Finance Manager - Sydney / Melbourne / Work from Home

• Contract: 2 days a week, 12 months contract (with the expectation of moving to permanent, dependent on funding)
• Remuneration: $119,513 plus 12% superannuation pro rata
• Reports to: Director of Operations and Development
• Direct report: Finance Officer (supervision responsibilities dependent on candidate experience)
• Location: WFH Remote role anywhere in Eastern Australia or in offices in Sydney or Melbourne.

Reporting to the Director of Operations and Development, the Finance Manager leads the organisation’s operational and strategic financial management function, ensuring strong financial stewardship, robust internal controls, and long-term sustainability.

The role is responsible for maintaining compliance with all regulatory, funding, and reporting obligations, while driving best practice in financial governance, including oversight and approval of payroll.

The Finance Manager provides strategic financial advice to the CEO, Director of Operations, Board of Directors, and senior leaders. This includes delivering insightful analysis to inform decision-making, supporting organisational planning, and aligning financial strategy with operational and strategic goals.

The role also ensures accurate and timely financial acquittals for all grant funding, and ensuring compliance with contractual obligations.

The successful candidate will bring a strong understanding of financial management within the not-for-profit sector, combined with strategic capability and hands-on expertise. They will have demonstrated experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting, and the ability to identify efficiency opportunities, improve cash flow management, and support sustainable growth.

This role also contributes to strengthening systems and processes, including supporting digital transformation initiatives within the finance function. The Finance Manager will ensure that financial operations are efficient, compliant, and effectively support the organisation’s purpose and impact.

Financial management and reporting

• Work with the Finance Officer to prepare monthly financial reports for each program, identifying and investigating variances against budget and escalating issues requiring action. This includes recognising revenue on a monthly basis.
• Lead the preparation of the external audit of the Annual General Purpose Financial Report in accordance with ACNC requirements and accounting standards.
• Working with the Director of Operations and Development to lead the development of the organisation’s annual budget, including program-level budgets, for review and approval by the Audit, Risk, Finance Management Committee and the Board.
• Working with the Director of Operations and Development develop and maintain a rolling financial forecast to monitor organisational performance, cash flow, and sustainability throughout the year.
• Actively monitor cash flow and organisational liquidity, ensuring appropriate management of reserves.
• Provide clear, timely financial insights, analysis, and recommendations to the Leadership Team and Board to support informed decision-making.

Financial controls and compliance

• Establish, maintain, and improve internal financial controls to support robust governance and accountability.
• Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, ACNC requirements, and all relevant regulatory obligations.
• Work with the Director of Operations and Development and the Audit, Risk, Finance Management Committee to identify, assess, and manage financial risks and oversee financial elements of organisational risk register.
• Where capacity allows - work with the Director of Operations and Development to develop, maintain, and communicate financial policies and procedures to ensure consistency, transparency, and understanding across staff and volunteers.

Grants and funding management

• Oversee the preparation and submission of grant acquittals and other financial reports in accordance with funding agreements.
• Monitor and ensure ongoing financial compliance with all funding and contractual obligations.
• Support Program Directors with budget tracking, forecasting, and financial management of funded activities.
• Where capacity allows  - collaborate with the Leadership Team on grant applications, including developing budgets, financial modelling, and responding to finance-related requirements.

Employment compliance

• Approve payroll processing to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with organisational policies and legislative requirements.
• Work with the Director of Operations and Development to  ensure compliance with Fair Work legislation, relevant modern awards, superannuation obligations, taxation requirements.
• Provide guidance to the Leadership Team and staff more broadly on employment cost implications, and payroll-related matters.

Systems and process improvement

• Oversee the management and optimisation of financial systems, including accounting and payroll platforms (currently Xero), ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and reliability.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes, systems, and efficiencies, and lead the implementation of improvements in collaboration with the Finance Officer and Director of Operations and Development.

Supervision (dependant on candidate experience)

• Provide regular supervision, guidance and mentoring to the Finance Officer to enable ongoing high performance, engagement and accountability in their role.

• CA or CPA qualification (or international equivalent)
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience in leading financial management functions, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and cash flow management within a complex organisation, preferably in the not-for-profit sector.
• Demonstrated experience preparing Board and Committee reports, financial statements, audit working papers and reconciliations
• Strong understanding of financial governance, including establishing and maintaining internal controls, and ensuring compliance with accounting standards, ACNC requirements, and other relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Strong proficiency with robust financial systems such as Xero,
• Experience managing grant funding, including preparing budgets for submissions, ensuring compliance with funding agreements, and delivering accurate and timely financial acquittals and reporting.
• Experience within not-for-profit, philanthropic, or purpose-led organisations highly regarded.

Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) supports the Australian climate movement to collaborate for greater impact to protect people at home and abroad from climate damage, to safeguard our natural environment, and to build a thriving world for everyone. 

We operate behind the scenes to drive strategic thinking and campaign collaboration between 172 member groups, including Greenpeace, Australia Youth Climate Coalition, The Wilderness Society, the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF, Oxfam, 350.org, Solar Citizens, First Nations-led groups, health and faith networks, trade unions, think tanks, community constituency groups, development and human rights organisations, and grassroots groups. We are a small team located in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and South East Queensland.

CANA is a flexible and family friendly workplace. We hire talented people and support them to play a vital part in ambitious climate action. 

We are an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to operating in a way that upholds justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). We value diverse knowledge and experiences, and encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability,  LGBTIQ+ people, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to apply for roles.

We offer:

• a flexible workplace with work from home and office options and flexible working hours including flexible public holidays;
• five weeks annual leave plus office shutdown between Christmas and New Year;
• an additional 10 days carers leave to support working parents and carers.
• generous leave to support your life outside of work including reproductive health leave, gender affirmation leave, and moving house leave;
• cultural and religious leave.

CANA acknowledges we work on unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. We pay our deep respects to Elders past and present.

For questions, contact Verity Appleby, ******@cana.net.au using the subject line: Finance Manager - Sydney / Melbourne / Work from Home enquiry via EthicalJobs.