At ECMS, we’re proud to be a not-for-profit community organisation that’s all about making a difference in the lives of children and families. With 75 kindergartens and early learning services across Melbourne, our team of 1100 dedicated people work together to create safe, joyful, and enriching experiences for 7,500 children every week.

Join ECMS as our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and help shape the future of early childhood education in Victoria. As a key member of the Executive Team, you will play a vital role in delivering strong, sustainable outcomes across our organisation by leading Finance, Property, Procurement, and IT. This is more than just a financial leadership role, it’s an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children, families, and communities across Victoria.

Your strategic insight and commercial acumen will guide the long-term financial sustainability of ECMS. You will drive innovation, lead organisational transformation, and enhance systems and operations.

As a trusted advisor to the CEO and the Board, you will lead a team of 8. If you're a purpose-driven leader ready to make a real difference, we invite you to bring your expertise to this critical role.

You will bring…

• A relevant advanced tertiary qualification within finance or accounting.
• Strategic finance and risk skills - A deep expertise in financial and risk management, with a proven ability to drive performance, manage capital structures, oversee governance frameworks, and lead large-scale transformation across finance and operations.
• Authentic, purpose-driven leadership – A people-centric leader who builds strong relationships across all levels of an organisation and brings out the best in others by recognising strengths, nurturing growth, and leading through influence.
• High emotional intelligence and communication skills – Sophisticated interpersonal and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex financial and technical information into clear, providing insights to a range of stakeholders, including non-finance audiences.
• Change and transformation expertise – Experience leading successful transformation in complex, highly regulated environments, with comfort navigating ambiguity and a nuanced understanding of change management principles.
• Strategic mindset and commercial acumen – Strong commercial insight and data-driven decision-making capability, able to quickly understand financial performance drivers and use insights to shape strategy and improve outcomes.
• A commitment to purpose and continuous learning – A genuine connection to, or desire to work in, the early childhood sector, paired with a mindset of reflection, growth, and continuous improvement—personally and professionally.

As a CFO you will …

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Finance, IT, Property, and Procurement, ensuring alignment with ECMS’s long-term goals and values.
• Drive financial sustainability and performance, overseeing budgets, forecasts, funding models, and financial strategies that support growth and compliance across our early learning services.
• Lead and empower high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement while supporting professional development and wellbeing.
• Deliver meaningful reporting and insights, providing clear, actionable performance reports and strategic analysis to the Board, Executive, and wider organisation.
• Oversee transformation and systems improvements, leading upgrades across financial and IT systems, while ensuring operational excellence and strong risk management.
• Build strong relationships and partnerships, engaging effectively with internal teams, government stakeholders, regulators, and external providers to advance ECMS’s mission and influence sector-wide outcomes.

Why ECMS?

• Competitive salary, phone, laptop, petrol reimbursement and private onsite parking.
• Flexibility in work arrangements, including hybrid options and visits to our services.
• We offer award winning professional development opportunities including unlimited access to online resources and 2% professional development budget, catered just to you.
• Generous benefits – 50% childcare discount, discounts to hundreds of major retailers and paid parental leave.
• We have a supportive and inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and appreciated – 87% of our team recommend ECMS as a great place to work!
• We're committed to making a positive impact in our communities – we’re a proud place based, for purpose, not for profit, who put people at the centre of our work.

Join us in shaping the future of early education!

ECMS promotes the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children. Successful applicants are required to adhere to our child safe practices, policies can be located on our website. Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people from diverse communities and backgrounds are encouraged.

If you're passionate about early childhood education and care, and you're looking for a rewarding career with a supportive and inclusive organisation, we encourage you to apply today!

Click Apply Now to submit your application.