Head of Government & PSU — Australia (CFO-level mandate)

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Government & Public Sector on a senior CFO leadership mandate anchored in Australia. The remit explicitly spans USA, India, Malaysia.

This is a sector or practice-head mandate combining deep domain credibility with commercial ownership of a vertical P&L or global practice line.

Expect a mandate where credibility is earned in rooms with customers and regulators, not only in headquarters workshops.

Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: ESG and sustainability reporting — as PSUs face investor scrutiny through listed entities and international lending requirements, sustainability leadership is increasingly critical
• Geographic spine: Primary hub Australia with explicit corridor responsibility across USA, India, Malaysia.
• Organisation stage: Growth agenda collides with legacy cost base; productivity and automation are board-level topics, not staff functions.
• Stakeholders: Owners may include PE operating partners, a promoter family office, or public-market investors — each with different tempo and KPIs.
• Secondary lens: DPE and government compensation constraints — attracting high-calibre professional leaders to PSU roles often requires creative structuring within the compensation guidelines

The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Performance management: Implement a single view of segment economics; kill vanity metrics that confuse the executive committee.
2. Tax & treasury: Optimise structure where legal and practical; ensure treasury policy matches operating reality in each hub.
3. M&A finance: Lead model quality, synergies discipline, and integration of finance teams on deals.
4. Digital finance: Sponsor ERP / EPM roadmap and management reporting automation — fewer spreadsheets, more decisions.
5. Enterprise risk partnership: Co-own conduct and operational risk themes where financial incentives drive behaviour.
6. Team capability: Hire or develop FP&A and business finance partners who can challenge GMs with data, not slides.

Responsibilities (representative)

• Build finance business partnering that GMs trust as thought partners, not scorekeepers only.
• Sponsor digital finance roadmap — close, planning, and management reporting on modern platforms.
• Co-own working capital programme with COO and sales — DSO, DPO, inventory as appropriate.
• Lead finance integration on acquisitions with clear Day-1 / Day-100 milestones.
• Align incentive design with cash and return metrics, not only accounting profit.

Leadership profile

• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Capital discipline: Examples of improving forecast accuracy, returns, or balance-sheet resilience in Government & Public Sector.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from Australia with regular engagement across USA, India.

Team & culture

The organisation runs hot — ambitious targets and thin buffers. You need to channel energy into sustainable rhythms: predictable planning, honest risk surfacing, and recovery time for teams after major pushes.

Success measures (examples)

• Value creation: EBITDA / cash trajectory vs. owner or board case — especially under stress scenarios.
• Execution: On-time delivery of named transformation milestones; reduction in repeat incidents or audit findings.
• Leadership: External hires and internal promotions that stick; reduction in key-person concentration.
• Innovation: Launched offers or capabilities that move the needle on differentiation, not pilots that stall.

First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Map cash, covenant, and customer concentration risks before announcing initiatives.
• Days 30–60: Align owners and board on a 12-month value story — financial and non-financial.
• Days 60–90: Launch two quick operational fixes that build credibility with frontline managers.
• Deep-dive on talent — who is load-bearing, who is blocking, where external hire is mandatory.
• Socialise a simple KPI tree so every function sees how their metrics roll up.

Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Executive committee, functional peers, shared services leads, and programme PMOs.
• External: Key suppliers, technology partners, and joint-venture boards where applicable.
• Board / owners: Expect deep dives on risk, liquidity, talent, and transformation — slides light, substance heavy.

Travel & mobility

Travel weighted to priority markets and quarterly global or regional forums; flexibility for crisis windows.

Compensation

Package aligned to CFO benchmarks in Government & Public Sector — typically fixed, variable, benefits, and mobility where applicable. Structure detailed at shortlist.

Application status

This mandate is no longer accepting new applications. The search progressed through Q4 2025 and closed for submissions in February 2026. We retain this posting for transparency on the type of leadership work we carry in Government & Public Sector and Australia. For similar active mandates, browse open roles or submit a general profile through executive search inquiry.

Reference: government-public-sector · CFO · Australia · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors