Chief Financial Officer

**Chief Financial Officer**:
**Job no**: 497594

**Work type**: MSP Contract

**Classification**: MSP

**Categories**: Management, Finance

**Create our future together at the City of Greater Geelong**
At City of Greater Geelong, we are committed to working together for a thriving community. We do this by delivering over 130 services to our rapidly growing population and working hard to protect and improve what it is that makes Greater Geelong on Wadawurrung country such a great place to live, work and study.

We’re going through an exciting period of change that will help us serve our community better. From digital modernisation to the contemporary, sustainable office we’ve built in Central Geelong, now more than ever is a great time to join our team at the City of Greater Geelong.

Our Community is made up of diverse people from all walks of life, and it’s important to us that our workforce represents and celebrates this strength.

We encourage great people from all backgrounds to join us. We encourage authenticity because inclusion makes us stronger.

If you’re excited about working together to create a Clever and Creative Greater Geelong, and joining a workplace where all people can thrive, then hit **apply** - we’d love to meet you

**About the role**
As the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), you will have primary responsibility for the planning and management of the City of Greater Geelong’s financial activities including financial risk management, business planning, budgeting and forecasting. The CFO plays a critical role in executing on the City’s short and long-term vision and strategies including achieving financial sustainability.

In this senior leadership position, you will be responsible for cyclical reporting and measurement of outcomes to ensure the City is making data-led decisions and is optimally positioned to fulfill its role as an investment orchestrator, place-maker and infrastructure assets manager. The CFO plays a critical role in obtaining and maintaining investor relations and helping steer the organisation towards our strategic direction by providing sound advice to key decision-makers, primarily on matters relating to financial sustainability and maintaining financial controls of Council’s income and expenditure.

You will play a key strategic role providing advisory support to the Executive Leadership Team as well as partnering with other key stakeholders in our broader partnership ecosystem, such as external agencies and groups, public, private and community-based organisations.

Key responsibilities include:

- Provide strategic and tactical financial evaluation and advice to the Executive and organisation leaders in enabling strategic financial decision making and addressing financial management issues.
- Advise on long-term and short-term financial planning as part of the broader, organisational Business Planning Cycle
- Lead the City’s annual budget including preparation of budget estimates, rates strategy, financial performance, modelling, analysis identifying and advising on variances and trends in order for Council to achieve its operational priorities and statutory obligations.
- Motivate and provide strategic leadership to the team by maintaining an inclusive and accountable culture in line with the organisation's values and ensuring the team is valued, engaged, and supported.
- Manage all aspects of the unit's strategy, business planning, financial resources, and operations through the effective leadership of people and retaining accountability for the unit's performance.
- Develop and monitor key performance measures, processes and reporting to analyse the City’s financial performance and the viability and financial sustainability of its services.
- Establish, develop and maintain strong working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

**About you**
To be successful in this role, you will have relevant tertiary qualifications and significant experience in providing strategic leadership and management of financial management and corporate planning.

Essential Experience:

- Substantial depth and range of financial management experience at a senior management level and ability to lead and drive financial management strategies.
- Demonstrated ability to proactively develop and recommend strategic direction to Council, Executive or Boards.
- Effective and highly developed communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence a diverse range of stakeholders and customers at all levels in a sensitive, time-pressured and political environment.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen with well-established knowledge and experience in business planning and management, including budget development, financial management, resource management, project management and complex reporting.
- Demonstrated effective people leadership and management skills to support an environment for high-functioning, productive and engage