About us
The establishment of the St George Illawarra Dragons ahead of the 1999 season guaranteed that two of rugby league's grandest areas - where St George's history met Illawarra's breeding ground - would be represented in the game's elite competition. As we move forward, the Dragons continue to celebrate the rich history and traditions set out by the founding clubs and ensure that the propagation of both the men's and women's games, as an inaugural NRLW club, remain at the forefront of the Dragons' DNA. The Dragons’ headquarters are based over two main locations, comprising of a football training facility at WIN Stadium in Wollongong and administration offices at St George Leagues Club in Kogarah, before plans to combine both offices in late 2025 in a brand-new state-of-the-art Community and High Performance Centre (CHPC) based at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus.
About you
We are seeking a candidate who has excellent leadership and team management skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire cross-functional teams to achieve common goals. Industry knowledge would be an added bonus but more than that we are looking for a people person who is a hands-on team player, eager to contribute to process improvement and work and grow with the Club.
The ideal candidate will:
- Be qualified or is becoming a Qualified Accountant - CA or CPA preferred.
- Have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Accounting.
- Have a minimum 5 years’ experience in a similar role or relevant Financial experience ideally in a sports environment.
- Have strong accounting and financial knowledge.
- Have sound Microsoft Office, Word, PowerPoint and Excel skills.
- Have Financial Modelling, analytical, presentation, organisational, planning and time management skills.
- Be a strong and confident communicator (oral and written).
- Be adept at time management, multi-tasking and working to tight timelines.
- Be flexible and accommodating in a changing environment.
- Have Xero knowledge (advantage).
- Have a high level of integrity.
- Be generally passionate about sport in particular rugby league.
The Role
As the Finance Manager, you will report directly to the COO/CFO and play a critical role in overseeing the financial aspects of the Club. You will not only manage the day-to-day running of the Finance function ensuring compliance with all accounting standards, laws and regulations, provide analytical and commercial support to the COO/CFO and senior management as required but also help streamline processes and generate new systems to support the Club.
Your key responsibilities:
- Review of weekly receivables and payables.
- Month end reconciliations and monthly management reports preparation.
- Preparation of year end accounts and leading the audit process.
- Preparation of BAS returns.
- Preparation of monthly/yearly NRL Reporting.
- Preparation of Budget and Reforecast templates.
- Consultation/liaison with the various departments on finance issues.
- Complete, or review as appropriate, all postings to GL - ownership of integrity of GL.
- Review and provide all regular periodic financial reporting required for COO/CFO and senior management.
- Design and maintain reporting tools and utilise for adhoc analysis.
- Completion and submission of ABS surveys.
- Act as back-up payroll processing when Payroll Officer is unavailable.
- Ongoing review of systems and processes used across the finance function, identifying deficiencies and implementing improvements where possible.
- Ensure compliance with established Club policies and procedures at all times.
- Promote a fun, collaborative, and productive working environment.
- Undertake staff reviews as required and within established timeframes.
Leadership
- Provide regular, timely and clear feedback to Assistant Accountant and Accounts Payable/Medical Officer.
- Lead, mentor, coach and develop all Finance Team members.
- Foster a positive and high achieving culture that embraces continual change.
- Create a workplace environment that encourages problem solving, process improvement and stretch goals.
- Ensure that all staff members are well motivated, engaged and developed.
At the Dragons we promote a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourage applications from those who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, Veterans, with Disability, and those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.