Role Purpose

The Accounts Payable Specialist is a core transactional finance role within the Finance Shared Services Hub, responsible for the end-to-end purchase-to-pay cycle for their assigned jurisdiction. Based in Madrid, each Specialist manages vendor relationships, invoice processing, payment execution, and reconciliation for their entity, ensuring timely and accurate payment runs in compliance with local requirements and hub-wide SLAs.

Key Responsibilities

1. Purchase-to-Pay Cycle

- Receive, validate, and process vendor invoices in accordance with purchase orders, delivery notes, and approval workflows

- Ensure accurate coding of invoices to the correct cost center, GL account, and project code in SAP

- Manage the invoice approval workflow and chase approvers proactively to avoid payment delays

- Execute payment runs on schedule: weekly or bi-weekly depending on jurisdiction and vendor terms

- Process urgent and exceptional payments outside the standard payment run when required and authorized

2. Vendor Management

- Maintain accurate vendor master data in SAP: bank details, payment terms, contact information, and tax identifiers

- Manage vendor queries: payment status, invoice discrepancies, statement reconciliations, and credit notes

- Build and maintain professional working relationships with key vendors in the assigned jurisdiction

- Escalate vendor disputes or unresolved discrepancies to management within agreed timeframes

3. Reconciliation & Controls

- Reconcile vendor statements monthly and resolve open items before closing

- Perform month-end A/P close activities: accruals for un-invoiced goods and services, GR/IR reconciliation, and balance sheet clearing

- Ensure the A/P sub-ledger is fully reconciled to the general ledger at each period end

- Support internal and external audit by providing documentation, transaction evidence, and reconciliations on request

4. Reporting & KPIs

- Prepare weekly A/P aging reports and flag overdue items, disputed invoices, and payment blockers

- Track and report DPO by vendor and by payment category

- Contribute to the working capital dashboard by providing accurate A/P data to the Working Capital & Finance Analyst

- Support the cash flow forecast by providing reliable short-term payment commitments for the assigned jurisdiction

5. Process & Compliance

- Follow hub-wide A/P procedures and SLAs, and flag deviations or process gaps to the Head of Finance Operations

- Ensure invoices are processed and paid in compliance with local tax and regulatory requirements for the assigned jurisdiction

- Participate in process improvement initiatives within the hub — suggest and test improvements to reduce processing time and error rates

- Maintain full documentation of processes for audit readiness and business continuity purposes

Requirements

- 2-4 years in accounts payable, purchase ledger, or procure-to-pay in a structured finance environment

- Experience processing high-volume invoices with multi-level approval workflows

- SAP FI (A/P module) experience preferred

- Understanding of UK VAT post-Brexit: domestic reverse charge rules, import VAT on goods from EU, and VAT on intra-UK services

- Familiarity with UK payment infrastructure: BACS, Faster Payments, CHAPS; processing logic, cut-off times, and bank file formats

- Knowledge of UK supplier payment terms and the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) obligations where applicable

- Awareness of UK-specific invoice requirements: VAT registration number display, making tax digital (MTD) context

- Experience working with UK-based vendors and navigating Sterling (GBP) payment runs from a non-UK entity