Director – Finance & Risk

Position Title: Director – Finance & Risk
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Direct Reports: Head of Finance, Risk and Compliance
Location: Surry Hills, Sydney (Hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-time, Executive Leadership Team
About ChildFund Australia
ChildFund Australia (CFA) is an independent international development organisation working to create
a world where every child can reach their full potential. Partnering with children, families and
communities across Australia, Asia and the Pacific, ChildFund supports locally led solutions that
strengthen education, child protection, health, livelihoods and climate resilience.
CFA is a member of the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 10 organisations which assists almost
23 million children and their families in 70 countries. ChildFund Australia is a registered charity, a
member of the Australian Council for International Development, and fully accredited by the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which manages the Australian Government’s overseas aid
program.
ChildFund Australia is entering a period of strategic repositioning that will shape its next five years —
sharpening where and how it delivers impact for children, growing and diversifying revenue, and
modernising its systems and operating model. This new executive role is central to that agenda,
ensuring financial strategy, sustainability and risk management enable greater impact for children.
Position Purpose
The Director of Finance & Risk is a critical member of the executive leadership team, providing strategic
leadership across financial stewardship, risk management, governance, and organisational
performance. Reporting to the CEO and working in close partnership with the Board, the Director will
shape and execute financial strategies that underpin sustainable growth, strengthen organisational
resilience, and maximise ChildFund’s capacity to deliver lasting social impact.
The role has enterprise-wide responsibility for financial governance, multi-currency treasury and the
consolidation of country-office finances, compliance and donor grant acquittals, enterprise risk,
company secretarial and statutory compliance, and the organisation’s digital finance transformation.
The successful executive will ensure robust financial controls and governance while building
contemporary financial systems, processes, and reporting capabilities that provide real-time insights
to support strategic decision-making.
A key mandate is to enhance financial sustainability and operational effectiveness by improving
financial visibility, mitigating organisational risk, and identifying opportunities for innovation and
growth. The Director will also lead the evaluation of new revenue opportunities, drive continuous
improvement across finance and business systems, and provide trusted strategic counsel to the CEO
and Board to ensure the organisation remains financially strong, compliant, and well positioned to
achieve its strategic goals.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Financial Leadership
• Develop and execute the organisation's financial strategy to support the mission, strategic
priorities and long-term sustainability.
• Serve as a trusted strategic adviser to the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and Board,
providing high-quality financial insight to inform strategic and operational decision-making.
• Lead enterprise-wide financial planning, including annual budgets, rolling forecasts, long-term
financial modelling and scenario analysis.
• Drive financial performance through robust business partnering, investment analysis, return
on investment (ROI) assessments and performance reporting.
• Evaluate, appraise and structure new and alternative sources of funding — including impact
bonds, impact investment, blended finance, social enterprise, commercial partnerships and
commercial ventures — applying disciplined business-case and gate-review governance.
• Strengthen organisational financial resilience through effective treasury management,
liquidity planning, cash flow optimisation and investment oversight, including management of
foreign-currency exposure across our country operations.
• Oversee diversified funding streams, including government grants, institutional funding,
corporate partnerships and philanthropic income, ensuring financial sustainability and
compliance.
• Deliver timely, accurate and insightful financial reporting, including management accounts,
statutory reporting, Board papers and external reporting requirements.
• Foster a culture of financial accountability, commercial thinking and continuous improvement
across the organisation.
Financial Operations, Systems & Innovation
• Lead the delivery of efficient, effective and scalable finance operations that support
organisational growth and operational excellence.
• Partner with the Director of Digital, Data and Transformation to modernise finance systems,
including ERP platforms, forecasting tools and grant management solutions.
• Leverage data analytics, automation and digital technologies to improve financial insights,
operational efficiency and organisational decision-making.
• Ensure financial systems, processes and controls deliver accuracy, transparency and timely
reporting while reducing organisational risk.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives that simplify processes and enhance
organisational capability.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
• Ensure compliance with all statutory, regulatory and donor requirements, including Australian
accounting standards, taxation obligations, DFAT requirements and other funding agreements.
• Lead fund accounting and grant management including donor acquittals, ACFID Code
compliance and acting as the organisation’s finance lead for DFAT accreditation.
• Maintain a strong financial governance framework supported by effective internal controls,
policies, delegated authorities and risk management practices.
• Lead the organisation's external audit process and oversee relationships with auditors,
banking partners and other key financial stakeholders.
• Own the enterprise risk management framework — identifying and mitigating financial, fraud
and operational risks, implementing mitigation strategies and embedding sound governance
practices.
• Provide expert financial advice to the Board and relevant Board Committees, including Audit,
Risk and Finance Committees, and contribute to broader organisational governance.
• Oversee fraud and anti-corruption controls (including the fraud and corruption register) and
the organisation’s insurance program, consistent with DFAT and donor requirements.
• Serve as Company Secretary, maintaining ACNC and ASIC statutory compliance, corporate
registers, delegations of authority and effective Board governance support.
People Leadership & Organisational Partnership
• Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing Finance team, fostering collaboration,
accountability, innovation and continuous professional development.
• Build financial capability across the organisation through effective business partnering,
coaching and support to leaders and country-office finance teams across our Asia–Pacific
operations.
• Collaborate across functions to ensure financial management supports strategic priorities,
operational delivery and organisational impact.
• Influence and enable organisational change by promoting data-driven decision-making and
effective financial stewardship.
• Foster strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to strengthen
organisational performance, accountability and sustainable growth.
Key Selection Criteria
The right person may come from a commercial, corporate or professional-services background as
readily as a not-for-profit one; what matters most is financial leadership, sound judgement and
genuine alignment with our mission for children.
Essential
• Tertiary qualification in Accounting, Commerce, Finance or a related discipline.
• Membership of a recognised professional accounting body (CA ANZ or CPA Australia) with
current accreditation.
• Demonstrated experience in a senior financial leadership role, providing strategic financial
direction within a complex organisation and contributing as a trusted adviser to the Chief
Executive Officer, Executive Leadership Team and Board.
• Proven ability to develop and implement financial strategies that support organisational
objectives, including leading budgeting, long-term financial planning, forecasting, treasury
management, investment oversight and business case development to enable informed
decision-making.
• Extensive knowledge of financial management, accounting standards, statutory reporting,
taxation, treasury, financial modelling, cash flow management and financial analysis, with a
demonstrated ability to deliver accurate, timely and insightful financial reporting.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and maintaining strong governance frameworks,
internal controls and enterprise risk management practices, ensuring compliance with
relevant legislation, accounting standards, donor requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Experience leading finance transformation initiatives, including implementation or
optimisation of enterprise financial systems, digital technologies and data analytics to improve
organisational performance, efficiency and decision-making.
• A proven track record of building, leading and developing high-performing teams through
coaching, mentoring and performance leadersh

Employment type
Full Time

Work arrangement
No