Director – Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)- Abt Australia

The Opportunity

The Director – Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) reports to the Vice President – Finance (US) and provides strategic financial leadership for Abt Australia’s planning, forecasting, and portfolio performance. The role operates as a key member of the Finance leadership team, with a matrix line and primary working relationship with the Vice President – Program Delivery.

The role is responsible for delivering high‑quality financial planning, forecasting, performance insight, and decision support across Abt Australia’s portfolio of programs. It plays a critical role in enabling strong financial stewardship, program sustainability, and informed executive decision‑making. The role owns Abt Australia’s FP&A operating model (planning, forecasting, performance management, and decision support), ensuring a single source of truth for financial outlook, risks, and performance drivers.

The role is accountable for FP&A and for reporting commercial finance outcomes across the portfolio, including financial performance, forecast integrity, and pricing strategy, in partnership with the Finance Director – AU & UK.esponsible for delivering high‑quality financial planning, forecasting, performance insight, and decision support across Abt Australia’s portfolio of programs. It plays a critical role in enabling strong financial stewardship, program sustainability, and informed executive decision‑making. The role owns Abt Australia’s FP&A operating model (planning, forecasting, performance management, and decision support), ensuring a single source of truth for financial outlook, risks, and performance drivers.

The role is accountable for FP&A and for reporting commercial finance outcomes across the portfolio, including financial performance, forecast integrity, and pricing strategy, in partnership with the Finance Director – AU & UK.

Core Responsibilities

Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Lead and continuously improve Abt Australia’s strategic planning, budgeting, rolling forecasting, and monthly performance reporting processes.
• Run an integrated planning cadence: annual budget, rolling forecast (monthly), quarterly outlook, and five‑year plan aligned to pipeline assumptions and delivery capacity.
• Own the annual budget, quarterly forecasting and five‑year financial planning processes, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy, pipeline assumptions, and delivery capacity.
• Accountable for the integrity, accuracy, and delivery of financial forecasts and plans.
• Develop and maintain program life‑of‑project financial models and rolling forecasts to provide a long‑term view of program performance, funding sustainability, and profitability.
• Provide strategic financial leadership and insight to the VP – Finance and VP – Program Delivery, ensuring Finance strategies and solutions are aligned with business priorities.

Strategic Financial Analysis & Decision Support

• Deliver timely, high‑quality financial analysis and insight to support strategic and operational decision‑making across the business.
• Develop and refine tender cost models, pricing methodologies, and financial approaches for new opportunities, ensuring competitiveness while managing financial risk.
• Lead financial input into tender pricing, and scenario modelling, including models, assumptions, contingencies, sensitivity and risk analysis, ensuring pricing competitiveness and policy compliance prior to submission.
• Own pricing frameworks and financial risk assessment for tenders and new business opportunities.
• Lead response to complex stakeholder requests, ensuring alignment to commercial and financial strategy.

Program & Lifecycle Financial Management

• Provide FP&A oversight across the full lifecycle of programs and projects, from bid and mobilisation through delivery and closeout, including monitoring performance, identifying risks, and influencing corrective actions.
• Provide strategic financial insight and direction to program teams on: 
  • Cost drivers and forecast movements
  • Funding utilisation and burn rates
  • Long‑term financial sustainability and margin performance
• Provide strategic financial insight to executive stakeholders where program performance deviates from plan.
• Monitor contract lifecycle financial performance, including burn rates, cost to complete, and margin thresholds, and proactively identify, escalate, and support response actions to address emerging risks and variances across the program lifecycle.

Executive, Governance & Stakeholder Reporting

• Lead development and presentation of financial performance insights for: 
  • Abt Australia Senior Leadership Team
  • Monthly USG Operating Review meetings
  • Executive and governance forums as required
• Lead financial performance discussions at senior leadership and governance forums, including forward-looking risks, trade-offs, and required actions.
• Ensure reporting is focused on performance drivers, risks, opportunities, and forward‑looking implications, not just historical results.
• Ensure reporting is decision‑oriented, with variance bridges to key drivers and agreed management actions (owner and due date), not just historical results.
• Own key FP&A definitions, assumptions and reconciliations between management reporting and corporate reporting.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and develop a high‑performing FP&A team (one direct report), providing coaching, guidance, and clear direction.
• Lead and scale FP&A capability across the organisation, including standardisation, automation, and uplift in financial literacy and accountability.
• Articulate a strong vision for the FP&A function and align team objectives, behaviours, and outputs to Abt’s strategic priorities.
• Scale FP&A impact through standardised models/templates, automation, and capability uplift on financial drivers and accountability.

• Provide strategic financial leadership and guidance to in‑country program teams and Brisbane‑based leadership (Contractor Representatives, Division (OH Dept) Leads, Operations Directors), including life‑of‑program financial performance insights.

   

Financial Performance & Strategy

• Drive portfolio financial performance, including margin, cost management, and long-term sustainability.
• Influence investment decisions, portfolio composition, and growth strategy through financial modelling and scenario analysis.

What We Value

Essential

• Demonstrated experience in Financial Planning & Analysis, financial management, or commercial finance roles, including operating in a senior finance leadership role within a complex, matrixed or international environment.
• Strong experience in budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, and financial modelling within complex organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with senior executives and influence decision‑making through insight.
• Proven experience leading and developing finance professionals.
• CPA or CA qualification (highly desirable).
• Demonstrated experience leading financial planning and performance management at organisational or portfolio level.
• Demonstrated ability to influence executive leadership and drive strategic and commercial decision-making.
• Experience leading pricing strategy, commercial modelling, and financial risk assessment for complex programs or portfolios.
• Bachelor’s Degree Fifteen years of relevant experience, or Master’s Degree Twelve years of relevant experience.
• Working rights in Australia, with no visa sponsorship required.

Desirable

• Experience with large, complex programs or projects, ideally in a government contracting or donor‑funded environment.
• Prior exposure to DFAT or similar government clients.
• Experience supporting business growth, tendering, and pricing activities.
• Understanding of customer funding cycles, public–private partnerships, and donor compliance environments.

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