Accounts Payable Manager

Solutions Driven; Leicester Forest East; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Solutions Driven is seeking an Accounts Payable Manager to oversee payments across Spanish and Italian entities, ensuring invoices are processed accurately, timely, and compliant.

You will lead the AP team, drive process improvements, supervise month-end close, and partner with Treasury on SEPA payments, while supporting audits and reporting.

The role requires fluent English and proficiency in Spanish or Italian, strong communication, and a focus on accuracy and governance.

Qualifications

• Fluency in English and proficiency in either Spanish or Italian.
• Strong communication and stakeholder liaison skills.
• Customer service oriented with service-first mentality.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams.
• Ability to investigate root causes and resolve issues.
• Continuous process improvement mindset.
• Proven accuracy under high-volume workloads.
• Good time management and meeting deadlines.
• Good documentation for audit and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an AP team across Spanish and Italian entities with clear performance metrics.
• Direct processing of supplier invoices and credit notes with high-value payments.
• Enforce internal controls and regulatory compliance across EU entities.
• Coordinate SEPA payments with Treasury to optimise cash flow.
• Oversee month-end AP closing, aging, accruals, and cash forecasts.
• Drive automation and efficiencies in AP workflows and ERP integrations.
• Manage major supplier disputes and maintain vendor relationships.
• Maintain audit-ready invoice archives and tax documentation.

Skills

Fluency in English and proficiency in

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Purpose of Role: The Accounts Payable Manager oversees the company’s payment processes, ensuring that all vendor invoices are processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with company policies and relevant regulations. This role is critical to maintaining strong vendor relationships, optimising cash flow, and ensuring internal controls to mitigate risks. The manager leads the AP team, drives process improvements, and ensures alignment with organisational financial goals while supporting audits and reporting requirements

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop an Accounts Payable team across Spanish (S.A./S.L.) and Italian (S.r.l./S.p.A.) entities, establishing clear performance metrics and training staff on local regulatory standards.
• Invoice Processing Oversight: Direct the processing of supplier invoices and credit notes, ensuring seamless integration with mandatory national e-invoicing platforms (FACe / Veri*Factu in Spain, SDI in Italy) and approving high-value payment batches.
• Financial Controls & Compliance: Enforce strict internal controls and segregation of duties in compliance with EU regulations, statutory accounting practices (PGC in Spain, OIC in Italy), and local tax authority rules (AEAT, Agenzia delle Entrate).
• Cash Flow Management: Partner with Treasury to optimize SEPA payment runs, balancing working capital needs while complying with statutory late payment legislation (e.g., Spanish Ley de Lucha contra la Morosidad).
• Reporting & Analysis: Oversee month-end AP closing, generating aging summaries, accrual calculations, and cash outflow forecasts for European entities to identify cost-saving and working capital opportunities.
• Process Optimisation: Drive AP automation and workflow efficiencies across Southern European operations, optimizing ERP invoice-matching engines and localized e-invoicing integration.
• Vendor Relationship Management: Act as the primary escalation point for major supplier disputes across Spain and Italy, maintaining strategic vendor relationships while navigating regional commercial norms.
• Audit & Documentation: Maintain audit-ready digital archives of invoices, approvals, and tax documentation, ensuring full compliance with local IVA (VAT) regulations, tax ID validation (NIF/CIF, Partita IVA), and statutory retention periods.

Strategic Collaboration: Work closely with Procurement, Legal, and Finance teams to align purchasing workflows with regional payables processes and provide executive insight into corporate liability schedules.

Requirements:

• Familiarity with integrated systems (AP, AR, GL and Payroll)
• Knowledge of office productivity tools (MS Office)
• Exposure to automation tools (RPA bots etc.) beneficial

Core Skills

• Fluency in written and spoken English, alongside full professional proficiency in either Spanish or Italian, is required
• Clear communication skills – ability to liaise with internal and external stakeholders
• Customer service orientation – ensuring positive interactions. Service first mentality
• Team Collaboration – working cohesively within cross-functional teams
• Issue Resolution – Proficient in identifying discrepancies, investigating root causes and resoling errors
• Process improvement mindset – Suggesting and implementing changes to improve efficiency, accuracy and service relating to processes
• Accuracy under pressure – maintaining attention to detail while managing high volumes
• Time Management – prioritisation of tasks to ensure deadlines are met
• Documentation skills – ability to accurately keep records for audit and compliance purposes