Department: Finance & Treasury

Employment type: Max-term, 6‑months

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Number of direct reports: Nil

Location: 486 Albert Street, East Melbourne (Hybrid – 3 days in office)

CDF Overview:

Working with the Catholic Development Fund (CDF) you will be working with a values-based financial organisation that puts people and communities ahead of profit. You will see over time, through our projects, products, and priorities, that this is not just something we preach, it’s something we practice.

Being part of our team, you have the opportunity to build on work that has so far helped deliver billions of dollars in support of education, healthcare, social services and aged care. Your work will not only support the commitments and interests of our Archdiocese and our parishes but also the broader community, who benefit directly and indirectly from the services we build and support.

Role of the CDF and the CDF Community Fund:

The CDF serves the Church by:

- pooling the savings of Catholic organisations to meet the borrowing needs of Catholic organisations.
- providing transaction services to Catholic organisations (CDF Online, CDFpay, bank merchant facilities, TTs).
- hosting a core operating system (Ultracs) for itself and the wider Catholic development fund movement (CDF IT Bureau).
- to help build Christ centred, redemptive and transformative communities.

The CDF Community Fund serves the Church by:
- pooling the savings of lay Catholics to meet the borrowing needs of Catholic organisations.

Position Purpose: Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Finance Business Partner will act as a trusted advisor to the CDF Executive team, translating financial data into meaningful insights that support sound commercial and strategic decision making.

The key focus of this role is to build the “Build the 3 times Distribution growth plan” for CDF – developing the growth plan, revenue uplift plan, required spend and investment, and cost review to create savings and capacity to fund and deliver the plan.

This position is also accountable for Executive business partnering, budgeting and forecasting, management reporting and analysis, and business case development for the CDF and CDF Community Fund. The role connects the Finance & Treasury team with the Executive, ensuring financial considerations are embedded in operational and strategic planning.

Position Responsibilities:

Build the 3 Times Distribution Growth Plan (Key Focus)

- Lead development of the CDF growth plan over a 1-2-3 year horizon, incorporating the revenue uplift plan, required spend and investment, and cost review to create savings and capacity.
- Develop and maintain the uplift and optimisation template capturing initiative, revenue, investment required, and items for possible optimisation (cost and capacity relief) over the 1-2-3 year horizon.
- Facilitate Leadership Team alignment on the template and the data to be captured.
- Coordinate Senior Leaders and the Leadership Team in compiling and ranking uplift and optimisation initiatives by importance and impact.
- Coordinate the assignment of initiative leads and data capture responsibilities, and monitor completion of templates against agreed dates.
- Conduct cost reviews to identify savings and capacity relief opportunities that support funding and delivery of the growth plan.




- Assist with development of the ECL framework and provision scenarios (including assumptions) for incorporation into the 1-2-3 year trajectory.
- Support Leadership Team alignment on “The Deal” it proposes to take forward, and the networking of the 1-2-3 year horizon and The Deal to key stakeholders for early alignment, adjusting where required.
- Prepare materials supporting the CFO’s presentation of the 1-2-3 year horizon and The Deal to the Finance Committee for approval.
- Incorporate growth plan and optimisation metrics into the performance dashboard and report progress on an ongoing basis.

Executive Business Partnering

- Act as the primary finance contact for the CDF Executive team, providing support, advice and challenge on financial performance, plans and strategic initiatives.
- Partner with each Executive team member on their departmental budgets, providing regular performance updates, variance analysis and recommended corrective actions.
- Provide targeted financial analysis and commercial insights to support Executive decisions on products, pricing and operations.
- Build strong working relationships with the Executive to embed financial awareness and accountability in decision making.
- Attend Executive meetings as required to present financial insights and support strategic discussions.

Budgeting & Forecasting

- Coordinate and support preparation of the annual CDF budget in partnership with budget owners.
- Assist with maintenance of CDF & Community Fund budget and forecast models, ensuring assumptions and financial projections are up to date.
- Prepare periodic reforecasts and scenario analysis to inform management decision making.

Management Reporting & Analysis

- Prepare monthly management reports with clear commentary, insights and recommendations for the Executive and governance committees.
- Analyse operating costs and identify trends, risks and opportunities for further review and action.
- Develop and maintain KPI dashboards and performance reporting for the Executive team and their departments.
- Continuously improve the presentation of management information so it is succinct, timely and effective.

Business Cases & Projects

- Prepare and review financial modelling and analysis supporting business cases for strategic initiatives and capital expenditure.
- Support post-implementation reviews of projects, measuring outcomes against approved business cases.
- Assist the CFO with management and coordination of ad hoc projects across CDF and within the Finance & Treasury team.

General

- Assistance with CDF Annual Financial Information Survey Statistics.
- Investigate and propose improvements to reporting systems and processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of financial reporting.
- BCP/DRP BIAs for processes.
- Ad hoc duties as requested.

Position Requirements:

Key Competencies

- Integrating – Integrating and linking various data into a coherent whole,



formulating alternatives and transforming this information and alternatives into a valuable and correct conclusion.
- Organising – Translating strategy into specific, measurable objectives, drawing up transparent plans, using the right resources and taking the necessary steps to avoid or overcome possible future obstacles.
- Problem Solving – Responding to and controlling unexpected situations by evaluating possible solutions based on experience and knowledge and by taking the initiative to implement the best solution.
- Adopting a Customer-Oriented Attitude – Guiding clients by giving targeted advice in their decision process. Always putting clients first by providing a personal service and by maintaining constructive contacts.
- Achieving Objectives – Generating results by assuming responsibility for one's performance and the correctness of one's interventions, recognising opportunities and acting efficiently, at the appropriate moment and within the given deadlines.
- Engaging – Fully dedicating oneself to one's work by always giving the best of oneself and by striving for quality. Showing perseverance even when confronted with frustration, opposition, pressure or the need for attention to detail.

Skills & Experience

1. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present financial information clearly and persuasively at Executive level;
2. Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships and work collaboratively with senior leaders and Executive stakeholders;
3. Robust financial modelling, budgeting and forecasting skills;
4. Demonstrated experience in business case development and financial analysis to support decision making;
5. Sound commercial acumen with a continuous improvement mindset.

Education/qualification

Essential

1. CA or CPA qualified (or near completion);
2. Relevant undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications in finance, accounting or commerce;
3. Previous experience in a management accounting, financial analysis or business partnering role;
4. Well developed analytical and reporting skills.

Desirable
1. Previous experience in a financial institution;
2. Previous experience in a Catholic Church organisation.

Key Stakeholders

Internal

- Chief Financial Officer
- CDF Executive team (CEO and General Managers)
- CDF product and relationship teams
- Finance & Treasury team
- Board and its committees

External

- Archdiocese of Melbourne, Diocese of Bunbury and Diocese of Sale (Owners)
- Regulatory bodies
- Internal auditors (RSM)
- External auditors (Deloitte)
- Other CDFs (across Australia)
- Ultradata

CDF's Employee Values:

CDF is the trusted financial services partner empowering Catholic organisations and communities to build, serve and grow

Our values are at the heart of our organisations and everything we do. They keep us accountable and on track to deliver. These values are:

- Stewardship: Carefully managing all that is entrusted to us, honouring our obligation to sustain and nurture what has been placed in our care.
- Compassion: Extending care, empathy, and understanding to all, recognising the inherent dignity in every individual.
- Integrity: Committing to honest, truthful and ethical conduct in all our interactions and decision making.
- Excellence: Striving for the highest standards in all we do, continuously improving our services to better fulfill our mission .

📌 Finance Business Partner (Melbourne)
🏢 Catholic Development Fund (Cdf)
📍 Melbourne