Accounts Payable Manager

Cumberland Farms UK; Horwich; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Cumberland Farms UK is seeking an AP Manager to support the Head of P2P with Invoice Processing and Ledger Management. The role focuses on leading teams, ensuring accurate payments, and maintaining strong controls across European entities.

The ideal candidate will drive process improvements, manage performance, and collaborate with IT to optimise systems. DBS checks may be required as part of the recruitment process.

Qualifications

• Experience leading end-to-end Accounts Payable, preferably in a Shared Services environment.
• Proven ability to implement checks and controls in a team.
• Strong stakeholder communication and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day AP Processing and Ledger Management teams; monitor KPIs and provide feedback.
• Oversee reconciliations of supplier statements to AP Ledger and resolve discrepancies.
• Ensure invoices are paid accurately and timely across all entities.
• Interface with IT to maximise efficiencies through enabling technologies.
• Support Head of P2P for audit, governance breaches and future risk mitigation.
• Drive transformation and change initiatives within the P2P process area.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

Communication

Financial reporting

Excel proficiency

Problem solving

Tools

Xelix software

MS Excel

Job description

Role Overview:

The role of the AP Manager supports the Head of P2P with the key process areas of Invoice Processing and Ledger Management, including the aged creditor analysis, maintenance, and resolution, and looks to capitalise on the synergies and similarities between the processes across all European entities. This role requires a strong leader who is performance driven and can inspire others as well as support and develop team members. Join a culture of teamwork and that fosters a result driven environment, professional expertise and high-quality output.

This position offers an exciting opportunity for a high calibre leader to develop the team to achieve business objectives and ensuring consistent performance. Responsible for all aspects of the function and supporting the Head of P2P to take accountability for ensuring relevant audit and governance compliance. With a core objective of maintaining well-organised Invoice Processing and Ledger Management functions, ensuring adequate controls and quality checks are in place and maintaining a high standard. Identifying, driving and implementing process and control improvements in the end-to-end processes across the teams.

Management & Leadership:

• Maintain a well-organised, adequately resourced function across the teams to ensure all activities are carried out in a timely and efficient manner and in full compliance with the company policies and governance rules.
• To agree and monitor objectives for direct reports taking appropriate action to ensure their successful achievement ensuring these objectives are informed by and support the wider finance and business strategy.
• Embed and maintain a high-performance culture ensuring that objective setting cascades to all team members and that the team have a clear understanding of how they contribute to the Finance and business strategy.
• To develop professional networks across the business to understand the developing requirements of senior business leaders, trends, and developments within the wider business.
• To allocate roles and responsibilities across the team, ensuring that the utilisation of skills and expertise is maximised using best practice workforce management principles.
• Performance manage direct reports using EG performance management frameworks to drive performance and address /resolve underperformance in a positive manner.

Key Responsibilities:

• To be a key member of the TSS leadership team, leading and influencing across the business to promote efficiencies and excellent customer service.
• Day to day leadership responsibilities of the Invoice Processing and Ledger Management teams; monitoring the end-to-end process & individual team members' performance against agreed key performance indicators on a regular basis, and giving appropriate feedback as required and address/resolve underperformance in a positive manner.
• Oversee the reconciling of supplier statements to AP Ledger and ensure all discrepancies are resolved and relevant accruals are reported to the appropriate country Finance team.
• Act as a key contact regarding all invoice processing and ledger management issues, ensuring accountability for managing service against any escalated queries or complaints in the team.
• Oversee the end-to-end process, liaising with relevant departments where necessary; ensuring all invoices are paid correctly and in a timely manner.
• Ensure all aspects of ledger management are performed on an ongoing basis, including clearing debit balances in a timely manner, remediating ageing balances in the ledger, statement reconciliations and the identification and resolution of duplicate/incorrect postings on the ledger using the Xelix software.
• Supporting Head of P2P for ownership of any audit, control or governance breaches and the actions required to mitigate the risk of future reoccurrences.
• To take accountability for managing service against agreed key performance indicators, service levels and operating controls, which ensure compliance across the processes including the management of the escalation process in each country.
• To lead and manage the development and effectiveness of the AP Team Leaders and the wider P2P team.
• To have a good appreciation of the technical issues in the process areas to enable productive collaboration with staff, colleagues and business areas in pursuit of the strategic objectives.
• To interface with IT and systems professionals to maximise efficiencies through use of enabling technologies.
• Working with the Head of P2P to understand the scope, volumes as-is process and impacts of change for any transformation, divestment's, or M&A projects that will impact the team.
• Supporting the transformation & change strategy across the process area.
• Ensuring effective knowledge transfer plans are in place, the team are cross trained, and support any training requirements.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Active involvement in business improvement projects
• To work with the Head of P2P to design and implement agreed new processes & policies effectively within the P2P function

Skills, Experience & Knowledge Required:

• Demonstrable experience of leading an end-to-end Accounts Payable process (preferably in a Shared Services environment) and experience of quality checking work and implementing checks and controls in a team.
• Experience leading, implementing and championing change.
• Demonstrates innovation bringing better, smarter solutions to solve new as well as existing problems.
• Attention to detail with a commitment to high quality and accuracy.
• Flexible and adaptable to deal with changing requirements, able to balance competing priorities.
• Ability to lead and motivate a team including goal setting and performance management.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Be able to work effectively to meet deadlines.
• Ability to learn quickly, adapt to in-house systems and suggest improvements.
• Experience of working with multiple locations, business units and currencies.
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced dynamic environment successfully managing multiple tasks & priorities.
• Experience of holding self and others accountable for the achievement of performance expectations. Creates an environment that enables others to perform at their best.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Working knowledge of MS Office products (particularly Excel).
• You will need to be a good communicator with the ability to present and explain financial information to all levels of management with a high standard of written skills.
• Able to adapt style of communication depending on the audience and the nature of the information being communicated.

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.

Please note - the successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check which will be funded by Cumberland Farms UK.