Team Lead, Supplier Accounting Operations

Location: New YorkDepartment: Accounting & FinanceExperience Level: Experience ProfessionalsContact: Dave PreziosoJob ID: REQ8440The Supplier Accounting Operations team lead is responsible for leading the firm’s global supplier accounting function, including Accounts Payable, invoice-to-pay operations, supplier inquiry management, and Travel & Expense (“T&E”) administration. The role is accountable for delivering accurate, timely, controlled, and scalable operations; maintaining a robust AP control environment; and continuously improving service, systems, data and operating efficiency.In the role of Team Lead, Supplier Accounting Operations, the employee will be responsible for the following:Lead, develop, motivate, and evaluate the Supplier Accounting Operations team, fostering a collaborative, accountable, high-performance environment.Own the end-to-end global invoice-to-pay process, including invoice intake, coding, approval workflows, exception handling, payment readiness, supplier on-boarding for payment and invoice processing, supplier inquiries, and aging management.Ensure supplier invoices are processed accurately and within established service-level agreements, with appropriate expense allocation, classification, documentation, and approvals.Establish and maintain a strong control environment across supplier accounting processes, including approval authorities, segregation of duties, invoice validation, supplier-master changes, payment controls, audit evidence, and fraud-prevention procedures.Partner with the relevant stakeholders on procure-to-pay process, month-end and year-end accounting cycles (accounts reconciliation, certifications and accruals), payment-run readiness, payment exceptions, supplier payment inquiries, and cash-flow forecasting inputs.Oversee and enhance the T&E expense-management process, including collaborating on policy administration, employee support, approval workflows, compliance monitoring, reporting, and identification of process-improvement opportunities.Monitor and manage AP inboxes and case queues to ensure timely, accurate, and professional resolution of internal and external inquiries.Develop, track, and report operational KPIs, including invoice cycle times, approval aging, on-time payment performance, processing accuracy, exception volumes, inquiry response times, and policy-compliance metrics.Identify operational risks, control gaps, recurring exceptions, and root causes; implement remediation plans and escalate significant matters to Finance leadership as appropriate.Lead continuous-improvement initiatives across people, process, data, and technology, including Workday workflow optimization, automation opportunities, reporting enhancements, and process standardization.Prepare and communicate concise operational reporting, trends, risks, and recommendations to executive leadership and key stakeholders.QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:In order to effectively represent the Company and communicate with stakeholders, the employee must be someone who has: Demonstrated leadership capability, with the ability to build, coach, retain, and develop an effective operations team.Strong knowledge of end-to-end accounts payable, supplier accounting, invoice-to-pay, T&E, and related financial-control best practices.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify process breakdowns, assess root causes, and implement sustainable solutions.Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present operational issues, financial information, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.Proven ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining high standards of accuracy, service, and control.Highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive, with a strong sense of ownership and sound professional judgment.Experience working cross-functionally with Finance, Treasury, Procurement, Technology, Legal, Tax, and business stakeholders.Experience leading process improvement, automation, systems implementation, or ERP/workflow optimization initiatives is strongly preferred.EDUCATION, TRAINING & EXPERIENCE:Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related business discipline, or equivalent relevant experience, required.10-15 years of relevant experience in Accounts Payable, supplier accounting, or finance operations, including meaningful people-management responsibility.Experience leading a global, multi-entity, or complex accounting operation strongly preferred.Experience with Workday Financial Management and/or Workday Expenses preferred.Strong understanding of accounting principles, AP controls, invoice approval workflows, expense allocation, accruals, and close processes.Experience with AP automation, workflow tools, reporting, and data analysis strongly preferred.