The Senior Payments Specialist will be responsible for completing payments activities and maintaining accurate records for the company. This will include, but not limited to, processing and managing payments to suppliers/vendors and employees within Travel & Expense transactions. You will have a significant role in implementing and enforcing payments processes within the team. An essential part of this role is ensuring that payments documentation that support AP reports meet accounting best practice and regulatory requirements. You will report to the Payments Team Lead, work with and provide guidance and support to the Payments Specialists. About Group Finance In joining RWSs Finance team you will be a critical part of supporting a listed world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content, and intellectual property services. RWS has growing revenues of over 750m through a combination of value accretive acquisitions and organic growth. Group finance, led by our Group CFO; Candy Davies, includes diverse teams across the globe operating in functions including business partnering, operational finance, specialist, and group functions. We cover a footprint of over 100 legal entities in 43 different countries worldwide. Its a very exciting time to join RWS Finance for an individual who enjoys change and making an impact! As part of the overall RWS business strategy we are making a significant investment in upgrading our financial systems and processes to deliver enhanced reporting and control, more efficient processing enabling great value through enhanced business partnering and decision support. Key Responsibilities Perform payments activities Validate and process prepayments and direct debits Generate payments propositions in a timely manner Process electronic payments and liaise with bank to make necessary adjustments to failed payments Send system-generated electronic remittance advices and generated cheques to vendor/supplier Validate rush payment approvals in line with associated policies and process rush payments Support AP reconciliation process where needed Resolve and process payment exceptions including, but not limited to, issues in ERP Support with queries from vendor/supplier Work with and support payments team in day-to-day activities including issues requiring judgement and expertise Support overall payments team goals and objectives Support continuous improvement of the payments processes in the (SSC) Work with the Payments Team Lead to execute P2P process strategy Spot errors and suggest ways to improve efficiency of systems and processes Ensure performance targets are met and raise issues if targets are not achieved Demonstrate and champion process expertise supporting P2P Global Process Owners (GPO) initiatives Ensure payments team compliance Perform prescribed payments activities within defined payments policies and ensure all transactions are processed in accordance Ensure payments activities prior to and during period end close are compliant with the fiscal close calendar, ensuring adequate time for collaboration with various teams impacted Ensure all P2P controls are adhered to and documented appropriately Inform colleagues and stakeholders about procedural and regulatory requirements Support the implementation of risk management process and associated controls in line with company policies Respond to requests from regulatory authorities and auditors Collaborate with others Establish relationships and credibility within payments team as well as other cross- functional teams Collaborate with Master Data team for required data points, best practices and standards and data issues Collaborate with other SSC process delivery teams to exchange information, as required, and support process improvement where dependencies may exist Liaise with stakeholders across the business to ensure requirements are met, for example, to oversee that requests from Business Partners are actioned by the payments team in a timely and accurate manner Skills & Experience 3 years experience in P2P payments operations Strong English language skills Advanced MS Excel skills with a proven aptitude to interpret vendor/supplier and financial data Strong knowledge of finance business processes, payments policies, and statutory accounting principles to ensure compliant SSC operations Working knowledge of core finance systems, ERP and related specialty functional systems, frameworks, and functionality Applied experience in payments processing and ability to identify root causes of payments related issues Experience performing payments tasks/procedures at a moderately difficult to considerably difficult level Examines issues and makes informed recommendations related to payments processes Demonstrate logical thought process to simplify complex issues and technical concepts, and to facilitate issue resolution Ability to interact with company stakeholders to ensure a high quality of service, while balancing expectations and realizations Ability to work in a fast-moving environment with a proactive approach, accustomed to working towards tight deadlines whilst maintaining quality of work Excellent communication and negotiation skills with a strong ability to interact with vendors and resolve issues
