Finance Director

Location:
Sydney

Reports To:
Managing Director

Job Type:
Full-time (hybrid, three days in office and two days' work from home)

About us:

George P. Johnson (GPJ) is the World's Leading Event and Experiential Marketing Agency. For over a century we've been partnering with the world's top brands to deliver creative solutions that make a real difference. Our strategic thinking and creativity breathe life into brands. Our ideas create impact, inspire audiences and grow business. It's what turns our goals, and those of our clients, into results.

We're happy working wherever the brief takes us. At home or abroad. On the huge, or the hugely important. Our scalability enables us to answer briefs of all shapes and sizes - effectively and efficiently.

Job Purpose:

The Finance Director will provide strategic financial support and business partnering to the Managing Director within an ever-evolving market and rapidly growing organisation. This is a hands-on role: the Finance Director will both "do" and manage team members that perform day to day accounting, administrative tasks and monthly forecast, including cash flow related activities, manage financial risks, and manage financial reporting and communication with clients. With the ever-changing business environment, the duties and responsibilities will evolve and adapt according to the business changing needs.

Key Responsibilities:

·      
Financial Control and Reporting:

o  Accept overall responsibility for the company's accounting activities and ensure that the records, systems, controls and internal audit procedures are carried out efficiently and that accounts and records comply with legal requirements and internal board policies.

o  Ensure financial reporting is technically compliant with the latest accounting standards (including Revenue recognition process adheres to AIFRS 15 criteria, etc).

o  Produce and interpret financial information within deadline limits showing current operating results, the financial position and explanations of items of significant interest.

o  Provide counsel on strategic and commercial matters, compliance, and governance issues.

o  Ensure working capital management (including cashflow, WIP and debtors) in accordance with company deadlines and ensuring these are up to date often.

o  Coordinate both internal and external audit programs.

o  Manage full external tax compliance function including tax returns, FBT returns, BAS, payroll tax, workers compensation, stamp duty and transfer pricing to comply with statutory regulations and to deliver to deadlines.

·      
Business Partnering and Support:

o  Support the Managing Director with business growth.

o  Enforce team financial accountability.

o  Forecasting (CRM, Sales, Entity & Client P&L).

o  Collaborate & support Internal audits for accuracy and consistency.

o  Provide client profitability analysis, including but not limited to:

§ Hours utilisation

§ Margin

§ Change orders

§ Projections

o  Assist general and operational management in the analysis of their results and keep them informed on the current position and on all factors likely to adversely influence their results.

o  Work closely with the senior management team to ensure that the company is financially efficient, and cash control is maintained.

o  Undertake any special projects or assignments, as requested by the corporate Management Team.

·      
Operational Management:

o  Manage all aspects of activities throughout the project lifecycle from Pipeline, Project opening, accounting to closure.

o  Support requests from other departments/locations.

o  Drive cost savings/efficiencies; identify ways to improve account profitability.

o  Main point of contact for client audits.

o  Develop robust forecast models to drive greater visibility and efficiency for resource planning and utilisation.

o  Develop, implement, monitor and report on internal controls and processes when necessary.

·      
Finance Team Management:

o  Manage a local finance team, providing leadership and coordination of activities to support the business.

o  Recruit, train, coach and supervise finance staff.

o  Delegate and provide clear guidelines in order that team members may be fully accountable for their individual tasks.

Your Background, Skills & Experience:

·      
Experience:

o  A minimum of 10 years' experience in senior financial management, ideally within the Advertising industry or similar, such as a professional services environment.

o  Ideally in regional or global capacity, but not essential

o  Proven track record of providing thoughtful analysis to support business decisions.

o  Proven record in operating at a senior level of decision making, contributing to the development of strategic plans, forecasts and budgets, and establishing standards of performance.

o  Proven record reflecting well-developed business acumen and sound commercial judgement.

o  Good organisational and time management skills.

·      
Qualifications:

o  Bachelor's degree in accounting, CPA/CA Qualifications preferred.

·      
Technical Skills:

o  Excellent with MS Word, PowerPoint & Advanced Excel Skills.

o  ERP system experience and automation.

o  Strong technical accounting knowledge, including an understanding of revenue recognition and WIP accounting.

o  Ideally experienced with Deltek, Workbook & Cloud payroll. Not essential.

·      
Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills:

o  Excellent analytical skills and strong attention to detail.

o  Ability to interpret complex financial data.

o  Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills.

o  Innovative problem solver.

o  Capacity to think strategically yet be attentive to the details.

·      
Management & Leadership Skills:

o  Leadership skills to motivate, coach and develop staff, empowering them through encouraging their input and through delegation.

o  Ability to self-start, initiate change, and work independently.

o  Ability to manage and execute on multiple projects effectively within deadlines and manage time and priorities effectively within a fast-paced environment.

o  Must be able to clarify goals and prioritise them based on importance.

o  Must be able to plan work and that of others to provide prompt and accurate information to the Corporate Management Team.

·      
Communication & Interpersonal Skills:

o  Active listening skills and can remain open-minded in all situations.

o  Interpersonal and communication skills to be able to readily relate across all levels in the company and to gain their respect and confidence.

o  Capacity to persuade, influence and "win people over" to viewpoints that are in the best interests of the company.

o  Professional approach to work; high standards.

o  Openness to change.

About you:

·      You love interacting with people, and these interactions give you energy.

·      You are continuously seeking to learn more about your work and how it interacts with other parts of the business.

·      You understand our business needs change, embrace changes and are adaptable.

·      You have a process-oriented mindset and the ability to break down complex business issues into actionable deliverables.

·      You are a collaborative, consultative team player with enthusiasm, passion and drive.

·      You are highly self-motivated and self-disciplined.

·      You possess high integrity and are team oriented.

·      You are committed, energetic and proactive.

GPJ'S VALUES

Our values underpin how we show up each and every day. What do they mean, and how do they influence our daily interactions at GPJ?

• BRAVERY - Having the courage to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Being bold. Breaking barriers. Acts of bravery can be big and small. It's these brave choices to think big and take well-considered risks that will help us push forward as an agency.
• COLLABORATION - The old adage is true, we are stronger together. Collaboration - with our colleagues, partners and clients - undeniably leads to better outcomes because embracing fresh and diverse perspectives elevates the work we do.
• EMPOWERMENT - Being proactive, driven and adopting an entrepreneurial spirit. Owning our decisions (as well as our mistakes). This growth mindset will set us up for success.

It should be noted and understood that this Position Description has been drafted to focus on the "key" responsibility areas for this position. It is not intended to be a detailed record of every task and duty.

George P. Johnson recognises that all members of staff, on a regular basis, will be asked by the Senior Executives to perform tasks which are not included in the Position Description. Whilst these tasks do not necessarily fit in the definition of "key" responsibilities, they are nevertheless important for the ongoing management of the business.

George P. Johnson is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, citizenship, disability, or any other protected class. In addition to federal law requirements, GPJ complies with applicable state laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. George P. Johnson expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on any protected class.