Group Accounts Payable Manager

About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Group Accounts Payable Manager to lead the Group’s accounts payable function across its operations. This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced, high-volume logistics environment, where supplier relationships, operational requirements, and cash-flow priorities need to be balanced every day. The role will manage a team of 6 direct reports, with the team expected to grow as the business expands. A critical part of the position is relationship management between transport suppliers and operational teams, where the successful candidate will take ownership of payment communication, manage supplier expectations, resolve disputes quickly, and ensure that operational teams provide Finance with the information and approvals required to process payments efficiently. This is not simply an invoice-processing role; it requires someone comfortable being at the center of Finance, Operations, and supplier relationships, particularly when competing priorities and quick decision-making are required.

Key Responsibilities
Accounts Payable Management

• Lead and manage the Group accounts payable function across the organization.
• Manage the end-to-end supplier payment cycle, from invoice receipt and approval through to payment preparation and reconciliation.
• Ensure supplier invoices and supporting documentation are complete, accurate, and appropriately approved.
• Maintain accurate supplier ledgers and ensure supplier reconciliations are performed consistently.
• Monitor aged payables, outstanding invoices, debit balances, disputed items, and unapplied payments.
• Maintain strong visibility over upcoming payment requirements and provide reliable information to Finance and Treasury for cash-flow planning.
• Ensure payment runs are properly controlled, reviewed, and completed in accordance with Group approval requirements.

Transport Supplier Relationship Management

• Act as a key Finance contact for transport suppliers and capacity buyers.
• Build strong, professional relationships with strategic transport suppliers.
• Ensure suppliers receive clear and realistic communication regarding invoice approval and payment status.
• Proactively manage supplier expectations regarding documentation, approvals, disputes, or cash-flow priorities that may affect payment timing.
• Prevent payment issues from escalating into operational problems or impacting transport capacity.
• Establish a disciplined escalation process for critical transport suppliers and urgent payment requirements.

Operations & Capacity Buyer Management

• Work closely with transport capacity buyers and operational teams to ensure supplier invoices are approved and disputes resolved quickly.
• Drive accountability within Operations for missing documentation, rate discrepancies, unapproved invoices, and other issues preventing payment.
• Ensure Finance is not left managing supplier expectations where the underlying issue sits operationally.
• Develop a strong working relationship between Accounts Payable and transport capacity buyers so that supplier commitments made by operational teams are visible to Finance.
• Challenge urgent and exceptional payment requests while remaining commercially aware of genuine operational needs.

Payment & Cash-Flow Management

• Coordinate closely with Finance on upcoming supplier-payment requirements.
• Provide visibility of significant transport payment obligations and expected payment timing.
• Prioritize payments based on agreed commercial and operational criteria rather than simply responding to the loudest request.
• Identify upcoming payment pressure early and escalate potential supplier or operational risks.
• Manage the balance between supplier expectations, operational continuity, cash availability, and internal payment controls.

Team Leadership

• Directly manage, coach, and develop a team of 6 Accounts Payable employees, with the opportunity to grow the team alongside the business.
• Establish clear ownership by supplier, entity, region, or workflow as appropriate.
• Set measurable service standards covering invoice processing, reconciliations, payment preparation, and query resolution.
• Build a culture of urgency and accountability without compromising financial controls.
• Develop the team so routine supplier queries and reconciliations are resolved without unnecessary escalation.

Controls & Process Improvement

• Maintain appropriate segregation of duties and payment controls.
• Strengthen controls around supplier bank-detail changes and payment instructions.
• Identify recurring causes of delayed invoices, disputed charges, and late approvals, and work with Operations to eliminate them.
• Improve Accounts Payable reporting, workflow, and automation while ensuring that technology supports rather than replaces good commercial judgement.
• Support month-end close by ensuring supplier reconciliations, Payable aging, and cut-off processes are properly managed.

Role Requirements
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate should ideally have:

• Strong experience managing an Accounts Payable function in a high-volume, multi-entity environment (Experience in Africa is a plus).
• Previous team-management experience.
• Experience in logistics, transport, freight forwarding, or another operationally intensive industry would be highly advantageous.
• Strong understanding of supplier reconciliations, payment controls, and Payable aging.
• Excellent stakeholder and relationship-management skills.
• Strong commercial judgement and the confidence to manage difficult supplier conversations.
• The ability to distinguish between an operationally critical payment and an administratively urgent request.
• Strong Excel and ERP/accounting system capabilities.
• Excellent attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger commercial picture.

Personal Attributes
We are looking for someone who is:

• Calm under pressure and comfortable operating in a very fast-paced environment.
• Assertive, professional, and commercially minded.
• A strong communicator who can manage expectations without overpromising.
• Highly organized but able to reprioritize quickly.
• Comfortable challenging both suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Solutions-focused rather than process-focused.
• Able to build relationships while maintaining appropriate financial controls.
• Willing to take ownership of problems through to resolution.

What Makes This Role Different
The Group Accounts Payable Manager should not simply measure success by whether invoices have been processed. Success means that the organization knows what it owes, Treasury knows what cash is required, Operations understands what is holding up payments, suppliers know what to expect, and critical transport capacity is not put at risk due to poor communication or Accounts Payable execution.