Accounts Payable Supervisor - Property Team

About the Role

We are seeking an Accounts Payable Team Leader to join our finance department located in Solihull. This fixed-term contract role involves managing a small team dedicated to handling property-related accounts. Your primary responsibility will be overseeing the timely processing of all property payments, ensuring accurate documentation and compliance with financial procedures. Additionally, you will support month-end processes such as accruals, prepayments, and balance sheet finalisation alongside the Property Accountant.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise the correct handling of invoices and credit notes related to rent, service charges, business rates, BID levies, property insurance, and ad hoc expenses.
• Manage weekly payment proposals, ensuring all invoices due for payment have received internal approval.
• Oversee execution of payments including monthly rent, weekly service charges, insurance, turnover rent, and other ad hoc requests.
• Prepare and review month-end aged creditor balance sheets across all ledgers pertaining to property accounts.
• Monitor aged creditor balances, initiate follow-ups on missing paperwork or refunds, and provide commentary on balances exceeding 90 days.
• Resolve supplier queries by investigating discrepancies and reconciling transactions.
• Track outstanding tax invoices and maintain accurate records for month-end reporting.
• Authorize new account setups and amendments, ensuring updates are made in the rent database and MRI Horizon system.
• Coordinate with third-party agents for service charge and property insurance matters.
• Collaborate closely with the Estates team and other finance staff to resolve both supplier and internal queries.
• Handle service charge month-end activities including posting accruals/prepayments and explaining variances against budget.
• Address balance sheet queries related to service charges and escalate unresolved issues to the Property Accountant.

Required Skills and Experience

• Solid understanding of accounts payable operations.
• Proficient with Excel functions such as VLOOKUP and Pivot Tables.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading a team.
• Familiarity with payment processing workflows.

Personal Attributes

• Systematic and methodical working style.
• Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail.
• Highly organised with ability to manage workload effectively.
• Self-driven and motivated.
• Proactive and able to take initiative.

Why Join Us

Waterstones is a leading bookseller in the UK and Ireland with a proud heritage since 1982. We operate over 300 shops and actively expand our presence across Europe. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, aiming to create a respectful environment for all employees to thrive and contribute their best. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and strive to ensure a bias-free recruitment process, offering reasonable adjustments for candidates who require support during interviews.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and represented. Our recruitment practices are designed to eliminate bias, and we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Recruitment Accommodations

If you need any reasonable adjustments due to disability at any stage of the hiring process, please communicate these to the interviewer or recruitment contact to ensure your experience is accessible.