Finance & Operations Administrator

Finance & Operations Administrator

Part-time | Queenstown | $35–$40 per hour plus employer KiwiSaver

Are you an experienced accounts administrator who enjoys making things accurate, organised and more efficient?

High Performance Academy is looking for a capable Finance & Operations Administrator to take ownership of our day-to-day finance administration and help improve the systems that support our growing international business.

This is more than a transaction-processing role. Alongside accounts, payroll and reconciliations, you’ll help us improve cost visibility, manage cash commitments, strengthen financial controls and find better ways of working.

About High Performance Academy

High Performance Academy is a Queenstown-based global leader in online education for high-performance automotive engineering.

We help enthusiasts and professionals around the world develop the practical skills required to build, wire and tune high-performance vehicles. Our team combines automotive expertise, digital education, marketing, technology and content production to deliver industry-leading training to a global audience.

About the role

Reporting to the General Manager, you’ll be responsible for keeping HPA’s financial and administrative foundations accurate, controlled and running smoothly.

Your core responsibilities will include:

• Managing accounts payable and receivable.
• Reviewing and coding invoices in Xero.
• Reconciling bank, PayPal and Windcave transactions.
• Preparing supplier payment batches for approval.
• Reconciling material supplier statements.
• Following up missing invoices, receipts and transaction information.
• Preparing weekly payroll in Smartly.
• Coordinating payroll onboarding and offboarding.
• Calculating and administering affiliate and course-contributor commissions.
• Completing month-end reconciliations and providing information to our external accountant.
• Preparing GST reconciliations and supporting schedules.
• Maintaining fixed-asset, CAPEX and financial administration records.

You’ll also help HPA operate more effectively by:

• Monitoring supplier spending and recurring subscriptions.
• Identifying unusual costs, duplicated services and savings opportunities.
• Maintaining visibility of upcoming payroll, tax, supplier and commission commitments.
• Supporting purchasing controls and supplier management.
• Maintaining clear procedures, finance calendars and role-cover documentation.
• Identifying repetitive or inefficient processes and recommending improvements.
• Supporting the responsible introduction of automation and AI into our finance workflows.

The role will prepare payroll and payment information, while final payroll processing, bank payments and material accounting decisions remain subject to authorised approval.

About you

You’ll ideally have:

• Previous experience in accounts administration, bookkeeping or finance operations.
• Sound knowledge of accounts payable, bank reconciliation, payroll and GST fundamentals.
• Strong working knowledge of Xero.
• Confidence working with spreadsheets and financial information.
• Experience with payroll systems; Smartly experience would be an advantage.
• The ability to manage confidential payroll, remuneration and financial information appropriately.
• Strong attention to detail and the judgement to recognise when something doesn’t look right.
• Clear, professional communication skills and confidence following up employees, suppliers and contractors.
• The ability to take ownership and work reliably around weekly and monthly deadlines.

Experience with PayPal, merchant settlements, foreign currencies, online sales, month-end reporting, cash-flow forecasting or workflow automation would be valuable but is not essential.

You don’t need to be an automotive expert, but an interest in HPA’s industry and what we do would certainly help.

What we’re looking for

The right person will be:

• Proactive and dependable.
• Highly organised and accurate.
• Commercially minded and interested in controlling costs, not simply processing them.
• Comfortable investigating discrepancies and resolving exceptions.
• Practical, collaborative and easy to work with.
• Interested in improving systems and eliminating unnecessary administration.

Why join HPA?

• Join a successful Queenstown business serving a global audience.
• Work in an interesting and distinctive automotive education environment.
• Take ownership of a broad finance and operations function.
• Have a genuine opportunity to improve systems and influence how the role develops.
• Enjoy flexibility around school and family commitments, where applicable.
• Work in a dog-friendly office.
• Make the most of our professional coffee machine and a well-stocked supply of great snacks.
• Join an easy-going, down-to-earth team that works hard and takes pride in what it delivers.

The exact days and working pattern will be agreed with the successful candidate.

To apply, please submit your CV and a brief cover letter explaining your relevant finance-administration experience, the systems you have used and what appeals to you about the role.