Senior Accounts Payable Assistant

Join to apply for the Senior Accounts Payable Assistant role at Unite Students. The Account Support team have an exciting opportunity for an Account Support Assistant to join us in our Bristol office.

To provide an efficient and customer focused payables service, ensuring effective purchasing processes and compliance are in place. Ensuring both internal and external customer needs are met whilst adhering to specified SLAs and enabling suppliers to be paid as per the agreed terms.

As the Senior within the team, the role will include line management responsibilities, supporting with mentoring the less experienced of the team, ensuring processes are adhered to and documented, and being a support for escalation within the Team as well as covering times of absence for the Supervisor.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Supporting the team with 1-2-1’s, PDPs, appraisals, and any other line management support.
• Support any business training activities in the payables area as required, ensuring documentation is maintained and up to date.
• Follow Data Protection associated policies, keeping information confidential and secure, ensuring employee, supplier and customer data is protected and handled appropriately in line with legislative requirements.
• Build and maintain relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders to enable swift and accurate processing of invoices and timely settlement.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for projects, offering expertise and guidance to support successful project delivery.
• Take a positive approach to change within the business, generating and implementing ideas for continuous process improvement within Financial Services.
• Support with any audit queries as required.
• Contribute to cross-skilling within the team, sharing best practice and knowledge to ensure that processes are consistent, and that efficiency is maximised.
• Ensure all procedure documentation is kept up to date.
• Provide management information to support functional and business decisions.
• Timely processing of supplier invoices and query resolution ensuring nothing in query over 60 days that’s not been escalated accordingly.
• Close off the month end AP ledger.
• Manage/resolve tickets in Manage Engine (accounts payable inbox) within 3-day SLA.
• Ensure items moved to whitemail are reviewed, redirected and cleared down daily.
• Resolve invoice queries to clear invoices for payment by liaising with both suppliers and stakeholders within the business.
• Clear the prepayment log to ensure nothing on there at month end.
• Review detailed aged creditors report on a weekly basis.
• Monthly reconciliation of priority/business critical suppliers including any legal letters, ensuring timely resolution of any queries/outstanding balances.
• Administration of iProcurement processes to oversee purchase order control, addressing queries and ensuring smooth query resolution.
• Overseeing our council tax and business rates processes, while building and maintaining relationships with local authorities to ensure compliance and efficiency.
• Oversee the administration of our company fleet, ensuring compliance and operational effectiveness.
• Manage company credit card administration, ensuring compliance and accuracy in financial transactions.
• Coordinate user accounts for travel and accommodation, streamlining processes for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Manage supplier onboarding and maintenance processes, to support an efficient procure-to-pay process.
• Provide ad-hoc management information to support functional and business decisions.
• Bank systems Admin (PTX Bankline).
• Delegation authority matrix maintenance.

What We’re Looking for in You

• 3 years+ 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.

Desirable

• Experience of working with Oracle and Bottomline Webflo invoice workflow.
• Experience working in a customer focused environment and dealing with a variety of different stakeholders.
• Experience of producing complex supplier reconciliations in Excel.
• Previous line management experience.

What You’ll Get in Return

• A discretionary annual bonus.
• 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.
• Enhanced Family Leave including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents.
• Lots of other great benefits including an annual ShareSave scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is a FTSE 100 business and the UK’s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams.

We’re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we’re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong.