Chief Financial Officer

• Unique Executive Opportunity in Northern Queensland (Cairns, Townsville or Mackay)
• Driving Financial Excellence
• Supporting a healthy future for all Northern Queenslanders

About NQPHN

The Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) is one of 31 independent and regionally-focused PHNs dedicated to enhancing healthcare across North Queensland. Serving approximately 700,000 residents, the NQPHN region spans from St Lawrence on the south coast to the Torres Strait in the north, and west to Croydon and Kowanyama. With a dedicated team of over 90 staff members working from offices in Cairns (Gimuy-Walubura Yidinji and Djabugay Nation country), Townsville (Bindal and Wulgurukaba country), and Mackay (Yuwibara country), NQPHN is committed to addressing the unique health needs of its diverse communities.

Your Opportunity

The
Executive Director – Business Services (CFO)
of NQPHN is a critical leadership role responsible for ensuring financial sustainability, operational efficiency, and organisational accountability. Based in either Cairns, Townsville, or Mackay and reporting directly to the CEO, the Executive Director will oversee finance, compliance, procurement, risk, and quality assurance functions, playing a key role in enabling NQPHN to achieve its strategic objectives.

The Executive Director will lead a team of approximately 10 professionals based primarily in Townsville and Cairns, embedding best-practice systems and processes to support budgeting, forecasting, performance reporting, and compliance. They will also collaborate with the Board, CEO, and Executive Team to provide strategic financial advice and ensure the effective allocation of resources.

This role presents a unique opportunity to shape the operational success of NQPHN while supporting its mission to improve primary healthcare outcomes across one of Australia's most geographically and culturally diverse regions.

Key Focuses of the Role:

• Leadership & Strategy
  : Drive the strategic direction of NQPHN's business services to align with the organisation's mission and goals.
• Financial Management
  : Lead the implementation of best-practice systems for budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting, ensuring financial sustainability.
• Risk, Quality, and Compliance
  : Oversee risk management, quality assurance, and compliance frameworks, ensuring accountability and governance excellence.
• Cultural and Leadership Development
  : Foster an inclusive and engaging workplace culture across a geographically dispersed team, promoting collaboration and professional growth.

About You

To excel in this role, you will need:

• Financial Leadership
  : Proven experience in a senior finance or business services role, supported by relevant qualifications.
• Strategic Focus
  : The ability to implement best-practice systems and processes to support operational excellence and data-driven decision-making.
• Governance Expertise
  : A strong understanding of compliance, risk management, and quality assurance in complex organisational settings.
• Leadership and Cultural Alignment
  : A collaborative and accountable leadership style, with experience managing high-performing teams in a geographically dispersed context.
• Passion for Impact
  : A commitment to supporting NQPHN's mission to improve health outcomes across diverse and underserved communities.

For a confidential discussion, please call Will Wilson of Watermark Search on

To obtain a copy of the Candidate Brief for this role, please visit:

To express interest, please send your application quoting
Ref No A006101
to Watermark Search International at We will reply to the email address used for your application.

Closing date: 11:59PM AEST on 1 October 2025