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Accounting Services Lead

General Information

Date Published
27-Apr-2026
Advertising Ends
27-May-2026
ID#
15519
Role Type
Accounting & Commercial
Work Type
Permanent Full-Time
Workplace Type
Hybrid
Country
Australia
Location
Melbourne & Southern Victoria

Position Description

About Lactalis-Mainland Dairy

Mainland Dairy, the business formerly known as Fonterra’s global Consumer and associated businesses, is now part of the Lactalis Group and known as Lactalis-Mainland Dairy. 

Lactalis is a French family-owned business founded in Laval in 1933. Today, it is the world’s leading dairy group, present in 50 countries employing around 85,500 people. It is home to some of the world’s best known global and international dairy brands, including Président, Galbani and Parmalat, and local brands including Pauls, OAK, and Cracker Barrel in Australia.  

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy is a team of more than 4,300 employees, operating 16 manufacturing sites across Oceania, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. We make well-loved brands including Perfect Italiano, Mainland, and Western Star. 

Our passionate and talented team is committed to nurturing the future, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food.   

The Opportunity

Reporting to the General Manager – Financial Reporting, the Accounting Services Lead is accountable for the delivery, governance and continuous improvement of Mainland’s global accounting processes delivered through third party service providers.

This role provides technical accounting leadership across a specialist sub function, ensuring accurate, compliant and timely financial outcomes, while partnering closely with internal stakeholders and outsourced providers across Mainland’s markets.

In this role, you will:

  • Act as the custodian of global accounting processes delivered by third party partners 
  • Oversee end to end execution of accounting activities including general ledger oversight and month end and year end close 
  • Establish, monitor and drive performance against agreed service levels, quality standards and KPIs 
  • Lead resolution of complex accounting issues, balances and discrepancies through strong problem solving and systems thinking 
  • Ensure compliance with IFRS, local GAAP, internal controls and governance requirements 
  • Partner with internal and external auditors to support audits and maintain audit readiness 
  • Build strong stakeholder relationships across finance and the broader business 
  • Lead process improvement, automation and scope changes to enhance service delivery and efficiency 
  • Provide technical leadership, coaching and mentoring to develop capability and foster a high-performance culture

About You

You are an experienced financial accounting professional with strong technical capability, sound judgement and a collaborative leadership style. You are comfortable operating in a complex, multinational environment and enjoy working with outsourced service models to deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes.

To succeed in this role, you’ll ideally bring:

  • 8–10 years’ experience in financial accounting within a complex or multinational organisation
  • Deep knowledge of IFRS and local GAAP accounting standards
  • Proven experience managing or partnering with outsourced finance or shared service providers
  • Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across finance and business functions
  • An analytical mindset with high attention to detail and strong problem-solving capability
  • Experience working with ERP and consolidation systems (e.g. HFM, CFIN or similar)
  • A tertiary qualification in Accounting or Finance, with CA, CPA or equivalent professional accreditation
  • Experience in FMCG or manufacturing environments (highly regarded)

What We Offer

  • Competitive pay and benefits
  • Career development and internal opportunities across a global business
  • A team focused workplace in a fantastic culture where your work has real impact
  • A strong commitment to quality, innovation and sustainability
  • Flexible work arrangements where possible

Based at our Richmond office, this role offers excellent career development and internal mobility pathways as well as flexible ways of working and a hybrid structure, that allows you the balance of in-office collaboration and working from home to suit your lifestyle. 

Please note that applicants must have full working rights for Australia to be considered.
We are politely declining recruitment agency support and approaches for this role. 

About Lactalis-Mainland Dairy

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy is a global consumer business with 4,300 employees, a portfolio of iconic dairy brands, and an exciting dairy future. Formerly Fonterra’s Global Consumer and associated businesses, our brands are well known across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East and Africa. We bring together much loved brands including Western Star, Perfect Italiano, Mainland, Anchor, Anlene, Anmum and Fernleaf - along with new career opportunities that offer unique exposure in a dynamic and evolving industry. As we become part of Lactalis, and as you navigate around our careers site, you may still see references to, or branding from, Fonterra. This is a normal part of the transition as we progressively move to our own dedicated platforms and websites. We appreciate your patience and understanding and hope this does not cause any confusion. We’re excited by the future and it’s the perfect time to help us create it.