Job Advert
Accounts Payable Team Lead
Permanent position
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
The Role:
The Team Leader will hold accountability for the management and development of the accounts payable team.
The role holder will drive process improvement to increase efficiency and delivery for key stakeholders within the business including delivery of tasks on time, in full against the SLA for the divisions, adherence and reporting of KPI’s and metrics for the AP team and the point of escalation for the AP team in remediating issues and problem solving.
What you’ll be doing:
The role will require working closely with finance and non-finance employees at all levels within the organisation, partnering with supply chain, operations and other roles within the divisions and corporate along with building and maintaining supplier relationships.
Key stakeholders include Executive committee & their PA’s, employees of all applicable businesses regards expenses/credit cards, Divisional /Product line leadership, Head of Finance, Central Reporting Acct, Central Costbase Acct, Internal Audit, External Audit, Group Senior SS Manager, Group & SS AP Manager, Suppliers, Head of Supply Chain.
The individual will also be required to work with Group Treasury and Group Tax.as required.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Responsibility for effective, timely and accurate invoice processing across the AP function and proactively promote a right first-time culture within the team and wider business, ensuring invoices are fully processed in accordance with supplier payment terms.
In addition:
Ensure timely and accurate processing and payment of staff expenses, ensuring claims consistently comply with the Group expenses policy.
Promote good practice within the expenses process by liaising with claimants and approvers.
Maximise benefits available from utilising technology such as ERP functionality and document management software to deliver the best service possible to stakeholders.
Develop an SLA driven performance culture within the AP team, such that key SLAs (first time match, invoice processing time etc.) are used to both monitor and improve performance and enable the team to be accountable to stakeholders.
Assist in the recruitment, development and coaching of AP team members, ensuring staff are fully supported and motivated to achieve team objectives.
Ensure the best service to stakeholders by driving the team to achieving departmental KPI`s such as payments on time and reducing invoice processing time.
Documentation of AP processes and controls.
Ensure controls are being executed, Responsibility for internal and external stakeholder management as regards to AP, acting as the key point of contact for communication, queries and escalation of issues.
Proactively manage adoption of process change within the stakeholder group.
Ownership of AP processes and controls across managed ledgers, including supplier statement reconciliations, debit balances and segregation of duties.
Work with divisional stakeholders to ensure a strong control environment across the whole P2P cycle.
Review of issues and error logs, root cause analysis and finding solutions.
Review team productivity and drive improvement.Who are we looking for?
You will need problem solving ability, with a right first-time approach for fixing issues going forward.
Results driven – you will create a performance culture within the AP team that always strives to meet stakeholder expectations for service delivery.
Be a leader within the company on Accounts Payable service delivery, providing direction for both your team and the operational divisions.
Have the ability to work alone or as part of a team with good communication and interpersonal skills.
You will have strong organisational and administrative skills and be a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion with the ability to communicate at all levels and with all stakeholders.
Key skills, knowledge and experience:
Previous experience of managing Accounts Payable function in a medium to large company environment (preferably shared services).
Track record of AP process improvement, preferably with automation software.
Excellent communication skills, proficient in dealing with all levels of internal and external stakeholders.
Good knowledge of MS Office applications such as Excel for use in analysis and communication.
Flexibility to learn new IT systems and applications and a positive approach to adopting new ways of working and utilising technology (e.g. software) to improve processes.
*This role is to be based at our Barrow, Cumbria office on a hybrid basis (3 days a week) therefore, you will need to live within a commutable distance to this location.
Why join us?
Competitive benefits tailored to the division.
Opportunities for career growth and visibility across the organisation.
A supportive, inclusive culture that values your ideas and contributions.
Work that truly makes a difference in safety, innovation, and global capability.
About Us:
James Fisher is a global engineering services company with over 50 years of experience delivering complex offshore energy projects in some of the world’s most challenging environments. We operate across Energy, Defence, and Maritime Transport, leveraging cutting-edge technology and deep expertise to support the full lifecycle of our customers’ assets.
Visit our website at: (url removed)
If this sounds like the ideal next step in your career, then click ‘apply’ now!
Due to the volume of applications, we receive for our vacancies, on occasion applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.
James Fisher and Sons are committed to taking positive action on diversity and strongly encourage applications for candidates from all backgrounds. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and recognise that our success depends on our talented and diverse workforce