Northbourne Group is Australia's most experienced and versatile event, bar & catering management team with over 50 years of experience in the industry. Northbourne and its partners deliver enjoyable, compliant and profitable events of all sizes, ranging from boutique activations through to major music festivals. We are a small team specializing in delivering unique venues, events & festival catering solutions for our clients. The Northbourne team have delivered for some of the biggest and most creative events in Australia including Spilt Milk, Good Things, Falls Festival Victoria, Lost Paradise, Riverstage Brisbane, Knotfest Melbourne, ‘On The Steps’ Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Wahroonga Food & Wine Festival, Sydney World Pride and more.

What we offer:

Great career opportunity, experience across all areas of a small and agile business

Opportunity to be a meaningful contributor to a company in an exciting growth phase

Chance to create unforgettable event experiences

Role description

Reporting to the Finance & HR Manager, the Finance Associate leads finance operations by ensuring that financial processes, reporting and analysis are accurate, timely, and consistently applied. This role is hands-on, detail oriented, and thrives on process discipline - ensuring that budgets, reporting, and financial controls operate smoothly day to day.

The Finance Associate acts as the link between transaction finance functions and executive level reporting, maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and embedding the company’s Finance Control Systems in daily practice.

The Finance Associate is accountable for:

Finance Processes & Controls

Manage the day-to-day finance processes in line with the company’s Finance Control Systems

Oversee bookkeeping in Xero and ensure all transactions are accurate, coded, and reconciled

Ensure all payments and expenses are approved and tracked against budgets

Ensure compliance with ATO requirements, including GST reporting and related obligations

Budget and Reporting Support

Maintain budget data in company tools (primarily in Google Sheets)

Prepare timely project and event reports, including cost tracking and variance analysis

Provide data inputs to support executive and leadership decision making

Analysis & Commercial Support

Assist with data analysis, forecasting scenarios, and financial modelling using company tools

Maintain asset registers and associated documentation

Provide operations support during budget cycles, ensuring accurate and timely inputs

Event and Project Delivery

Participate in pre-event preparation and on-site finance delivery as required

Provide accurate, real-time financial data to project leads and Finance & HR Manager

Support event delivery with strong IT capability, assisting with POS, troubleshooting and reporting tools

Continuous Improvement

Identify opportunities to strengthen financial processes and recommend improvements

Embrace system changes and company growth and support training of new staff

Ensure consistent application of financial policies across the company

Candidate Profile

Excellent analytical and finance reporting skills

Understanding of the importance of process in achieving consistent and high-quality outcomes

Confident in using accounting software and financial systems

Advanced Excel and Google Sheet skills with a love of working with data

Exceptional attention to detail

Clear and effective communication skills, both written and verbal

Ability to work under pressure and maintain high standards

A passion for working in the music and events industry and an understanding of the unique hours required around event delivery

The ideal candidate is a finance professional who has a thorough understanding of the importance of process and budgets in delivering successful outcomes and is excited to be a part of a growing organisation

Qualifications

Tertiary qualifications in Finance / Data Management would be preferred

Experience

2+ years finance experience in an accounting / finance / business role

Experience in financial systems, analysis and modelling

Experience in music events or in hospitality is advantageous, however not mandatory

Tech/IT literacy highly regarded

Location

This is a hybrid role between our Melbourne-based office and work from home. The successful candidate will be expected to attend the Melbourne office three days per week. Some on-site attendance at events will be expected, including occasional interstate travel. Whilst the role offers some flexibility in hours, core availability during standard business hours is required.

Our team is at the heart of everything we do. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, & experiences. If you’ve got the skills and the right attitude, we’d love to hear from you.