Summary:
The Finance Governance Manager will play a pivotal role in ensuring the financial integrity and compliance of our operations within the Defence and Military sector. Based in Sydney, this position is crucial for maintaining robust financial governance frameworks, enhancing risk management practices, and supporting strategic decision-making processes. The successful candidate will collaborate with various stakeholders to drive financial performance and uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency.
Preferred location for role is either: Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, however may consider other locations.
The Financial Governance Manager is accountable under broad direction to deliver complex to very complex financial governance across acquisition, sustainment, and budget management functions within an integrated workforce environment. The role applies in depth knowledge of Commonwealth financial management legislation, compliance frameworks and Defence financial policy to support informed government decision making and ensure alignment with Defence strategic objectives and operational priorities.
The role operates with a high degree of independence and relies on direct access to live and authoritative financial data and reporting systems to provide timely, evidence based analysis, assurance and advice. This enables the Financial Governance Manager to act as a trusted source of financial insight, reducing reliance on ad hoc data requests and avoiding the re packaging of information sourced informally from stakeholders.
The Financial Governance Manager provides informed financial, governance and risk advice to senior leaders, including advice that shapes funding profiles across acquisition and sustainment lines. This includes advising on trade offs across cost, schedule, scope and affordability over the capability lifecycle, and ensuring funding strategies are coherent, defensible and aligned to approved investment plans.
The role includes a leadership function, influencing stakeholders across projects, branches and enabling groups, and promoting a culture of strong financial discipline, risk awareness, data integrity and compliance. Key responsibilities include developing, implementing and reviewing financial governance policies, procedures and controls for budgeting, cost management, reporting and financial assurance, and identifying and addressing instances of non compliance through practical, sustainable solutions.
The position undertakes complex problem solving, issues management and sensitive project work, often with strategic, political or operational implications. This includes coordinating financial and governance inputs to initiatives and supporting executive, Cabinet and ministerial outcomes with timely, high quality financial advice. The Financial Governance Manager oversees and assures financial and performance reporting, including monthly, quarterly and executive level reporting, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and alignment with Defence and whole of government requirements. The role supports effective use of financial and risk management systems and tools to improve transparency, data quality and decision support.
A key element of the role is financial and risk governance oversight for sustainment and LEOSPO projects, including cost models, funding strategies, budget related submissions, and parliamentary reporting processes (Budget Estimates, Additional Estimates and Senate Estimates). The role acts as a key liaison with Defence Finance Group and other enabling stakeholders and contributes to improving organisational financial and risk maturity through guidance, coaching and targeted support to project teams.
• Direct access to live financial data and systems, enabling independent analysis, timely assurance and reduced administrative burden on stakeholders.
• Authoritative influence over acquisition and sustainment funding profiles, informing affordability, trade offs and whole of life cost decisions.
• Senior financial governance leadership, providing trusted advice to executives and supporting Cabinet, budget and parliamentary processes.
• Strong focus on financial discipline, compliance and risk maturity, balancing robust assurance with practical, sustainable governance solutions
