Job Description
Location: Parramatta & Western Sydney, NSW
Salary Package: $180k + Super + 20% STI
Role Highlights: Growth-stage business scaling toward 500m+ revenue, genuine future path to CFO, and finance transformation focus.
Role Overview
Reporting to the CFO of a highly successful multi-channel brand, the Group Financial Controller will serve as a trusted deputy and primary 2IC. This is a rare opportunity to transform a technically sound finance function into best-in-class operation while positioning yourself for CFO progression as the business prepares for future IPO. The business has undergone a significant recent transformation, and a high-performing and highly experienced ELT has joined the business to lead strategic growth. The CFO now needs a capable Group FC who can run finance day-to-day and drive the function from good to great while they focus on business strategy and expansion. With a national presence and an aggressive expansion plan, the business sits at a transformational inflexion point. Delivering strong EBITDA with cash flow strength, the strategic pivot is clear. Finance must elevate from adequate business accounting to institutional-grade standards - and you'll lead that transformation.
Responsibilities
* Finance Function Transformation: Shift team from task-focused processors to commercial partners delivering strategic insights; establish a consistent reporting rhythm, unlock value from the current team of Financial Accountants, and elevate reporting from accurate to insightful
* Autonomous Finance Leadership: Own full finance remit day-to-day without CFO involvement - month-end close, management reporting, statutory reporting and tax returns, group consolidation across 60 entities, financial planning and analysis
* Dual Mandate Delivery: Wear two hats (80/20) - commercial finance leader delivering business performance insights (store-level P&L, margin analysis, acquisition modelling) + interface for tax structuring and multi-entity complexity (supported by external specialists)
* Team Development & Performance Management: Lead 10+ person team, including core accounting positions, procurement and remuneration; nurture through hands on approach while driving performance.
* IPO Readiness Building: Lift finance standards to listed company calibre - governance frameworks, controls documentation, quarterly reporting discipline, board pack sophistication, audit committee preparedness; build foundations for future state dual-CFO structure
* Group Complexity Management: Navigate 60-entity landscape, consolidated group reporting, inter-company transactions, operating entity oversight; balance different needs across retail, wholesale, geographic footprints
* Strategic Partnership: Deliver commercial insights to CEO and CFO - not invoice processing volumes but business performance conversations; support acquisition evaluation, store network expansion analysis, and margin optimisation opportunities
* Hybrid Culture Establishment: Be present in Western Sydney initially to build relationships and establish rhythm; then model empowered hybrid culture through trust and outcomes focus.
Candidate Profile
You are a CA/CPA qualified finance leader with group environment experience, not single-entity. You've managed finance teams, developed talent and driven performance. You bring corporate exposure (ASX experience or Big 4 background) and understand what institutional-grade finance looks like. You're commercially minded, not purely technical - someone who delivers insights alongside numbers and thinks strategically while executing operationally.
You've worked for different organisations and bring that valued external perspective to the business. Retail/wholesale/FMCG/inventory-based business experience is highly valuable - you understand stock management, gross margin dynamics, and store-level economics.
Your leadership style is consultative but decisive. You thrive in collaborative, informal environments, yet bring the rigour needed for a listed company transition. You manage upwards well, can work autonomously and can be a high-intellect soundboard for the CFO. As a leader, you are nurturing with your team and want to create energy through a "how can we do things better" mindset.
Most importantly, you're grounded in your ambition - motivated and career-driven but not letting your next role inform everything you do today. You're excited by growth and transformation opportunities. You appreciate grounded business values – loyalty and forgiveness, whilst driving performance elevation. You balance values with commercial ambition.
The Organisation
This privately held business owns multi-channel retail and wholesale operations across Australia. With a 40-year heritage and $250m+ revenue, the business combines entrepreneurial foundation with professional management. The culture is rich with long tenure and loyalty, with recent additions to shift toward a performance-driven culture while preserving the business heart. The strategic pivot is aggressive, involving expansion across multiple verticals and states, with multiple targets under evaluation. The business is also looking at opportunities for modernisation, systems upgrade, and process optimisation.
Apply
If this sounds like you, please send your resume by clicking the "apply" link below. The reference number for this role is NGGFC67778. Please allow for 5-7 working days for us to process all the applications. All applicants will hear back from us, either via email or a telephone call.