Senior Accounts Payable Manager

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Accounts Payable Manager to lead a high-volume, multi-entity AP function supporting retail operations, distribution, and corporate entities. This role is responsible for overseeing end-to-end accounts payable operations, driving process automation and efficiency, and delivering high-impact financial insights through advanced analytics and reporting.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in retail AP environments, accrual accounting, and large-scale operations, combined with a strong leadership mindset and a focus on continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & High-Volume Operations
• Lead daily AP operations across multiple entities, managing large-scale invoice volumes and vendor relationships.
• Oversee organizational structure across Managers, Supervisors, Leads, and Specialists to support seasonal retail fluctuations.
• Establish and monitor KPIs and SLAs, including invoice cycle times, error rates, aging, productivity, and accrual accuracy.
• Drive workforce planning aligned with store lifecycle changes, promotional cycles, and vendor seasonality.
• Foster a high-performance culture emphasizing accountability, efficiency, and continuous improvement.
• Reporting, Analytics & Financial Insight
• Own and deliver entity-level and consolidated AP reporting, including: Aging and liability exposure
• Accrual rollforwards and reconciliation status
• Invoice processing metrics and throughput
• Vendor spend trends and concentration analysis
• Partner with Finance and FP&A to ensure accurate accruals across inventory, freight, utilities, rent, and store expenses.
• Support month-end and quarter-end flux analysis, cash forecasting, and disbursement planning.
• Develop automated dashboards and executive reporting using Excel and BI tools.
• Analyze large datasets to identify duplicate payments, missed discounts, inefficiencies, and cost-saving opportunities.
• Ensure strong data governance and integrity across ERP systems.
• Accruals, Close & Multi-Entity Complexity
• Lead the AP accrual process across multiple entities, ensuring complete and accurate reporting of period-end liabilities.
• Coordinate high-volume accrual inputs from Operations, Procurement, and field leadership.
• Ensure proper cutoff procedures and reconciliation of accrued vs. actual expenses.
• Manage intercompany AP transactions and eliminations.
• Deliver accurate, timely month-end close cycles in a fast-paced retail environment.
• Process Improvement & Systems
• Drive automation initiatives including OCR, EDI, invoice capture, approval workflows, and vendor portals.
• Optimize paperless processing and document management systems.
• Implement best practices tailored to high-volume retail AP environments.
• Partner with IT and Finance to enhance ERP systems and reporting capabilities.
• Cross-Functional & Vendor Management
• Serve as the primary AP partner for Operations, Procurement, Treasury, Logistics, and Store Finance teams.
• Manage relationships with high-volume vendors, landlords, utilities, and service providers.
• Lead resolution of complex vendor disputes and escalations that impact store operations.
• Provide insights to support vendor negotiations, discount utilization, and payment term strategies.
• Compliance, Audit & Controls
• Ensure compliance with internal controls and audit standards across all entities.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation in a high-volume transactional environment.
• Lead AP participation in internal and external audits.
• Enforce controls to prevent duplicate payments, unauthorized vendors, and fraud.
• Administrative Oversight
• Oversee payments related to leases, utilities, property taxes, licenses, and store operations.
• Ensure compliance with vendor contracts and payment terms.
• Conduct team performance reviews and drive organizational improvements.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field required.
• 10+ years of Accounts Payable experience, preferably in retail or other high-volume industries.
• 5+ years in senior AP leadership roles with multi-layered team management experience.
• Proven success managing multi-entity AP environments with complex accrual structures.
• Advanced knowledge of accrual accounting, month-end close, and reconciliations.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, Power Query, data modeling) and ERP experience.
• Experience with BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, etc.) strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to drive automation, efficiency, and cost savings.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Pay for this position is $120,000-$130,000 per year DOE