Payments Assistant

Havebury Housing Partnership; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

37 hour week

28 days leave + bank holidays

Pension 7-12%

Life assurance 3x salary

Annual Flu Jab

EV salary sacrifice + free charging

Medical cashback

Job summary

Havebury Housing Partnership is seeking a Payments Assistant to join the Payments Team. You will support day-to-day supplier payments, maintain ledgers and assist with month-end tasks, while handling queries from colleagues with a friendly, professional approach.

The role offers hybrid working from home and our office in Bury St Edmunds, with a 37-hour week, a generous holiday allowance, pension contributions, and enhanced benefits. The post may involve criminal disclosure checks if offered.

Qualifications

• Experience in an accounts payable function.
• Understanding of processes and why following them matters.
• Experience using Microsoft Office including Excel, Outlook and Word.
• Excellent verbal and written communication with non-finance colleagues.
• High attention to detail and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Proactivity in improving processes for efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Assist with day-to-day payments and maintain supplier records in SUN.
• Manage OCR invoicing and Purchase to Pay in Civica Cx.
• Process council tax and utility invoices and refunds; handle rent refunds.
• Prepare weekly payment run and manual payments via BACS, CHAPS or International.
• Organise, verify and reconcile supplier statements and payments.
• Respond to calls and emails from internal/external customers promptly.
• Ensure invoices are authorised per Financial Regulations before payment.

Skills

Accounts payable

Excel

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Time management

Tools

SUN

Civica Cx

Microsoft Excel

Outlook

Word

Job description

Enjoy working with numbers and keeping things running accurately and on time? Join us as a Payments Assistant, working alongside our Payments Team Leader and fellow Payments Assistants to make sure supplier payments are made accurately and within terms. You’ll also help keep our accounting up to date and be a friendly, visible point of contact for colleagues with payment queries.

We own and manage c.8,000 homes in the east of England, working closely with other agencies and stakeholders within our communities. We build on the good foundations we have in place in being a customer-centric organisation, investing in our existing homes - including our zero-carbon journey - as well as building new homes.

A lot of our roles come with options around home and office flexible working, as well as a generous annual leave allowance and other benefits.

Outline of key responsibilities

• Assisting with the day-to-day payments function, including maintaining purchase ledger records in SUN, such as new supplier accounts, payment terms and bank details
• Managing the OCR invoicing and Purchase to Pay (P2P) systems, including registering and releasing purchase invoices and credit notes, and loading invoices into our housing management system, Civica Cx
• Processing and managing council tax and utility invoices and refunds, and processing Cx tasks for rent refunds and compensation cases, closing them once payment has been made
• Preparing the weekly payment run and manual payments via BACS, CHAPS or International Payments
• Organising, checking and maintaining accurate payment records, and reconciling supplier statements
• Responding to telephone calls and emails from internal and external customers in a timely, professional manner, and managing and distributing scanned documents received from reception
• Maintaining a thorough knowledge of finance processes, making sure invoices are authorised in line with the Group’s Financial Regulations and Standing Orders policy before payment

We are looking for someone who has

• Experience working in an accounts payable function
• A good understanding of processes and procedures, and why these are important to follow
• Experience of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Outlook and Word
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interpret information from colleagues and explain detailed financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders
• High attention to detail, with a proven ability to build strong relationships at all levels and with a wide range of people
• The ability to manage a range of priorities and work to tight deadlines
• A proven ability to continuously improve processes to deliver efficiency, with a positive and flexible approach to work

In return, we are offering

• An annual salary of £26,316.07
• We are committed to providing a healthy work-life balance for employees and their families, as such we operate hybrid working conditions from home and our office in Bury St Edmunds
• Flexible working around a 37 hour week
• Annual Leave - 28 days per year, (plus bank holidays) increasing to 32 days when you reach your 3rd year with us. To give greater flexibility around your holidays you can also buy, sell or carry over up to 5 days of annual leave each year
• Pension – between 7% - 12% dependant on individual contribution
• Life assurance - a payment of X3 your salary.
• Annual Flu Jab - provided each winter to all employees.
• Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme - plus we currently have free electric charging points
• Competitive medical cashback plan

Due to the nature of some of our roles involving work with vulnerable members of society, this post may be subject to a Basic Criminal Disclosure, which will be carried out when a conditional offer is made.