Job Description

Location: Sydney CBD

Salary: $250 - 275k package - Hybrid 

Role Benefit: Genuine Deputy CFO - own finance end-to-end and free up 50% of CFO's time for strategic priorities. Purpose-driven mission - financial decisions directly impact insurance affordability for Australian families. High-calibre environment without the grind - quality over volume, flexibility with genuine work-life balance

Role Overview
Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer of this specialised insurer managing risk across Australia, the Head of Finance will serve as the CFO's trusted deputy and primary 2IC. This is a rare opportunity to own the finance function end-to-end while gaining strategic exposure that positions you for CFO progression within 3-5 years.
This organisation has scaled rapidly over the past few years, and now requires more maturity and experience in best in class finance leadership. The CFO requires a capable Head of Finance who can autonomously lead day-to-day finance operations, enabling 50% CFO time reallocation to board engagement, investment strategy, and executive partnership. You'll inherit a technically competent team that would value and appreciate development into more strategic business partner, and you'll be the leader who drives that shift.
With institutional investor visibility and high-stakes policy impact, every financial decision matters. You'll manage complex reinsurance flows, statutory guarantee mechanics, banking covenants, and investment portfolios, whilst working with sophisticated stakeholders. This isn't high-volume transactional finance; it's low-volume, high-consequence strategic finance where the quality of your thinking determines organisational success.

Responsibilities
Financial Control & Leadership: Own end-to-end finance operations autonomously- month-end close, financial reporting, audit coordination, covenant management
Investment Strategy Transformation: Lead investment strategy evolution from conservative term deposits to sophisticated approach matching organisational scale; manage liquidity, capital allocation, and treasury decisions within unique government reinsurer risk profile
Team Development & Culture Transformation: Shift finance team culture, build engagement, drive accountability, establish finance as the organisational tone-setter through budget discipline and forecasting authority
Board & Stakeholder Engagement: Draft board papers, support Audit Committee processes, develop board-ready presence and contribute strategically as capability grows
Strategic Infrastructure Planning: Assess finance systems and processes with 5-10 year lens; lead climate disclosure implementation, banking services procurement, and Investment Management Policy development
Operational Finance Excellence: Lead annual budgets and forecasts, support year-end close, oversee AASB 17 accounting policy development and board approval
Workforce & Capability Planning: Partner with CFO on finance team workforce planning; assess capability gaps, develop talent, build succession strength across a small finance function
Business Partnership: Engage cross-functionally with actuarial, legal, co-sec, and internal audit teams; provide commercial insights that support data analytics transformation and pricing refinement initiatives

Candidate Profile
You are a CA/CPA qualified finance leader with genuine deputy CFO calibre, with a very strong finance and accounting background. You bring core finance pedigree across the full finance spectrum and can autonomously own a finance function without over-consulting. You're comfortable with accountability weight, make confident decisions within delegation, and can "connect the dots" across complex financial flows including claims, investments, and operational transactions. Banking or broader Financial Services background is ideal; insurance or reinsurance experience is valuable but not critical. Audit background brings valuable controls mindset.
Your leadership style is calm and measured, you absorb commercial and emotional intensity without reacting, and you set organisational tone through budget discipline and forecasting rigour. You demonstrate board-ready presence with excellent written communication capable of drafting papers scrutinised at highest levels. You're purpose-driven over compensation-driven, energised by community impact where financial decisions affect real Australian families rather than just shareholder returns.

The Organisation
This purpose-driven organisation plays a critical role in managing risk pools that directly affect community resilience across Australia. Operating with statutory backing while maintaining commercial speed and sophistication, it serves a unique position in the Australian insurance ecosystem.
Following rapid growth, the organisation is deliberately transitioning from flat, fast, directive culture to sustainable operations with appropriate structure. The finance team sits within a broader CFO portfolio including actuarial, legal, co-sec, and internal audit, providing exposure to enterprise-wide thinking. The Executive Leadership Team combines deep technical expertise with mission-driven focus, creating an environment where calibre is high but pressure is balanced. The work demands precision and strategic thinking over speed and volume, attracting finance professionals who value impact over transaction count.

Apply
If this sounds like you, please send your resume by clicking the “apply” link below. The reference number for this role is RMHOF67644