Purchasing Operations Lead in Melbourne

Lead reliable purchasing and payment services that keep essential operations moving. Are you an experienced purchasing and accounts payable leader who enjoys solving problems, supporting people and keeping important services moving? This is a great opportunity to lead a small, service-focused team that plays a practical and important role in supporting Forest Fire Management Victoria and broader emergency management operations across Victoria.

In this role, you will:

• Lead purchasing and accounts payable workflow, including invoice triage, coding, approvals, payment readiness and issue resolution.
• Manage and support a team of four staff, building a positive, collaborative and service-focused culture.
• Provide practical advice to operational teams on purchasing, receipting, invoices, supplier queries and compliance requirements.
• Investigate and resolve complex payment, invoice and inventory ordering issues.
• Use financial and operational data to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Support month-end processes, reporting, accruals and forecasting inputs.
• Strengthen internal controls, record keeping, audit readiness and compliance with financial delegations.
• Contribute to continuous improvement in systems, processes, templates and guidance.
• Support urgent financial processing and operational requirements during emergency management activity and peak fire season.

About you: You will bring strong purchasing and accounts payable experience, sound judgement and a practical approach to improving how work gets done. You are comfortable working with detail, managing competing priorities and helping others understand what is needed to get things moving. You will also bring:

• Experience in purchasing, accounts payable, invoice management, supplier queries, financial coding and reporting.
• Leadership experience, including managing workflow, coaching staff and supporting team performance.
• Confidence using finance systems, particularly Oracle, and Microsoft Excel.
• An understanding of Victorian Government procurement, financial processing and compliance requirements.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to turn data into practical insights.
• A collaborative style and the ability to build trusted relationships across teams.

A forklift licence, or willingness to obtain one, and a valid driver’s licence with willingness to travel within Victoria may be required.

Why join us? You will be part of a branch that works across procurement, logistics, fleet, inventory and emergency management support, helping ensure the right resources are available when and where they are needed. We offer:

• Meaningful work that supports Victoria’s emergency management readiness.
• A collaborative and practical workplace culture.
• Opportunities to lead and improve service delivery.
• Hybrid work arrangements, where operational requirements allow.
• The chance to support teams working on important public land, fire and emergency management outcomes.

Specialist/Technical Expertise/Qualifications:

• Demonstrated senior experience in purchasing and accounts payable functions, including invoice management, purchase orders, supplier queries, financial coding, reporting and compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
• Proven people leadership capability, including managing workflow, supporting team performance, coaching staff and building a positive, service-focused team culture.
• Proven experience using Oracle finance systems and Microsoft Excel, including formulas, pivot tables and basic data analysis techniques to monitor workflow, identify issues and support reporting.
• Proven experience working within the Victorian Government procurement framework, with a strong understanding of purchasing, compliance and financial processing requirements.
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to interpret financial and operational data, identify trends or anomalies, and provide practical insights to support decision-making.

This is an ongoing position. The work location for this position is Kyle Road, Altona North with hybrid work arrangements available. Applications close 11.59pm on Monday, 2 November 2026.

Other relevant information: To be eligible for appointment to this role, applicants will possess corresponding work rights for the advertised employment period. Appointment to an ongoing position is only available to an Australian/New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident.

An inclusive, culturally safe and flexible workplace DEECA fosters an inclusive workplace culture and is committed to a fair, accessible, and equitable recruitment process. We strongly encourage Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people to apply. We recognise the strengths, knowledge and perspectives First Nations people bring and DEECA is committed to a culturally safe and respectful workplace. If you need support to participate, please contact ***************@deeca.vic.gov.au. We support flexible working arrangements, including hybrid work, varied hours, part-time work and job sharing.