Description
Do you want to use your financial expertise to architect growth, not just report on it?
At Contour, we’ve proven a product–market fit. What began as a scrappy startup has rapidly evolved into a high-growth scale-up, fuelled by a product that works and a mission that matters. We are now entering our next chapter: building a national (and future international) education group with the financial discipline, systems, and leadership to match our ambition.
To do that, we’re seeking a Chief Financial Officer who is a strategic operator, not a passive custodian of the numbers.
This role is for a CFO who acts as a commercial architect and strategic co-pilot to the founders, someone who brings rigour, pace, and clarity, and who is comfortable making hard calls, challenging assumptions, and driving outcomes across the business.
You will inherit a capable finance team and a largely manual finance environment. Your mandate is clear: professionalise, automate, and scale the finance function into a high-performance engine capable of supporting multi-entity, multi-brand, and eventually multi-national operations.
From capital strategy and ERP implementation to pricing architecture and unit economics, you will hold the financial levers of sustainable growth.
Who We Are
At Contour, we’re reshaping education, one student at a time.
Born from the frustration of students who knew the system could be better, we set out to build what we once wished existed: tutoring that actually works. Not generic classes. Not recycled notes. Not overpriced, overcrowded rooms with an out-of-touch teacher who couldn’t relate. But a complete ecosystem of tutoring, resources, and support, meticulously designed to help every student reach their full potential.
Since 2020, over 10,000+ students have trusted Contour to guide their academic journey, and we’ve grown to over 300+ team members. We’ve produced hundreds of 99+ ATARs, tutored the World-Record UCAT scorer, and placed more students into medical school than any school in Australia. In 2025, we ranked #8 on the AFR Fast 100 (making the AFR lists for the fourth year running).
Our growth is a testament to the simple philosophy: Put the student first, always. Everything we design, from our world-class tutor-training programs to our purpose-built campuses, exists to help students master content faster, perform with confidence, and even rekindle the joy of learning.
Contour is a group of three brands united by one goal: to give every student the best chance to achieve their full potential:
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Contour Education: Reshaping how students master their high school subjects with small-group tutoring, structured resources, and 1-on-1 support across Maths, Science, and English.
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Contour Medprep: Reshaping medical preparation with a proven, step-by-step pathway through the UCAT, interviews, and admissions, led by a team of 100+ medical students.
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Contour TestPrep: Reshaping test preparation, starting with the selective entry exam, through rigorous tutoring, mock exams, and data-driven feedback to give students a decisive advantage.
This is Contour. Built by students, for students.
What You'll Do
Reporting directly to the founders, you will operate as a senior executive and strategic decision-maker.
Strategic & Financial Leadership
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Be the Strategic Co-Pilot: Translate vision into executable financial roadmaps. Build and own models for expansion, campus ROI, subject profitability, and unit economics. Tell the business where to grow, not just what it costs.
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Enterprise Business Partnering: Act as a trusted, direct advisor to the founders and leadership team. Support workforce planning and ensure every department - from Marketing to Academics - understands the financial impact of their decisions.
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Growth Decisioning: Provide clear recommendations on where to invest, where to pause, and where to exit, grounded in data, not sentiment.
Scaling & Systems
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Professionalise & Scale Finance: Inherit, mentor, and expand a team of 5+. Lift capability, accountability, and pace. Transition from manual Xero-led processes to a fit-for-scale ERP (e.g., NetSuite, Dynamics) built for multi-entity scale.
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Single Source of Truth (BI & Data): Bridge marketing data (CAC, LTV) with financial reality. Integrate enrolment, workforce, and financial data to build dashboards that give leadership real-time visibility beyond month-end reporting.
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Process & Control: Design systems that move fast without breaking - disciplined, compliant, and scalable.
Commercial Execution
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Pricing & Margin Architecture: Own pricing and billing strategy across all three brands. Optimise margin drivers (class sizes vs. wages, tutor utilisation, delivery models) to prioritise profitable growth while protecting student outcomes.
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Capital Strategy & M&A: Lead debt and equity capital raising strategies to fuel expansion. Evaluate acquisitions and partnerships with rigorous commercial and financial diligence.
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Procurement & Negotiation: Personally lead high-value negotiations, national campus leases, and enterprise vendors. Consolidate spend and optimise lease terms to ensure maximum value.
Governance & Stewardship
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Governance, Legal & Risk: Implement "big-firm" standards for audit readiness and compliance. Oversee external counsel, contracts, IP, and insurance - maintaining rigorous governance without creating bureaucracy or stifling speed.
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Financial Stewardship: Own cash flow, forecasting, and cost control. Instil a culture of financial discipline where every dollar spent drives ROI and accountability sits with leaders, not just Finance.
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Incentive Architecture: Design and administer future ESOP and incentive structures to attract and retain top-tier talent aligned to long-term value creation.
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A Proven Scale-Up CFO: 8+ years in senior finance leadership (CFO/SVP/VP/Head of Finance) with a CA/CPA/CFA. You have traversed the gap between Big Firms and Scale-Ups, and know how to build world-class infrastructure in a scrappy, high-growth environment.
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A Strategic Co-Pilot: You don’t wait for consensus; you form a view and act. You translate data into strategic narratives, acting as a sounding board to founders to ensure the business grows smart, not just fast.
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A Player-Coach: You lead from the front. You have a history of recruiting and mentoring high-performance teams, elevating them from operational processors into a strategic function.
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Commercially Hard-Edged: More than a number-cruncher, you possess deep experience in capital raising, deal execution, pricing strategy, and high-stakes negotiation.
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A Systems Architect: You have executed migrations from SME systems to fit-for-scale ERPs (e.g. NetSuite/Dynamics) and built "Single Source of Truth" dashboards. You are comfortable with a modern tech stack (Xero/Stripe/HubSpot).
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A Pragmatic Guardian: You manage legal, compliance, and Board obligations with a straight back. You ensure governance scales with revenue, without becoming a "Department of No" or a bottleneck to innovation.
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Direct & Candid Communicator: You are factual, clear, and comfortable being blunt when required. You manage up effectively and expect the same transparency from your team.
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High Ownership Mentality: You operate like an owner, equally comfortable presenting to investors in boardrooms and rolling up your sleeves to fix payroll execution issues.
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Mission-Driven: You understand that we are an education company first. You align financial decisions to enable better student outcomes, not just constrain costs.
Bonus: Experience in education, technology, multi-site operations, or international expansion.
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High Impact: You are the architect of our national expansion. Your financial roadmap will directly impact thousands of students and families.
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Ownership & Autonomy: No corporate bureaucracy. You will have direct collaboration with the founders and the autonomy to build the finance function your way.
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Value Creation: A pivotal time to join. You will lead us through major capital events with the opportunity to design and participate in significant upside via ESOP.
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Competitive Package: We offer a competitive salary for top-tier talent and a flexible, hybrid environment where we value output, not hours at a desk. Our supportive benefits include an EAP, birthday/loyalty leave, and lifestyle allowances.
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A Vision to Believe In: We’re ambitious, passionate, and on a mission to reshape education in Australia (and beyond). Our goal is for Contour to become the most trusted name in tutoring nationwide.
Ready to use your financial expertise for something bigger than the bottom line? If you want to turn commercial strategy into meaningful impact for students across Australia, we want to hear from you.
For a confidential discussion about the role, you can connect with our General Manager, Experience - Paul Smith by clicking this link to book a time.
Agency support is not required at this time.
