Senior Accounts Payable Manager

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Accounts Payable Manager to join our growing Finance team!

Department Purpose

The Finance department provides services to the A&O Shearman network of offices covering management/ financial accounting & reporting, revenue control (including eBilling), credit control, accounts payable and tax.

Role Purpose

To oversee and lead the operational service delivery of the Accounts Payable function, as well as lead and manage transformation, operational and change projects for the same space.
The overriding objective of this role is to ensure that high quality services are provided to both internal and external stakeholders on a timely basis. The role also involves continually striving to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the transactional processes and reporting systems.

Role and Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership to the AP team in Belfast comprising of 2 Managers, 4 Team Leads and a collective team of 30.
• Set strategic goals for each AP team supporting offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East and USA, that is aligned to the overarching firm wide Finance strategy.
• Develop a high performance culture and motivate the Managers to embed a growth mindset throughout their teams.
• Proactively manage team performance, addressing underperformance constructively and supporting continuous development
• Act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, dealing directly with and influencing in country CFOs, procurement teams and external vendors.
• Lead continuous improvement within the teams, and the meeting of appropriate performance and efficiency benchmarks to reduce operational cost.
• Continual assessment of the work within areas of responsibility, guiding managers to develop practical solutions to service improvement, enabling team to undertake value add activities.
• Manage conflict/frustrations within the team with gravitas, facilitating discussion, conversation and resolution.
• Act as a point of escalation for internal managers, in country CFOs, and external vendors.
• Ensure adherence to internal policies and good practice across teams, cultivating a zero tolerance approach to SRA breaches.
• Create a suite of AP metrics, both qualitative and quantitative, to indicate high performance/ performance gaps within the teams.
• Own functional employee engagement and people management processes including career planning, training/certification, rewards recognition and talent management.
• Responsible for the growth of AP in Belfast to become a global function.
• Lead all Belfast elements of the project initiatives in the Accounts Payable space, providing guidance to senior leadership as well as navigating the team through any subsequent change:
  • Lead the Belfast element of the global AP automation project to deliver an automated front end solution for the firm that removes the need for manual data entry.
  • Lead the Belfast element of the global expenses project that will review the current concur configuration and recommend improvements for optimising in the future.

Key Requirements

• Strong Finance technical background with 10 years' experience in a Finance role.
• Minimum 5 years' experience leading a team within a finance department.
• Experience of working in a commercial and/ or support service environment.
• Track record of leading/ managing projects.
• Demonstrates strong capability in leading change and driving successful change initiatives
• Awareness of the latest market trends in Accounts Payable.
• Demonstrable track record of successful interaction with senior leaders.
• Experience of managing via KPIs, SLAs and other performance metrics.
• Agility to manage strategically and act operationally during period of stability and change.
• Experience & awareness of working with stakeholders across differing countries and cultures.
• Strong analytical and methodical approach.
• Demonstrable experience of analysing problems and proposing solutions.
• Good numeracy and literacy skills.
• Computer literate with experience in Microsoft Office and complex finance systems.
• Degree in Accountancy or Finance related subject is desirable.
• Fluent in a modern European language (other than English) is desirable.

What we can offer you

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, online discounts and lifestyle management services.
We recognise the value of flexible working and embrace hybrid working, allowing our people to work from home up to 40% of their working time. We do, however, remain committed to working together in person for the remaining 60% of time so that we can learn, grow and succeed together.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

If this role is not of interest we may have another suitable opportunity here for you at A&O Shearman! Visit our careers portal at A&O Shearman Careers and submit your CV to our Talent Network to be notified when the perfect opportunity becomes available.