The GIG

Reporting into the Financial Controller this part time role will take care of the running of the office, team and growing business as well as supporting invoicing, reconciliations and accounts in XERO. This is a true all-rounder role taking care of the team and environment at Makedo’s lovely headquarters which is home to around 25 or so dedicated and fun professionals who make the magic happen.

We’re looking for someone who loves helping others and gets a kick out of keeping things running smoothly. With sound technical skills in office administration processes and communications, a knack for organising travel, lunches and staff events and familiarity with general finance administration. This is a business with owners who genuinely care for their people and their environments and who have standards of excellence in everything they do. To maintain this, they now need some expert assistance to keeping it all running – is that you?

Based in great offices in Abbotsford (not far from the convent), this part time role (ideally 3 days over 4) will tick a lot of boxes for experienced generalists who love variety and get a kick out of making things happen.

The COMPANY

Makedo, founded by industrial designer Paul Justin in 2009, is an award-winning educational toy brand trusted by millions of makers across the globe. With strong D2C and B2B networks, Makedo sells into the global education and retail markets and is rapidly growing its footprint and brand awareness.

Makedo is a series of safe cardboard construction tools designed for kids to imagine and build the world they want to see from upcycled cardboard. With a mission to “Play today. Make tomorrow.” Makedo empowers children to develop the necessary skills to problem solve their way through our changing world.

You can check out Makedo’s website, their values and ethos online – it’s impressive and so are the people that they’ve selected for their team so far. If what they do and who they are resonates with you, read on, this role could be for you!

The WORK

Reporting into the Financial Controller, the position will position will have ongoing strong relationships and cyclic touch points with all staff as the primary go-to for office management, financial admin and general support to our team.

You’ll have regular and ad hoc requests, errands to run from time to time and data entry and follow up in XERO to keep you busy! There will also be building related administration and some co-ordination of facilities and maintenance on occasion, ensuring Makedo maintains a great working environment and that employees have what they need to do their best work.

Here’s the laundry list of responsibilities this person will take on in any given week (or day!), but if you’re familiar with small and fast-growing businesses and being ‘The Go-To Person’ then none of this will be a surprise!

• Manage office resources, including supplies, tech, furniture, and fittings, ensuring the office is well-equipped and organised
• Facilitate postage, printing, resource delivery/collection and other errands
• Coordinate office events, including team drinks and meals, birthdays and end-of-year celebrations, ensuring a vibrant and engaging work environment
• Coordinate work-related staff travel, managing bookings, itineraries and accommodation
• Oversee and coordinate busy calendars as needed to foster collaboration and attendance at key meetings and events and ensure the smooth running of the day/week/month for our leadership team
• Maintain regular and consistent communication to keep all parties informed and updated on key activities, costs and dates at all times
• Build a thorough understanding of preferences and priorities for our leaders in order to proactively engage with the right team members, providers and systems to meet expectations
• Manage relationships with third-party service providers for utilities, servicing, building maintenance/works, cleaning/recycling and IT
• Manage invoicing, reconciliations and expenses for suppliers and leaders within XERO and work closely with the financial controller to ensure accuracy of data and timely payments are made

The PERSON

The person who’ll land this role will be someone who’s known for being the go-to, the glue, the office guru, the chief executive of organising! More than this it will be the WAY this person goes about their day-to-day that will really make things hum.

So, if the above and below sounds like I’m talking about YOU, I recommend you get in touch asap. We’re progressing people as we find them, so don’t wait. And if it’s not for you right now, that’s ok too.

• You thrive on getting stuff done! You’re not someone who waits; you like to tick things off the list asap if you can
• Supporting clever busy people is kind of your thing and you value having strong personal relationships with the people you work with
• You love a well-run office and can comfortably pivot between the delivery person arriving as well as booking travel and ordering stationery, in between picking up a birthday cake for a team member!
• You’re familiar with accounting software and love when things add up; you don’t mind a bit of financial admin to stay across expenses and follow through on your ordering and invoices
• You’re a swan! You’re calm up top and outward facing - nothing really frazzles you, but behind the scenes you probably have a lot going on at a fast pace that you’re completely across!
• You have really strong admin skills and are tech-savvy, quick to pick up the latest technology or system to make communication and collaboration easier
• You value sustainability and environment and would love to work for an organisation with a shared value around that, which also translates to sustainable careers for their people
• You don’t mind doing the micro tasks associated with Office Management work which may include school pickups, supporting other leaders, prepping for toy-fairs and making arrangements for new employees
• You’re organised and an organiser of others by nature; running a smooth process and having confirmations and the detail in hand makes you happy as well as ticking things off that list
• You’re seeking a role with variety where you can really shine and be appreciated for something that comes naturally to you and it’s the right time for you to start something new.

The EXPERIENCE and SKILLS

• Demonstrated positive working relationships in a previous Office Management position; people know and respect you for the way you conduct yourself, even when things get tricky or stressful
• Experience in calendar management with comfort using Outlook, Slack, Google Drive, XERO (or similar) and potentially Employment Hero or a similar HRIS
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; you’re known as a great communicator with employees, leaders, suppliers and customers. People love their interactions with you and you welcome their call or enquiry
• Exceptional proven problem-solving skills in a similar role; you’re someone who gets a kick out of finding and implementing the right solutions with logic and foresight
• Relationship management; you can develop and build rapport quickly and treat everyone with respect and a warm, engaging style
• Demonstrated comfort with ambiguity; pivoting is what you’re used to and you get that it’s necessary to get the job done. You don’t get frazzled easily, you stay calm and find it easy to re-prioritise and keep going

The APPLICATION PROCESS

Let’s move quick on this one; we’re seeking applications NOW preferably with an intro on your CV or cover letter about you and where you’re at career-wise right.

If you need more information, hit Apply Now so I have your details and feel free to connect with me, Taryn Buckley, on LINKEDIN and send me a direct message - I’ll come back to you asap to answer your questions. We'll sort out what else you need and if this job is ‘the one’ for you.

And hey, just so you know, we celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion big time here, so hit me up if you want to chat through your individual working needs, we’d love to hear from you.