Senior Accounts Payable Assistant
Join to apply for the Senior Accounts Payable Assistant role at Unite Students.
The Role
Unite Students fantastic Accounts Payable team have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Accounts Payable Assistant to join us in our Bristol office.
In this role you will provide an efficient and customer‑focused payables service, ensuring effective purchasing processes and compliance are in place. You will ensure both internal and external customer needs are met whilst adhering to specified SLAs and enabling suppliers to be paid as per agreed terms. As the Senior within the team, the role will include line management responsibilities, supporting with mentoring the less experienced members of the team, ensuring processes are adhered to and documented, and acting as a support for escalation within the Team as well as covering times of absence for the Supervisor.
What Youll Be Doing
* Supporting the team with 1‑2‑1s, PDPs, appraisals, and any other line management support
* Supporting any business training activities in the payables area as required, as well as ensuring documentation is maintained and up to date
* Building and maintaining relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders to enable swift and accurate processing of invoices and timely settlement. Educating on the result/consequence of non‑compliance (e.g., No PO, No Pay) and escalating where necessary
* Serving as a subject‑matter expert (SME) for projects, offering expertise and guidance to support successful project delivery
* Taking a positive approach to change within the business, generating and implementing ideas for continuous process improvement within Financial Services, working with Procurement and other stakeholders to highlight areas requiring improvement and collaboratively resolving them
* Supporting any audit queries as required
* Ensuring all procedure documentation is kept up to date
* Closing off the month‑end AP ledger
* Reconciling priority/business‑critical suppliers monthly, including any legal letters, and ensuring timely resolution of any queries or outstanding balances
* Overseeing council tax and business rates processes, while building and maintaining relationships with local authorities to ensure compliance and efficiency
* Overseeing the administration of the company fleet, ensuring compliance and operational effectiveness
* Managing company credit card administration, ensuring compliance and accuracy in financial transactions
* Coordinating user accounts for travel and accommodation, streamlining processes for efficiency and cost‑effectiveness
* Bank systems administration
What Were Looking for in You
Essential
* Strong experience in an accounts payable role
* Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
* A passion for delivering excellent customer service
* Ability to work at a fast pace with a high level of accuracy
* Comfortable working within a changing environment, managing priorities effectively
* Strong IT skills, including Excel
* Pro‑active and able to work on own initiative
* Experience working effectively as part of a team
* A self‑starter who can demonstrate initiative, with the ability to prioritise workloads of self and team members
* Strong attention to detail
* Providing management information to support functional and business decisions
Desirable
* Experience with Oracle and Bottomline Webflo invoice workflow
* Experience in a customer‑focused environment dealing with a variety of stakeholders
* Experience producing complex supplier reconciliations in Excel
* Previous line management experience
What Youll Get in Return
* A discretionary annual bonus so you can share in the companys success
* 25 days paid holiday and an annual holiday buying scheme, with 5 additional days awarded for long service
* A generous pension scheme – employer contributions between 5% and 11% depending on how much you save
* Various benefits to support your health and wellbeing, including a Healthcare Cash Plan, an Employee Assistance Programme, a Wellbeing platform and a Gym benefit you can share with family and friends
* Enhanced Family Leave, including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non‑birthing parents
* A range of other benefits, including an annual ShareSave scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more
About Unite Students
Founded in 1991, Unite Students is the UKs leading provider of purpose‑built student accommodation. We are in 23 leading university towns and cities, with 70,000 students calling us home. We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.
Instinctive inclusion – we know that to create and maintain a happy, healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isnt just what we do but who we are.
People make Unite Students. Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.
Room for everyone – were proud to be an employer that embraces individuality and are passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on a collaborative culture where you can be yourself, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building a home for success, for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with a passion for creating room for everyone, doing whats right, keeping us safe, and raising the bar. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.
We are US.
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Accounting/Auditing and Finance
J-18808-Ljbffr