

Aderant

Job description

Join Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia's leading independent law firm.

An exceptional opportunity has arisen for a commercially astute finance leader to shape and lead our national working capital capability.

Working closely with the Chief Financial Officer, the Head of Working Capital will play a pivotal role in transforming the firm’s approach to working capital management. This newly created senior leadership position combines strategic change leadership with hands‑on operational delivery, offering the opportunity to establish a stronger governance framework, influence partner behaviours and drive sustainable improvement in lock‑up performance across the firm.

You will lead the full working capital lifecycle, encompassing WIP management, billing discipline, cash conversion and debtor oversight. Equally comfortable presenting a remediation strategy to senior leadership and working directly with individual partners to resolve aged WIP, you will bring the credibility, commercial judgement and operational discipline needed to deliver lasting change.

At Corrs, we help you achieve your ambition - at every stage of your career.

Key Responsibilities

In this influential role, you will:

• Lead the firm’s working capital strategy and operational rhythm across WIP, billing, cash conversion and debtor management.
• Design and embed governance frameworks, policies, delegated authorities, KPIs and performance targets.
• Lead monthly WIP reviews with partners, constructively challenging aged WIP and driving timely billing or write‑off decisions.
• Strengthen billing discipline and cadence across practice groups to support the timely conversion of WIP to revenue.
• Deliver WIP and debtor forecasts, cash flow projections and executive reporting to the CFO and senior leadership.
• Drive the firm’s working capital remediation program, establishing targets and monitoring performance against lock‑up benchmarks.
• Provide commercial input at matter opening, including billing terms, fee arrangements and matter set‑up governance.
• Partner with Practice Group Leaders, Partners, Business Managers, Commercial Managers, Credit Control and the broader Finance team.
• Lead, mentor and develop two Working Capital Managers, creating a collaborative and high‑performing team environment.
• Champion process optimisation, technology enablement and automation across the working capital cycle.
• Lead partner education and change initiatives, using clear communication and early wins to build trust and momentum.
• Identify and report on key risks, including aged WIP exposure, write‑off trends, lock‑up performance and compliance with working capital policies.

About You

You are a confident and commercially minded finance professional who can operate effectively across both strategic and operational priorities. You understand the dynamics of a partnership environment and know how to influence senior stakeholders, navigate established practices and build accountability around billing and collections.

To succeed in this role, you will ideally bring:

• Senior‑level experience in working capital, revenue management or finance operations within professional services or a commercial law firm.
• Demonstrated expertise across WIP management, billing cycles, debtor portfolios and cash flow forecasting.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to influence partner behaviour and lead cultural change.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage credibly with partners and executive leadership.
• Advanced analytical capability, including experience in lock‑up reporting and financial modelling.
• Strong knowledge of practice management and finance systems, ideally CMS, Aderant or an equivalent platform.
• Proven experience leading and developing high‑performing teams.
• Experience designing working capital governance frameworks, KPIs or remediation programs.
• A tertiary qualification in accounting, finance or commerce.
• A CA, CPA or equivalent professional designation is strongly preferred, with postgraduate qualifications viewed favourably.

The Opportunity

This is a rare opportunity to build and lead a critical firmwide capability from the ground up. You will have direct access to senior decision‑makers, genuine scope to shape the operating model and the mandate to deliver measurable improvement across the working capital lifecycle.

If you are an accomplished working capital or finance operations leader who enjoys combining strategic thinking with detailed execution, we would welcome your application.

About us:

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm. We provide exceptional legal services across the full spectrum of matters, including major transactions, projects and significant disputes, offering strategic advice on our clients’ most challenging issues.

Why Corrs?

We pride ourselves on meeting our clients needs in a culture characterised by excellence, commitment, collaboration and respect. Our policies, practices and behaviours foster a safe and inclusive workplace, and we focus on creating opportunities and supporting a diverse workforce.

• Flexible working as standard - we’ve established flexibility as standard business practice and an option for all our people.
• Bonus leave - an additional week of leave each year (5 weeks annual leave in total).
• Wellbeing program -we support the wellbeing of our people across areas including resilience, mental health, mindfulness, personal development, physical health and self‑care.
• Diversity and Inclusion - this is a key area of focus for the firm. We set meaningful goals to improve diversity and an inclusive culture in which all employees feel supported and valued.
• Responsible business approach - we are a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and are committed to promoting and respecting human rights, supporting the Compact’s Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti‑corruption, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
• Learning and development opportunities - including our Australian‑first international study scholarship, our national training program and our mentoring program.