ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SENIOR SPECIALIST

Working independently in a high volume, fast-paced environment the AP Senior Specialist demonstrates his/her wide experience and judgment by performing functions that necessarily depart from standard procedure in light of exceptional circumstances or in the interest of service excellence. Such functions may include but not be limited to: fielding end user requests for express checks and elevating them to management; securing and verifying payee routing and bank account information to enable electronic payments via the automated clearing house (ACH); securing additional resources (including if necessary resources external to AP) when service recovery is required to remedy payments made late or incorrectly; stopping checks; reissuing checks that are stopped, returned and/or voided; resolving vendor statement enquiries; researching, confirming, and securing the return of duplicate payments. The scale and time-sensitivity of AP operations makes it essential the Senior Specialist be capable of identifying performance challenges and taking and in some instances directing corrective action to address them when a Supervisor is not present. To perform effectively the Senior Specialist must therefore have an expert grasp of AP policy & procedure, well developed conflict resolution skills, the ability to interact with all levels of the organization, and poise to make tough calls under stress.

• Take an active role in advancing the technical knowledge of his/her AP Specialist and AP Representative colleagues by teaching from his/her experience the skills required to sustain productivity metrics in a department that processes in excess of 2mm payment requests annually
• Take an active role in teaching his/her AP Specialist and AP Representative colleagues the judgment necessary to maintain an appropriate balance between AP’s three often mutually exclusive goals: prompt and accurate payment performance, policy compliance, and unimpeachable customer service
• Initiate constructive dialogues with end users and payees when improper and/or insufficient payment requests prevent AP from auditing and processing payments on time and completely
• Monitor and report to management variances in input quality that hinder AP’s ability to make timely and accurate payments (inputs referring to any and all forms of payment request including invoices, check requests, and expense claims)
• Comply with all payment and fraud prevention protocols dictated by the Materials Management Transaction Departments and Partners Finance
• Demonstrate Service Excellence in all interactions with internal and external customers

• High School diploma or the equivalent required (Associate's Degree is a plus)
• 3-5 years Accounts Payable experience 
• Fluency with PeopleSoft Financials

• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills a must
• High degree of comfort with standard PC software programs: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access
• Ability to grasp new concepts and the confidence to suggest areas for process improvement
• Analytical skills required