Finance Officer

The Finance Officer provides support to the Business Office by performing a range of financial and administrative duties.

Title of Position:Finance Officer

Type of Appointment: Full-Time Permanent (including School holidays)

1 Context

Established in 2001 in a picturesque setting in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Pacific Lutheran College is a leading K-12 learning community that is innovative, dynamic and progressive. Firmly underpinned by the values and traditions of excellence of Lutheran Education in Australia, students have achieved outstanding success in the academic, sporting and cultural dimensions of their lives. Enrichment programs in all three areas have enabled students to explore their potential.

Pacific has established a strong academic culture, which promotes thinking, deep understandings and creativity based on the learnings of Harvard's Teaching for Understanding and Visible Thinking frameworks. The synergy of these programs with the research of positive psychology and Lutheran theology provides for a rich whole of life learning culture.

Unique experiences provided through the College's excellent outdoor education, pastoral care and personal development programs, and the opportunities provided through academic, sporting and cultural learning, support an enriching whole of life education. Active involvement in local and international community service projects broaden young people's world view and sense of efficacy.

Our staff take advantage of flexibility in physical and virtual spaces to support an increasingly personalised approach to learning for our young people. Pacific has a seamless curriculum across Kindergarten to Year 12 with teams of teachers working across the four subgroups of the College. Staff are expected to learn collaboratively to contribute to a whole school approach as they lead learning in the Foundation College (Kindergarten-Year 2), Junior College (Years 3-5), Middle College (Years 6-9) and Senior College (Years 10-12).

Salary and related conditions are as per the current Queensland Lutheran Schools' Single Enterprise Agreement.

2 Role Description

The Finance Officer provides support to the Business Office by performing a range of high quality financial and administrative duties ensuring accurate and timely processing of financial transactions, assisting with budget monitoring and supporting compliance with the College's financial policies and procedures.

As a staff member within a Christian school the Finance Officer will be expected to support and contribute to the growth of a strong Christian faith learning community through personal example and professional leadership. The Finance Officer will be responsible for providing professional and confidential support to the Business Manager and is directly responsible to the Business Manager.

As a regular point of contact between the College and parents, staff, students and community members, the Finance Officer is expected to:

Strengthening Lutheran Identity

• Support the Lutheran ethos of the College. This would include involvement in staff devotions and retreats.

Enhancing Excellence in Teaching and Learning

• Provide financial and administrative services to the Business Manager to enhance the quality of learning experiences for students.
• Assist and monitor departmental budgets and purchases to ensure consistent and smooth operations for resources and learning areas.

Engage in Ongoing Improvement and Innovation

• Engage in ongoing professional learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and College priorities.
• Contribute to professional discussion with colleagues in a range of forums to evaluate practice directed at improving knowledge and practice and the educational outcomes for students.
• Engage in reflection, collaborative planning, monitoring and review.

Community Building

The Finance Officer is an integral connection for students, staff and community members and has an important role in the building of community through the following:

• Foster effective learning partnerships and communication with students, staff, parents and members of the wider community.
• Processing and distributing student fee accounts in a timely and efficient manner, including the follow-up of outstanding accounts and report production including the professional response to student, parent, staff and community enquiries.
• Assist the Transport Manager to ensure efficient and effective bus co-ordination and communication with families.
• Adhere to the College Code of Conduct and act professionally at all times in dealing with students, staff, parents and members of the community.
• Maintain a positive work environment through support of the administrative team members, flexibly adjusting to changing demands of the work environment. This would include the sharing of tasks.

Leading Effective Organisation and Management

The Finance Officer is expected to be able to work with minimum direction, provide accurate financial and administrative services to the Business Manager in the following areas:

• Daily reconciliation of the College bank accounts.
• Accurate and timely processing and reconciliation of the petty cash, credit notes, purchase orders, invoices and all associated financial procedures, including month end and year end procedures.
• Generate and check weekly payment runs for accuracy and report any discrepancies.
• Organise and book travel arrangements, flights, accommodation, professional development, training courses and other reservations as required.
• Produce College communication, including electronic communication to a high standard in keeping with the brand of the College, including letters and communication to staff, students, parents and the community.
• Monitor College credit card expenses and place orders as necessary.
• Monitor and reconcile petty cash, receipts and orders as received.
• Assist in the preparation and organisation of student stationary supplies and produce communication for parent information.
• Setup and monitor event bookings including online forms and payments.
• Maintain office equipment and supplies as required.
• Have an awareness of personal health and wellbeing for themselves and their colleagues.
• Adhere to the workplace health and safety requirements.
• Maintain high levels of confidentiality and professionalism.
• Provide monthly reports to 'Friends of Pacific' and other related organisations.
• Confidentially manage student, staff and family data in a variety of data bases and software programs as required maintaining data integrity and confidentiality at all times.

Payroll

• Set up and maintain the payroll database ensuring all employees are up to date.
• Collating timesheets and other payroll documentation ready for data entry
• Entering timesheets, leave forms, expense reimbursements,
• Maintain all spreadsheets relevant to the management of the payroll function.
• Maintain Blue Card compliance and ensuring compliance at all times.

3 Workplace Health and Safety

Effective implementation of the College's Workplace Health and Safety Manual requires the active involvement of all employees. All employees have an obligation to comply with statutory and organisational requirements, procedures and rules that are intended to protect the health and safety of persons at the workplace including the general public.

All Academic and Ancillary staff must:

• Perform work safely in accordance with the training (induction and annual) they have received and report substandard work conditions or practices.
• Follow lawful written and verbal workplace health and safety instructions, including policies and procedures issued by managers and supervisors and observe all warning signs and notices.
• Report all personal injuries and incidents immediately to the supervisor and appropriate School delegate.
• Co-operate with and participate in all activities to make the work environment safe and healthy.
• Maintain good housekeeping standards at all times.
• Ask for specific instruction regarding the hazards associated with performing tasks which may not be completely familiar.
• Wear clothing and footwear appropriate to their job and use all personal protective equipment specified and/or routinely expected for that job.
• Operate specified plant and equipment, eg. motor vehicles, cranes, etc, only if properly trained (including completion of induction procedures as required) and authorised to do so.
• Not wilfully or recklessly interfere with anything that might harm the health, safety and wellbeing of themselves and others.
• Not attend work under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. Employees taking any medication must follow the directions of use and report to their supervisor if this substance may interfere with their performance at work.
• Assist with Risk Assessments and Accident Investigation Reports when requested to do so.

4 Selection Criteria

As a key leader, the successful candidate will need to demonstrate or have the ability to demonstrate capacity to develop the capabilities described below.

SC1Demonstrated skills which reflect the ability to support the Christian ethos of the College.

SC2 Demonstrated professional skills in the provision of financial services including payroll, invoice, purchasing, and reconciliation. The successful applicant will have highly developed administration skills including the ability to use Microsoft Office software, spreadsheets and data bases. Experience within a school setting will be an advantage.

SC3 Demonstrated ability to use highly developed interpersonal skills to build positive relationships and to communicate warmly and effectively with staff, parents, students, contractors and external organisations/key stakeholders to ensure high quality service provision. The successful applicant will have highly developed verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.

SC4 Demonstrated skills to prioritise to ensure smooth operations within the role's area of influence and to contribute to innovation and improvement in the provision of financial services of the College. A commitment to ongoing learning will be required.

SC5 Demonstrated levels of confidence, flexibility, independence, teamwork, organisation, time management, innovation and persistence required to fulfil the requirements of the role and maintain a positive culture.

5 Knowledge, Qualifications and Application Process

The successful applicant must have:

- Experience in using excel, Microsoft Office software and data management systems.

Employees must have or be eligible to acquire a Blue Card, maintain their Suitability to Work with Children requirements and meet other mandates as specified by the government for working within schools. Please feel free to contact the Business Manager in relation to any queries regarding your application.

Applicants must address the selection criteria and forward their application to Mr Ryan Lovell, Business Manager, via email to hrofficer@pacluth.qld.edu.au by noon Tuesday, 19th August 2025.

Affiliation: Lutheran
Teaching Level: Combined
Gender: Coed

1200 Students
80 TeachingStaff
70 Non-Teaching Staff

Applicants mustemail a copy of their resume, selection criteria and covering letter to admin@pacluth.qld.edu.au Attention: Mr Ryan Lovell, Business Manager, by midday Tuesday 19th August 2025.