Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable (AP/AR) Team Lead

Positive Employment; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

Positive Employment is recruiting for an Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable Team Lead for a local government organisation based in Guildford. You will lead AP/AR specialists, manage workloads and supervise performance, while deputising for the AP/AR Manager to drive efficiency and improvements.

The role is a contract position of 8 months with hybrid working and umbrella payroll; strong Excel and CIS/HMRC experience are essential for delivering accurate reporting and compliant processes.

Qualifications

• Senior-level AP/AR experience in local government or similar environment.
• Proven team leadership and KPI-driven performance management.
• Strong Excel skills and data accuracy.
• Experience with CIS invoices and HMRC submissions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage AP/AR specialists and supervise workloads.
• Own month-end and year-end procedures for purchase ledger and control accounts.
• Ensure VAT and CIS compliance across team transactions.
• Act as system owner for external finance systems (NXG Forensics, Proactis).
• Provide budget monitoring and cash-flow reports and ad hoc reports.
• Collaborate with Procurement, Finance and IT to integrate workflows.
• Drive process improvements and staff training.

Skills

Senior AP/AR experience

Team leadership

Excel skills

Communication skills

CIS processing

Education

GCSEs (Maths & English)

Tools

NXG Forensics

Proactis

Job description

Positive Employment is currently recruiting for an Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable Team Lead for our client, a local government organisation based in Guildford.

The successful post holder will be responsible for leading and managing the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable specialists, ensuring effective supervision, workload planning, and resource allocation to maintain high levels of performance and service delivery. They will also deputise for the Joint AP/AR Manager, monitoring team capacity, driving efficiency, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement across the collaboration.

This role is a contract position with an initial contract of 8 months, with the possibility to extend. This role is hybrid working.

Duties and Responsibilities but not limited to:

• Take accountability for service KPIs, setting priorities, allocating resources and approving escalations
• Act as the lead contact for all AP/AR processes and issues
• Lead month-end and year-end procedures for the purchase ledger and control accounts
• Lead AP/AR compliance checks, data governance and policy enforcement
• Review VAT and CIS treatment to ensure tax compliance across team transactions
• Act as system owner for external finance systems, including NXG Forensics and Proactis, managing configuration, access and issue resolution
• Identify skills gaps and deliver training and mentoring to new and junior staff
• Provide progress updates, performance reports and ad hoc reports on budget monitoring and cash flow
• Work with Procurement, Finance and IT to integrate workflows
• Deal with risk, fraud and resource issues promptly, escalating to the AP/AR Manager where needed
• Deliver process improvements across the service

Personal Requirements:

• GCSEs (or equivalent), including Maths and English
• Significant senior-level experience in accounts payable and/or accounts receivable within local government, the private sector or a similar environment
• Strong understanding of both AP and AR
• Previous team leader experience, including managing team performance through KPIs and undertaking recruitment and development
• Experience of processing CIS invoices and returns to HMRC
• Strong Excel skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication, report writing and presentation skills
• A proactive, organised approach with the ability to meet strict deadlines
• Access to the internet at home for business continuity purposes

Pay: £37.59 per hrWorking Hours: 9:00am - 17:00pm / Monday to Friday

Please note this role is within the scope of IR35, and pay will be via an umbrella company.