Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley | Kununurra, Western Australia

A significant financial leadership role in one of Australia's most remarkable regions

The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley is seeking an accomplished financial leader to join its Executive Leadership Team as Chief Financial Officer.

This is an opportunity for an experienced CFO or senior finance executive who wants more than a conventional finance role.

Based in Kununurra, you will help lead a financially significant and geographically complex organisation delivering essential services, major infrastructure and economic development initiatives across one of Australia's most remote and distinctive regions.

For the right person, this role offers the combination of executive influence, professional challenge and an exceptional regional lifestyle.

The Organisation

The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley is an ambitious regional local government with a strong focus on financial sustainability, community outcomes and responsible investment in the future of the East Kimberley.

Over the past three years, the Shire has secured more than $130 million in grant funding, creating a substantial pipeline of infrastructure and community investment.

Managing this growth while maintaining the Shire's underlying financial sustainability, asset base and core services requires sophisticated financial leadership.

The CFO will therefore play a central role in shaping the Shire's future — providing the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and Council with the financial analysis, advice and assurance required to make sound long-term decisions.

Our organisation is built around the values of Safety, Teamwork, Accountability, Communication and Respect, which underpin the way we work with our employees, Council and community.

The Opportunity

As Chief Financial Officer, you will be the Shire's senior financial adviser and a key member of the Executive Leadership Team.

You will lead the Shire's financial strategy and provide high-quality advice on:

• long-term financial sustainability and financial planning;
• complex operational and capital budgets;
• financial statements, statutory reporting and audit;
• major infrastructure and capital investment decisions;
• asset management and whole-of-life financial implications;
• commercial analysis and business cases;
• financial risk, governance and internal controls;
• funding strategies and major grant-funded projects; and
• improving financial systems, processes and organisational capability.

Your portfolio will encompass Strategic Accounting, Finance, Technology and Digital Services, and Business Services.

Importantly, this is not a role focused simply on reporting historical financial performance.

We are looking for a CFO who can look forward — translating financial information into strategic advice, identifying emerging risks and opportunities, challenging assumptions and helping Council and the Executive make better decisions.

You will build financial capability throughout the organisation so that finance operates as a genuine business partner to operational and strategic areas of the Shire.

About You

You will be an experienced CFO, senior finance executive or highly accomplished financial leader ready to step into a broader executive role.

You will bring strong technical financial capability together with commercial judgement, strategic thinking and the confidence to provide clear and independent advice.

You will ideally have demonstrated experience in:

• leading complex budgeting, forecasting and long-term financial planning;
• preparing or overseeing statutory financial statements and external audit processes;
• managing significant capital works and infrastructure budgets;
• assessing investment proposals and preparing robust business cases;
• strengthening financial controls, governance and organisational risk management;
• improving financial systems, reporting and business processes;
• advising Boards, Councils or senior executives on complex financial matters;
• developing high-performing finance teams; and
• operating as a trusted business partner across an organisation.

You will be CA or CPA qualified and bring substantial senior-level financial leadership experience.

Local government experience would be valuable, but it is not the only pathway to success. We are particularly interested in candidates who can bring strong financial disciplines, commercial thinking and executive capability to a complex regional operating environment.

Why the East Kimberley?

This role comes with something few metropolitan CFO positions can offer — the opportunity to build a rewarding executive career while living in one of Australia's most extraordinary landscapes.

Kununurra sits at the heart of the East Kimberley, with the Ord River, Lake Kununurra and Lake Argyle on its doorstep.

The region offers fishing, boating, camping, hiking and outdoor experiences that people travel across the world to enjoy.

But the attraction of the East Kimberley extends beyond lifestyle.

This is a region of significant opportunity, with major investment in infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and regional development. Working here provides the opportunity to see the direct impact of your decisions on communities, businesses and the future development of the region.

For a financial leader who enjoys responsibility, complexity and making a tangible difference, the East Kimberley provides a professional challenge that is difficult to replicate in a metropolitan organisation.

If you are looking for a role where your financial expertise will genuinely influence organisational strategy, investment decisions and the future of a region, we would like to hear from you.

This is an opportunity to combine serious financial leadership with an extraordinary place to live.

Join the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley and help build the financial foundations for the next chapter of the East Kimberley.

More information about the position and the requirements are in the Position Description on the Sire's Website.

Salary and Benefits

Working for SWEK means that in addition to the competitive annual salary range indicated at the top of this page, you may also enjoy a range of benefits including:

• Free housing
• Fully serviced vehicle for personal use
• 6 weeks annual leave
• 12% employer superannuation, with the Shire offering to match up to an additional 5% in co-contributions when the employee contributes an equivalent amount
• Salary packaging opportunities for motor vehicles, rent or mortgage interest expenses
• 11 public holidays with 2 additional 'Local Government Days' per year
• Flexible working arrangements
• Shire provided corporate uniforms
• Opportunities for professional development
• A variety of health and wellbeing programs including free membership to the Kununurra Leisure Centre and Wyndham Pool, free health assessments, mental health programs and Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) services

APPLY NOW!
If you are ready to be part of our diversely talented team and to build your future with an organisation that makes an impact, improves lives and inspires others please click the ‘Apply’ button at the bottom of this page or contact Vernon Lawrence our Chief Executive Officer on 08 •••• •100 for a confidential discussion.

Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Australia and will be required to provide evidence of this entitlement — acceptable evidence includes an Australian or New Zealand passport, birth certificate, or foreign passport with a relevant visa. Applicants will also be required to provide a National Police Clearance before the interview stage of the recruitment process.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley values inclusivity and promotes a workplace that actively seeks to welcome contributions from all people. We encourage people of all abilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, diverse cultures and backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTQIA+ and all age groups to apply.