Full-time Remote/work from home position available to provide financial counselling support to small business owners in Queensland.

Contract to December 2026

The organisation

Business & Rural Solutions Limited (BRS) is a leading not-for-profit organisation providing services that empower rural and small businesses and their communities. Key programs that we deliver include the Rural Financial Counselling Service, Business Wellness Coaching Program and the Small Business Financial Counselling Service across Southern Queensland. These programs are funded by the Australian Government and Queensland Government.

With offices based across our Southern Queensland service region, we believe in having our people embedded in the communities we support. BRS has received consecutive funding to deliver the Rural Financial Counselling Service since October 2006 and has delivered the Queensland Government Small Business Financial Counselling Service since early 2020.

Recently, BRS has been successful in obtaining grant funding from the Financial Counselling Foundation to appoint a qualified Small Business Financial Counsellor to provide casework support to small business owners in Queensland. This role is funded for the period from February 2025 to December 2026. This role will work as part of our established team of Small Business Financial Counsellors.

See our websites for further information about the services we deliver:

• rsq.org.au
• rfcssq.org.au
• sbfcssq.org.au

The role

Within the Small Business Financial Counselling Team, we are seeking to appoint a Small Business Financial Counsellor in Queensland (remote, work from home position providing online support to clients). This role shall work collaboratively with our established Small Business Financial Counsellors and Business Wellness Coaches, focussing on providing additional capacity to the SBFCS which continues to experience high demand.

The focus of this role is to support small businesses in Queensland who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, financial difficulty by:

• Operating as a support network with other Rural and Small Business Financial Counsellors and Business Wellness Coaches, as well as other financial counselling agencies
• Completing a financial analysis consisting of a business’s annual cashflow budget/s, statement of assets and liabilities, cashflow analysis and options for business improvement
• When appropriate, assist operators to negotiate arrangements with their financial institutions, landlords and/or creditors (including the ATO)
• Encourage operators to seek professional advice to develop longer term strategies and plans to improve preparedness
• Assist small business owners to engage with bankruptcy processes (as appropriate)
• Refer operators to a network of professional service providers for advice with legal, accounting and financial planning and investment matters and social and welfare matters.

Eligible clients to receive support from this role are businesses who are:

• Small business enterprises located in Queensland
• Experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, financial hardship.

In undertaking their role, a Small Business Financial Counsellor shall help clients to:

• Understand their financial position
• Understand the benefits and drawbacks of different options to manage financial issues
• Develop budgets and cashflows
• Negotiate with creditors
• Access dispute resolution services
• Understand their rights and access broader professional advice and support
• Access government and community grants, programs or schemes.

Small Business Financial Counsellors do not provide financial advice, family, emotional or social counselling or prepare business plans but do provide referrals to appropriate professionals.

Key requirements of the role

To be successful in the role of Small Business Financial Counsellor, knowledge of the following shall be required or need to be rapidly obtained:

• Cashflow budgeting and financial analysis
• Business and enterprise planning
• Small business issues and challenges in the current economic climate
• Small business viability assessment
• Loan structures and small business lending practices
• Banker/creditor negotiation
• Current class C driver licence
• Microsoft Office (required) and Salesforce (desirable) applications.

In addition, a Small Business Financial Counsellor needs to be equipped with a professional and empathetic outlook, combined with proven communication and interpersonal skills. Financial Counsellors also need to be able to work autonomously whilst remaining part of a small and close-knit team.

Note: support to small business owners via the position is remote with minimal travel required to attend team conferences and training.

Diploma of Financial Counselling

To be eligible for this position, applicants need to hold a Diploma of Financial Counselling. The successful applicant will need to be a member of the Financial Counselling Association of Queensland (and meet their professional development and supervision requirements). Applicants will have a knowledge of working with small businesses or will undertake the small business professional development training delivered by Financial Counselling Victoria.

Remuneration

Base salary of $102,804 for a fully qualified Small Business Financial Counsellor (holding the Diploma of Financial Counselling), plus superannuation. As a not-for-profit, all employees have access to salary sacrificing of up to $18,550 p.a. including rent and living expenses via AccessPay. Portable Long Service Leave contributions are paid to QLeave.

Four weeks annual recreation leave are included in the package, plus four additional days (one per quarter) of professional, health and development leave (PHD leave). Further information on the Small Business Financial Counselling Service and the role of a Financial Counsellor is located at sbfcssq.org.au.

To apply

Please click Apply Now to submit your application, or contact our team on 1300 732 777 for further information.

Selection criteria:

1. Detail your experience and ability to conduct detailed financial analysis of a small business client’s position, including viability assessments, cashflow analysis, forward budgeting and risk analysis.
2. Detail your ability and preparedness to provide mentoring to individual and client groups regarding business improvement and resilience opportunities.
3. Provide an overview of your prior experience in supporting small businesses to negotiate with creditors, banks, the ATO and other parties.
4. Summarise your experience in planning and managing your own workflow to achieve set outcomes whilst working as part of a dispersed team. Please also detail your understanding of the OH&S requirements of operating autonomously.
5. Detail your experience in supporting small business clients to engage in bankruptcy processes.

Following completion of an interview process, the successful candidate shall be required to undergo a criminal history check and CV check and may be requested to complete a medical check.