Senior Project Accountant / Lead - Construction

Senior Project Accountant / Lead - Construction

Company: Crestline Search Location: Gosford & Central Coast NSW Work Type: Full-time Salary: $140,000 - $180,000 + Superannuation, dependent on experience Work Arrangement: Onsite

Crestline Search is seeking a Senior Project Accountant/Lead for a well-regarded, established business operating in complex industrial, engineering, and operational sectors.

In this role, you will serve as the financial leader for the project portfolio. Your responsibilities will include overseeing cost, margin, cash flow, and Work in Progress (WIP) performance. You will provide reliable reporting, forecasting, and commercial insights to senior leadership, while also managing and developing a small finance team. Collaboration with operations will be key to enhancing financial accountability, reinforcing cost-to-complete disciplines, and supporting improved project-level decision-making. This position is suited for an individual who is commercially strong, technically proficient, and experienced in project-based or contract-driven environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead project financial performance, forecasting, and margin integrity across a complex project portfolio.
• Manage WIP, cost-to-complete, revenue recognition, accruals, and project financial governance.
• Partner with operational leaders to review project costs, job costing, variations, claims, and commercial performance.
• Support commercial and bid pricing, including deviations, cost control, and project margin analysis.
• Prepare and deliver trusted performance reporting, forecasting, and commercial insights for senior leadership.
• Utilise BI tools to deliver clear, actionable project and financial dashboards.
• Strengthen financial governance, reporting disciplines, and project accounting processes across the business.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a small finance team.
• Support broader company-level financial performance within a multi-business group structure.

Skills & Experience:

• Qualified accountant (CA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).
• Proven project accounting or commercial finance experience in a project-based environment.
• Experience in engineering, construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial services, or a related sector is preferred.
• Strong technical knowledge of revenue recognition, Percentage of Completion, WIP, and contract accounting.
• Capability in cost-to-complete, forecasting, margin analysis, and project reporting.
• Commercially astute, adaptable, and comfortable working with senior stakeholders and operational leaders.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or developing finance team members.
• Experience using BI or reporting tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, or similar.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate financial information into practical commercial insight.

This role requires candidates to work onsite. Further details will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.

How to Apply:

If this opportunity aligns with your background and interests, please submit your CV along with a brief cover letter detailing your experience and interest in the role. Due to the anticipated volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Thank you for your interest and for taking the time to apply.