Director Accounts Payable

The Director of Accounts Payable is a senior finance leader responsible for the strategic direction, operational leadership, and continuous improvement of the company’s global accounts payable function. This role will oversee high-volume, multi-entity accounts payable operations and lead a global shared services organization supporting business operations across multiple legal entities and geographies.

The Director will establish and maintain a scalable, efficient, and well-controlled procure-to-pay environment while driving standardization, automation, service excellence, and operational performance. The position will partner closely with Accounting, Finance, Treasury, Procurement, Tax, Internal Audit, IT, and business leaders throughout the organization.

The ideal candidate has significant experience leading global accounts payable and shared services operations within a large, complex organization and brings a strong combination of operational leadership, financial controls expertise, systems knowledge, and change-management capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic and operational leadership for the company’s accounts payable function across multiple entities, business units, and geographies.

Lead a global shared services accounts payable organization, establishing clear service delivery standards, accountability, and performance expectations.

Oversee end-to-end accounts payable activities, including invoice processing, approval workflows, payment execution, vendor maintenance, employee expense processes, and related activities.

Ensure accurate and timely processing of invoices and payments across multiple currencies, entities, and jurisdictions.

Establish global AP policies, procedures, and operating standards while appropriately addressing local business and regulatory requirements.

Develop and monitor service-level agreements, key performance indicators, and operational metrics to drive performance and accountability.

Build strong relationships with business stakeholders and ensure the AP organization delivers a high level of internal and external customer service.

Shared Services Strategy & Optimization

Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for the global accounts payable shared services function.

Drive standardization of processes across entities, regions, and business units to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability.

Evaluate the shared services operating model and identify opportunities for centralization, automation, outsourcing, or other structural improvements.

Lead initiatives to improve invoice processing efficiency, touchless processing rates, payment accuracy, cycle times, and vendor experience.

Establish effective governance across global and regional teams to ensure consistent execution and accountability.

Partner with other shared services and finance leaders to identify opportunities to further optimize the company’s broader finance operating model.

Controls, Compliance & Risk Management

Maintain a strong internal control environment across accounts payable and related payment processes.

Ensure AP processes and controls are designed and executed in accordance with company policies and applicable SOX requirements.

Establish appropriate segregation of duties, approval authorities, vendor master controls, and payment controls.

Proactively identify and mitigate fraud, duplicate payment, vendor, and payment-related risks.

Partner with Internal Audit, external auditors, Accounting, and other stakeholders to support audits and control testing.

Ensure timely remediation of control deficiencies and implementation of sustainable corrective actions.

Maintain appropriate documentation of AP processes, controls, policies, and procedures.

Systems, Automation & Transformation

Lead the ongoing modernization and automation of accounts payable processes and technologies.

Identify opportunities to reduce manual processes through workflow automation, electronic invoicing, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and other technologies.

Partner with IT and Finance Systems teams on ERP implementations, upgrades, integrations, and other technology initiatives impacting accounts payable.

Drive adoption and optimization of procure-to-pay technologies and tools.

Establish reliable data and reporting capabilities to monitor AP performance and identify operational improvement opportunities.

Lead change-management efforts associated with process, organizational, and technology transformation.

Oversee vendor onboarding, vendor master data governance, invoice processing, payment execution, and issue resolution.

Establish processes that promote accurate vendor information and protect against fraudulent or unauthorized changes.

Partner with Treasury to optimize payment methods, payment timing, banking relationships, and cash management processes.

Collaborate with Procurement to improve purchase order compliance, invoice matching, supplier onboarding, and overall procure-to-pay effectiveness.

Ensure vendor inquiries, disputes, and escalations are resolved accurately and efficiently.

Develop processes that improve the vendor experience while maintaining appropriate financial controls.

Leadership & Talent Development

Lead, develop, and mentor a geographically dispersed accounts payable organization.

Build an effective global leadership structure capable of managing operations across multiple locations, entities, and time zones.

Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and career development opportunities.

Develop succession plans and build organizational capabilities to support future growth and increasing complexity.

Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and service excellence.

Effectively lead teams through organizational, process, and technology change.

Qualifications Required

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline.

Significant progressive experience in accounts payable, finance operations, shared services, or related functions, including senior leadership responsibility.

Demonstrated experience leading a global accounts payable shared services organization.

Experience managing accounts payable operations across multiple legal entities and/or multiple countries and regions.

Experience operating within a large, complex corporate environment, preferably a publicly traded company.

Strong understanding of end-to-end accounts payable and procure-to-pay processes, internal controls, and financial systems.

Experience designing, implementing, and managing standardized processes across geographically dispersed operations.

Demonstrated success leading large-scale process improvement, automation, or finance transformation initiatives.

Experience with SOX controls and operating within a strong internal control environment.

Strong ERP and procure-to-pay systems experience.

Proven ability to lead and develop teams across multiple locations and time zones.

Strong analytical skills and experience developing and managing operational KPIs and service-level metrics.

Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder-management skills, including experience partnering with senior leaders across Finance, Procurement, Treasury, IT, and Operations.

Preferred

Experience with a large-scale ERP environment such as SAP, Oracle, or a comparable enterprise platform.

Experience with AP automation, e-invoicing, workflow, expense management, and procure-to-pay platforms.

Experience establishing, expanding, or transforming a global shared services organization.

Experience integrating accounts payable operations following acquisitions or other organizational changes.

Experience managing outsourced or third-party service providers within a global shared services model.

CPA, MBA, or other relevant advanced degree or professional certification.

Leadership Profile
The successful candidate will be a highly operational, hands-on leader with the ability to think strategically while maintaining a strong command of execution. This individual should be comfortable leading a complex global organization, establishing structure and accountability, and driving meaningful change across processes, systems, and teams.

The Director will bring a continuous-improvement mindset and demonstrate the ability to simplify complex processes, establish global standards, leverage technology effectively, and build a scalable accounts payable organization capable of supporting the company’s continued growth.

Success in this role requires strong executive presence, sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to influence across organizational and geographic boundaries while maintaining a strong commitment to controls, operational excellence, and customer service.

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