• Financial Services, Sunshine Coast Campus, Sippy Downs
• Attractive remuneration, commensurate with skills and experience, plus 17% employer superannuation
• Full-time, ongoing appointment

The Opportunity

As the Associate Director, Financial Operations, you'll lead a talented team at the heart of UniSC's Financial Services portfolio, working closely with the Chief Financial Officer to deliver modern, reliable, and customer focused financial services that support the University's success.

Financial Services provides strategic leadership across financial, commercial and procurement activities, supporting sound decision making, strategic investment and sustainable growth. In this role, you'll provide leadership and oversight of the University's financial operations, governance and finance systems, ensuring services are efficient, compliant and responsive to the needs of our community. You'll foster a high performing operating model while leading initiatives that strengthen governance, simplify processes, enhance the stakeholder experience, and make the most of emerging technologies and automation.

Working closely with the CFO, senior leaders and colleagues across the University, you'll be a trusted advisor on financial operations, governance, risk management and service transformation. You'll help shape the future of Financial Services while building strong partnerships, developing your team and driving a culture of continuous improvement and service excellence.

We value a balance between work flexibility and engaging with teams onsite, this role will be primarily office-based at our Sippy Downs campus in a 4:1 hybrid working model.

You will

• lead the University’s financial operations portfolio, ensuring strong governance, compliance, service excellence, and operational performance across key finance functions;
• drive strategic transformation initiatives that improve processes, strengthen controls, optimise systems, and enhance stakeholder experiences through innovation, automation, and emerging technologies;
• partner with senior leaders across the University to provide trusted advice on financial operations, risk, compliance, and service delivery, influencing decisions that support institutional priorities; and
• build and lead high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration, and customer-focused service.

About you

You are a contemporary finance leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence. You bring a strong track record of leading large-scale financial operations in complex environments and are energised by opportunities to improve systems, transform services, and influence organisational outcomes.

You are equally comfortable navigating governance and compliance requirements as you are building relationships, coaching teams, and driving innovation. With exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, you build trust quickly and provide confident, commercially astute advice at senior levels.

You will possess:

• Significant leadership experience in financial operations within a complex organisation.
• Demonstrated success leading business transformation, service improvement, and technology-enabled change initiatives.
• Expertise in financial operations, governance, compliance, and risk management.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence outcomes and provide trusted advice.
• Proven capability in leading, motivating, and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience designing and implementing policies, processes, systems, and operational improvements.
• Advanced knowledge of financial systems, digital technologies, and contemporary operational solutions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and a commitment to inclusive, ethical, and respectful workplace practices.

Don't meet every requirement? At UniSC, we understand that your work and life experiences can be just as valuable. If you're excited about this role but your CV doesn't align perfectly with our position description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or one of our many other opportunities.

UniSC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, including those with disabilities, women in STEM, First Nations Peoples, and individuals of diverse cultures, genders, abilities, and experiences. We value achievement relative to opportunity and encourage your commentary on your achievements in this context. For additional support during the application process, please contact us at unisc-careers@usc.edu.au [unisc-careers@usc.edu.au] or call +61 7 5430 2830.

Position description: Download File [https://static.pageuppeople.com/static/people/icons/icon_file_small.gif] 494084_Associate Director Financial Operations.pdf [https://secure.dc2.pageuppeople.com/apply/TransferRichTextFile.ashx?sData=UFUtVjMtUKXta5mtydvoSHoyTCks7jODw5oFT3FMx0hrrfZUpd7fBTUGTHprjoaiwyaQVSQbXccxHCb2spJoTK1k54iKzisSp0rEk056B5F5OtAgBCpt4VnkBOga7bWy_dZ2PEAObDSYec8jr1y1dyt_e5shBw%7e%7e]

UniSC values a diverse and talented workforce and invites applications from candidates who already have legal work rights in Australia.

UniSC does not accept unsolicited applications. For agency inquiries, contact unisc-careers@usc.edu.au [unisc-careers@usc.edu.au]

Applications for this position close midnight, Sunday 30 August 2026

Your completed application must include:

• a resume and a statement of suitability (not to exceed two pages), which will be reviewed in alignment to the specified selection criteria as outlined within the position description.

Further information regarding how to prepare your application is available on our website: Join our team [https://careers.usc.edu.au/join-our-team]

We would love the opportunity to get to know you better, but we know it works both ways. To get to know a little more about us, visit us at: Welcome to UniSC [https://www.usc.edu.au/about] and LinkedIn Life [https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-the-sunshine-coast/life/]

Have questions or want to know more? For a confidential discussion, please contact:

Sue Phillips Chief Financial Officer Telephone: 07 5430 1115 Email: cfo@usc.edu.au

Discover UniSC [https://www.usc.edu.au/about/careers-at-unisc/discover-unisc]

We’re all about doing work that matters, connecting with great people, and being part of an incredible journey. While we’re not the largest university, we are one of the fastest growing in Australia, now with over 2,000 staff across five campuses in South East Queensland and an expanding presence in major capital cities, and we’re making a big impact every day through ground-breaking research, a strong commitment to sustainability, high-performance sport, and award-winning alumni.

We are committed to delivering high-quality research and teaching that address major global and regional challenges, with established and emerging strengths in sustainability, environmental systems, biodiversity, aquaculture, preventative health and regional resilience. Our research excellence is internationally recognised through strong performance in global benchmarking, including leading rankings in the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings for “Zero Hunger,” “Climate Action” and “Life on Land.” UniSC is also recognised for its teaching excellence, with a strong emphasis on student success, innovative and engaging learning experiences, and strong graduate outcomes that equip learners to make meaningful contributions in their chosen fields. As the only university operating within three UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, UniSC is uniquely positioned to leverage its natural environment to advance impactful research, teaching and partnerships that support sustainable futures, with sustainability embedded across all aspects of our teaching, research and operations.

We foster a collaborative and supportive environment that encourages continuous professional development and provides the tools and resources to grow your career. We value the contributions of every team member and the role they play in our culture and success. We’re not afraid to do things differently, and we’re looking for people who share our values and want to be part of a team working together to make a meaningful difference to local and global challenges.

Our Culture [https://www.usc.edu.au/about/careers-at-unisc/our-culture] & Benefits:

• Our collaborative, passionate and welcoming culture is what really sets us apart.
• Modern teaching & research facilities.
• Professional development and career pathway opportunities.
• We are a proud recipient of the prestigious Athena SWAN Bronze Award, granted as part of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) [https://www.usc.edu.au/about/diversity-and-inclusion/gender-equity/sage-athena-swan] initiative.
• Flexible work arrangements & generous leave options.
• Salary packing options + 17% Super.
• EAP, fitness passport & discounted private health.