The posting
About Vanguard
More than 50 years ago, John C. Bogle had a vision to start an investment company that did things differently. A company with no external shareholders. Where all the profits were invested back into the business and used to lower costs. Evidently, it was as bold as it was brilliant. To this day, Vanguard Group still has no external shareholders. That means no share prices to protect, and no profits to generate for outside owners.
Today, Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies, serving more than 50 million investors worldwide. For more than 30 years Vanguard Australia has been supporting individual investors, financial advisers, and superannuation members to achieve their long-term financial goals.
Team and Opportunity
The newly created role of Head of Fund and Regulatory Reporting holds end-to-end accountability for Vanguard Super fund financial reporting and key regulatory reporting obligations for Vanguard Australia across APRA, ASIC, sustainability and indirect costs. This role will set the direction for the function, establish clear priorities and take responsibility for delivering high-quality, timely and well-governed outcomes. It will lead work across organisational boundaries, make decisions in complex and evolving circumstances, and ensure regulatory and financial reporting commitments are driven through to successful completion.
Success in this role requires more than technical expertise. The successful candidate will take personal accountability for outcomes, establish clear direction and drive priorities through to completion. They will proactively identify and resolve obstacles, make sound decisions in complex or ambiguous situations and bring together stakeholders across the organisation to deliver sustainable, well-governed results.
Core capabilities and skills:
- Demonstrated ability to take accountability for significant business and regulatory outcomes, translating strategic priorities into clear plans and driving delivery through to completion.
- Strong execution leadership, with the ability to create momentum, resolve obstacles and maintain accountability across multiple teams and stakeholders.
- Confident judgement and decision-making in complex, high-risk or ambiguous situations, with the ability to balance regulatory, operational and commercial considerations.
- A proactive leadership style that anticipates issues, intervenes early and ensures risks, dependencies and delivery commitments are actively managed.
- Deep regulatory and fund reporting expertise across super, APRA, ASIC, financial statements and emerging sustainability reporting;
- Strong ability to interpret complex regulatory requirements and translate them into controlled and well governed processes that are scalable for new and emerging requirements;
- Fund financial statements experience, including the ability to understand all finance aspects for a super fund and how changes in the business impact Finance operations;
- Financial Services experience, with investment and super knowledge highly desirable;
- Drive the development and implementation of continual improvements across people, process and technology, including leveraging the latest technology and data programs.
Key Qualifications and Experience
To be successful in this role, you'll bring:
- Proven experience leading or overseeing the preparation of fund financial statements, ideally within superannuation, managed funds or another highly regulated financial services environment.
- Experience leading cross-functional initiatives where successful delivery depended on influence, alignment and accountability beyond the candidate’s immediate team.
- Strong financial and regulatory reporting capability including Experience interpreting regulatory requirements and translating them into business outcomes.
- Expertise preparing, reviewing or overseeing external reporting deliverables.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Experience as a people leader, developing and guiding a team.
- The ability to lead projects, workstreams and regulatory change initiatives to meet deadlines in a timely and thorough manner
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex technical concepts for a broad audience.
Additional Experience That Will Set You Apart
We're particularly interested in candidates who bring experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Financial reporting and finance operations.
- Sustainability reporting, including climate and broader ESG disclosure frameworks.
- APRA reporting.
- Superannuation and/or managed funds.
- Reporting technology, automation, AI or data analytics solutions.
- Industry representation, consultation responses or participation in industry forums.
- CA or CPA qualifications.
Inclusion Statement
Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.”
We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values.
When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard’s core purpose.
Vanguard Australia is proud to hold the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation, awarded by WGEA, recognising our strong commitment to gender equality and our dedication to inclusive policies, gender balanced outcomes and a safe, respectful workplace.
Our core purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.
How We Work
Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.
