Senior Finance Business Partner

carsales; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Part-time options

Circle Back Initiative employer

Equal opportunity employer

Job summary

carsales is seeking a Senior Finance Business Partner to partner with senior leaders across Australia, owning planning, forecasting and performance insights for a portfolio. You’ll lead end‑to‑end decision support, build robust financial models and challenge assumptions to shape major commercial choices.

You will collaborate with product, technology, marketing and shared services in a fast-moving, hybrid environment that values data-driven insights and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with professional designation (CPA or CA).
• 5+ years’ experience in commercial finance, FP&A or business partnering.
• Proven ability to partner with senior stakeholders and influence commercial outcomes.
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills.
• Experience leading business cases, complex financial models and decision support.

Responsibilities

• Trusted Advisor: provide financial insight to senior leaders and shape key commercial decisions.
• Planning & Forecasting: own budget, quarterly forecasts and long-range plans.
• Performance Insight: oversee month-end reporting and variance analysis.
• Modelling & Decision Support: build models and scenarios for pricing, investments and strategic projects.
• Business Partnering: collaborate with product, technology, marketing and shared services.
• Monitor value drivers and market trends to anticipate risks and opportunities.
• Champion continuous improvement using AI tools to automate processes and insights.

Skills

Financial modelling

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Budgeting & forecasting

Data-driven decision making

AI in finance

Education

CPA or CA

Tools

Oracle EPM

NetSuite

Salesforce

Advanced Excel

Job description

At carsales, we’re all about making buying and selling a great experience. Since 1997, we’ve been evolving with the new economy to help people choose how they move today and tomorrow.

When it comes to your career, we want to offer meaningful opportunities that empower you to make a lasting impact. But for that to happen, we strive to feel small, small enough to stay agile, learn across teams, and connect authentically with each other.

With a vision to be the global leader in online vehicle marketplaces, we’re transforming how people buy and sell across the world. We discover new ideas and bring them to life. We continue to grow, and we continue to evolve and we’re not afraid to take bold steps to get there.

Senior Finance Business Partner

Reporting to our Head of Commercial Finance, you’ll partner with senior leaders across our Australian business to provide trusted financial advice, challenge thinking and shape key commercial decisions. You’ll lead planning and forecasting for your portfolio, turn performance data into clear recommendations, and lead decision support end to end, from building the model to recommending the way forward.

Our Commercial Finance team is small and works closely with the business, so you won’t be one person in a big machine. You’ll own your portfolio end to end and work side by side with leaders across product, technology, marketing and shared services in a fast-moving, informal environment where a lot of the best conversations happen on the spot. Our finance people grow here, with real opportunities to take the next step in your career.

We embrace hybrid working combining the flexibility of remote work with the energy and connection of in-person collaboration. We champion flexibility and offer a range of policies and leave options to support your wellbeing.

What’s on offer

• A place where you can move your career forward, where you’ll be continuously backed to make new ideas happen, and the chance to do work that makes real, significant impact in the world.
• We’re proud to be recognised as one of Australia’s Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work, a Family Friendly Workplace and a WORK180 endorsed employer for women.
• The support of a highly engaged, high-performing team including a leadership team that you’ll actually have face time with.
• 24 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregivers, four weeks paid secondary caregivers leave and paid family & fertility planning leave.

Job Description

What you’ll be doing

• Trusted Advisor: Partner with senior leaders across the Australian business, providing financial insight, constructively challenging assumptions and shaping key commercial and operational decisions.
• Planning & Forecasting: Own the budget, quarterly forecasts and long-range plan for your portfolio, aligning financial outcomes with business strategy and presenting them to senior leadership.
• Performance Insight: Oversee month-end performance reporting, delivering variance analysis and forward-looking commentary that drives action.
• Modelling & Decision Support: Lead complex financial models, scenario analysis and business cases that inform pricing, major investments, new products and strategic projects, and take the recommendation through to a decision.
• Business Partnering: Work closely with leaders across product, technology, marketing and shared services, including regular stand‑ups with product managers on what we build next and what it’s worth.
• Monitor key value drivers, revenue performance, cost base and market trends to anticipate risks and opportunities and recommend ways to improve performance.
• Champion continuous improvement across planning, reporting and finance processes, using AI and automation to work smarter, and help lift business partnering capability across the team.

Qualifications

What we’re looking for

• A professional accounting qualification (CPA or CA).
• 5+ years’ experience in commercial finance, FP&A or business partnering, ideally already working as a Finance Business Partner and ready for the next step.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing commercial outcomes.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to build credibility with financially and non-financially minded stakeholders.
• The confidence to challenge assumptions, hold a view and clearly explain financial implications, trade-offs and recommended courses of action.
• Strong financial modelling, budgeting, forecasting and performance reporting capability.
• Experience leading business cases and decision support, from building the model through to the recommendation.
• Curiosity and a proactive approach, including demonstrated use of AI tools to automate finance processes and generate faster, deeper insights.
• The ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, evolving environment while maintaining accuracy, judgment and attention to detail.
• Experience in a technology, subscription or marketplace business, and with Oracle EPM, NetSuite, Salesforce and advanced Excel, will be advantageous.

We know not everyone will meet every requirement, and that’s okay. If you’re excited about the role and believe you can make a difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Additional Information

A few other things we want you to know...

• As an equal opportunity employer, carsales welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and life experiences. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.
• If you have a disability or require adjustments to participate fully in the recruitment process, please let us know - we’re here to support you.
• We understand the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements, including part-time options. If you’d like to explore this, just ask during the process.
• We’re also a proud Circle Back Initiative employer, which means we commit to responding to every applicant.
• Successful candidates joining the carsales team will need to complete a National Police Record check and must have full-time Australian working rights.