Accounts Payable | Finance | Odgers Executive Search in London

About the role

Accounts Payable | Odgers | London or Birmingham

You don’t need finance experience to apply – if you’ve got strong admin skills, we’d love to hear from you. The overall purpose of an Accounts Payable Executive is to ensure all supplier invoices are accurately processed, approved, and paid on time. They help maintain strong supplier relationships and support accurate financial records and cash flow control.

Outcomes

• Invoices are processed accurately and on time – all supplier invoices are coded correctly, approved promptly, and paid within agreed terms, with minimal errors or rework.
• Month‑end closes run smoothly – AP deadlines are consistently met, reconciliations are accurate, and required information is provided to Finance on time.
• Strong supplier relationships are maintained – queries are handled professionally and efficiently, reducing disputes and escalations.
• Controls and compliance are upheld – company policies, approval limits, and audit requirements are followed consistently with no material audit issues.
• Cash flow visibility is improved – payment schedules, accruals, and liabilities are kept up to date, supporting effective cash flow management.
• Processes become more efficient over time – opportunities to streamline AP processes, reduce manual work, or improve accuracy are identified and acted on.
• The team can rely on consistent quality – work is dependable, priorities are managed well, and colleagues can trust the accuracy of AP data.
• Performance is measured through clear service indicators such as invoice turnaround times, percentage of invoices paid to terms, aged query volumes, reconciliation completion, and month‑end deadline adherence.

Skills

• High attention to detail and accuracy when processing large volumes of financial data.
• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills, particularly around payment runs and month‑end deadlines.
• Clear written and verbal communication with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Good Excel and data-handling skills, including reconciliations, filtering, and basic formulas.
• Confidence using finance systems and adapting to new tools and processes.
• Ability to identify exceptions, investigate issues, and follow through to resolution.

Competency

• Takes ownership of tasks and follows them through to completion.
• Works in a methodical and disciplined way, maintaining accurate records.
• Remains calm and dependable during busy periods and competing deadlines.
• Uses sound judgement when handling sensitive financial information and control issues.
• Builds effective working relationships across Finance and the wider business.
• Looks for practical ways to improve processes, reduce rework, and increase efficiency.

Technical Accounts knowledge

An ideal candidate would have working knowledge of:

• End‑to‑end Accounts Payable processes, including invoice receipt, verification, coding, approval, and payment.
• Purchase invoice processing, including 2‑way and 3‑way matching of invoices, purchase orders, and goods receipts, plus handling non‑PO invoices and approval exceptions.
• Payment runs (weekly/monthly), including BACS or international payments.
• Supplier statement reconciliations and resolving discrepancies.
• Supplier onboarding and master data controls, including new supplier setup, verification of bank detail changes, and maintenance of accurate supplier records.
• Duplicate invoice/payment prevention and awareness of fraud risks, including escalation of suspicious invoices or supplier bank change requests.
• Aged creditors review, including monitoring old outstanding items, debit balances, and unresolved supplier queries.
• VAT basics, including: Input VAT vs non‑recoverable VAT, different VAT treatments for common expense types, checking invoices for VAT compliance.
• Month‑end activities, such as: Accruals for unpaid invoices, providing accurate AP data to Management Accounts, expense processing, including staff or contractor expenses, policy compliance checks, and corporate card reconciliations where applicable.
• Internal controls, approval limits, and audit requirements.
• Experience with finance systems and invoice workflow tools, including ERP systems, OCR or scanning platforms, and approval workflows, with the ability to identify automation and process improvement opportunities.

Behaviours

• Accountability – Delivers work to a high standard, takes ownership, and follows through on commitments.
• Accuracy – Works carefully and consistently, ensuring financial information is complete and reliable.
• Collaboration – Builds constructive relationships with suppliers, colleagues, and the wider business.
• Judgement – Applies common sense and control awareness when resolving issues or escalating concerns.
• Continuous Improvement – Seeks opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce manual work, and strengthen controls.

Accountability and Responsibility

• Process supplier invoices accurately and efficiently – Receive, review, code, and process supplier invoices in line with company policies, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and appropriate approvals.
• Manage matching, approvals, and invoice exceptions – Perform 2-way and 3-way matching where required, follow up on missing approvals or supporting information, and resolve invoice exceptions promptly.
• Manage payment runs and meet supplier terms – Prepare and execute payment runs accurately and on schedule, ensuring suppliers are paid in line with agreed terms and cash flow requirements.
• Maintain accurate supplier records and reconciliations – Set up and maintain supplier accounts, verify new supplier details and bank account amendments in line with internal controls, and complete regular creditor statement reconciliations.
• Handle supplier queries and issues professionally – Act as a first point of contact for supplier queries, investigating and resolving issues efficiently to maintain positive working relationships.
• Support the month-end close and financial reporting – Provide accurate AP information for month-end, including accruals, outstanding liabilities, and reconciliation support, while meeting Finance deadlines consistently.
• Uphold controls, compliance, and fraud prevention – Follow approval limits, VAT requirements, and audit controls rigorously; review invoices and payment requests for duplication, unusual activity, or control exceptions; and escalate concerns promptly in accordance with policy.
• Contribute to process improvement and efficiency – Identify opportunities to streamline AP processes, reduce manual effort, improve data quality, and strengthen ways of working across the function.

About us

Odgers is one of the world’s leading Global Executive Search firms. Our reputation for excellence and integrity has been established over 60 years and we are a partnership-driven by the client, candidate, and employee experience. We function as trusted advisors to our clients and candidates and engage with a diverse range of leaders for the most influential roles across a wide variety of industries. The service we deliver is creative, insightful, and most importantly, in partnership; we pride ourselves on maintaining personal relationships.

At Odgers, we are proud of our progressive, diverse, meritocratic, and collaborative culture where you will find support, training and career development working with colleagues striving for excellence in all they do. We are UK headquartered with colleagues across 58 Offices in 32 countries specialising in over 50 sectors and functions.

Hybrid Working

Our Hybrid working policy is based on the principles of empowerment, mutual trust and flexibility, recognising that we work best when we make choices about when, where and how we work. At the same time, we are reminded that time together is so important. We are a client-service business in which our relationships and our culture provide a significant advantage. Our offices remain critical to how we work; they are a place for collaboration, learning, and support and an anchor for the culture of which we are so proud. We operate a hybrid working model which would typically see you spending a minimum of 2 days working from the office and the rest remotely. Your work pattern will be reliant on business demands, and we would expect you to manage your time accordingly.

At Odgers, we are committed to fostering a work environment that is safe and respectful of all individuals. We have and will always stand with and support the inclusion and equity of our colleagues, candidates and clients and are committed to improving diversity in all its forms within Odgers. Unlimited embodies this philosophy and our commitment to inclusion. We have several initiatives that ensure equity is practised at all levels of our organisation, including our Allies programme, an equitable recruitment process designed to ensure opportunity, our Next Generation council and a meritocratic promotion process.

Sustainability

Modern businesses have a duty to be environmentally responsible and operate sustainably. We believe this represents not only sound commercial sense but also recognises our ethical responsibility to minimise the impact of our activities on the environment and to leave a positive legacy for future generations. We have committed to, and set, science-based decarbonisation targets, and have received verification of these goals from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These targets will hold us accountable to our sustainability strategy while enabling us to measure our progress. This is complemented by us continuing to provide sustainability insight to our clients and cultivating a track record within sustainable businesses and in placing sustainability leaders.

Corporate Social Responsibility

We take Charity seriously – but like to have fun too. Our CSR team are always thinking up new events and activities to get involved in and raise funds for our chosen charity British Heart Foundation. We also have a variety of social clubs and learning opportunities to suit everyone such as the Brunch and Learn Session, Odgers choir, the book club or one of the many sports clubs.

Whats on offer?

• A competitive base salary, supplemented by our benefits package and discretionary bonus.
• 25 days Annual leave + 3 gift days for the Christmas closure + bank holidays.
• Private Medical Insurance with Bupa and cash plan with Simply Health.
• Group Company Pension.
• Season Ticket Loan & Cycle to work scheme.
• Give As You Earn.
• Group Income Protection.
• Group Life Assurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Charity Day.
• Wellbeing Programmes, support and speakers.
• On-boarding, induction training and ongoing professional development.
• Corporate member discounts and benefits available through Bupa and Simply Health including Gyms Discounts.

Applications

We are committed to ensuring everyone can access our website and application processes. This includes people with sight loss, hearing, mobility and cognitive impairments. Should you require access to these documents in alternative formats, need to apply in a different format or need any reasonable adjustments made for any interview please contact our Talent Team at careers@odgers.com. If you have any comments and/or suggestions about improving access to our application processes, please don't hesitate to contact us at careers@odgers.com.

Eligibility

You must be eligible to live and work in the UK.