Financial Controller

Do you want to build a finance function that powers national growth, not maintain spreadsheets for an organisation that's already figured it out?

Contour has proven its product-market fit. What began as a scrappy startup is now a high-growth scale-up ranked on the AFR Fast 100 four years in a row (#8 in 2025), and our finance function will be central to how we grow, acquire, and scale in 2026 and beyond.

We need a Financial Controller who can run a tight ledger close, and Accounting guru who can get Contour audit ready and rebuild how finance works: someone who sees manual processes and actively process improves.

This isn’t a role for keeping the lights on. You’ll own the numbers, but you’ll also own the systems, automation and tools that produce them. If you’ve used AI and automation to cut close time, improve forecast accuracy or free your team for analysis, and you believe in taking a first principles approach to problem solving, we want to talk.

Your mandate: control, scale, and partner.

Who We Are

Contour was founded in 2020 by students who saw that the quality of your education was basically a lottery. Teachers stretched thin by the system, learning materials that varied from school to school, and support that stopped the moment you left the classroom.

We began with 5 students in a room. Today 15,000+ students have trusted Contour as their academic partners, and we've grown to 500+ team members across 10 campuses in Australia. In 2025 we ranked #8 on the AFR Fast 100 of fastest-growing companies.

We've produced hundreds of 99+ ATARs, tutored the world-record UCAT scorer, and placed 850+ students into medical and dental schools across Australia.

Contour is made up of three brands:

• Contour Education → academic performance in high school
• Contour MedPrep → entry into medical and dental schools
• Contour TestPrep → entry into selective and scholarship schools

Contour is built by students, for students.

What You Will Do

Reporting to the CFO, you will serve as the operational anchor of Contour's finance function, with direct management of the Finance Analysts and Junior Accountant.

Reporting & Control

• Own month-end and year-end close across all entities, to agreed timelines, and keep shortening them - generate the insights that drive SLT decision-making
• Produce executive reporting packs with clear variance commentary and a forward view, not just a backward one
• Lead audit preparation and keep us audit-ready year round, including intercompany reconciliation and group eliminations
• Keep internal controls and documentation strong across campuses and entities

Cashflow & Working Capital Management

• Own short and medium-term cashflow forecasts and track revenue, margin and cost by campus and entity
• Shorten debtor collection cycles and improve working capital
• Manage day-to-day banking relationships, including facility compliance and covenant reporting
• Raise material financial risks with the CFO early, with options attached

Multi-Entity Growth & Integration

• Lead the financial integration of new entities: chart of accounts alignment, system migration, reporting integration, and control implementation.
• Establish day-one finance readiness plans for newly established or restructured entities.
• Navigate ambiguity: make sound judgement calls on financial treatment and process design where precedent does not exist.

Systems, Automation & AI

• Redesign finance processes with automation first: bank feeds, reconciliations, accruals, intercompany, reporting
• Use AI tools to speed up the work that eats team time, such as variance commentary, transaction coding, document review and forecasting
• Build dashboards that give leaders self-serve access to the numbers they need
• Assess and recommend system investments (ERP, consolidation, BI) as we scale, and lead the rollout
• Work with our Tech team on data flows and integrations between finance and operational systems
• Write and maintain a Finance Operations Manual that keeps up with how the function actually works

Compliance

• Ensure compliance with AASB standards and all tax obligations, including income tax, GST, FBT and payroll tax

Growth readiness

• As we grow, lead the finance side of new or restructured entities: chart of accounts, systems, reporting and controls from day one
• Make sound calls on financial treatment and process design where there’s no precedent to follow

Team and partnering

• Coach and develop your team, and shift their time from processing to analysis
• Partner with People, Academic, Sales, Operations and Tech leaders so they understand and act on their numbers

What You Will Bring

• CA or CPA (or equivalent), with 7+ years in financial control, management accounting or senior finance, including 2+ years at controller level or equivalent
• A track record in a scale-up, high-growth, multi-site or service business
• Clear evidence you’ve automated or rebuilt finance processes. You can name what you changed, the tools you used and what it saved
• Hands-on use of AI tools in your finance work, and a view on where they help and where they don’t
• Strong budgeting, forecasting and scenario modelling, and the ability to turn numbers into operational decisions
• Comfort building structure where none exists, and making good calls with imperfect information
• High ownership: structured, disciplined in reporting upward, and you close loops without being chased

Great to have

• Multi-entity experience: integration, consolidation or standing up finance for a new entity
• Experience leading an ERP or BI implementation
• Data skills beyond Excel, such as SQL, Power BI or Python
• Education sector experience

Why You Will Love It

• Impact & Ownership: You will own the finance function below CFO level, with real influence over the financial decisions that shape Contour's national growth trajectory.
• Complexity Without Corporate Bureaucracy: Multi-entity, multi-campus, and actively expanding nationally, you'll work across the full spectrum of financial complexity without the red tape of a large corporate.
• A Seat at the Table: You will partner directly with the CFO and executive leadership team, translating financial performance into strategic decisions that matter.
• Growth Potential: Opportunity for career development as Contour scales into a national education group, with a finance function that grows with it.
• Flexible Environment: Hybrid-friendly, with on-site presence at our Melbourne campuses to connect with the team and operational leaders.
• Competitive Package: Attractive salary commensurate with experience, plus super, leave entitlements, EAP access, and lifestyle perks.

Ready to build a finance function that sustains something that lasts? If you want to bring financial precision and commercial rigour to a mission that genuinely matters, we want to hear from you.

How to Apply

Ready to make a real impact? Here is our application process:

1. Submit your application.
2. Shortlisted candidates will complete a video interview and a case-based assessment.
3. Suitable candidates will then be invited for a panel interview.