About the company
This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Global Director – Accounts Payable based in Germany.
Responsibilities
- Lead global Procure-to-Pay operations: own the end-to-end P2P process, covering procurement requests, purchase requisitions, vendor sourcing support, purchase orders, supplier onboarding, invoice processing, approval workflows, payment execution, exception management, vendor inquiries, and month-end accounts payable activities
- Establish global policies and governance: develop and implement consistent procurement and AP policies, procedures, approval matrices, purchasing thresholds, preferred vendor requirements, service-level agreements, and performance metrics
- Strengthen financial controls and compliance: maintain robust controls over vendor selection, supplier master data, segregation of duties, bank detail changes, duplicate payments, fraud prevention, purchase approvals, payment authorization, contract documentation, and records retention
- Optimize procurement and payment processes: lead process centralization, standardization, and automation initiatives
- Oversee systems and workflow automation: drive improvements involving ERP-enabled controls, procurement intake tools, vendor portals, optical character recognition (OCR), purchase order matching, approval workflows, and travel and expense (T&E) integrations
- Manage shared services performance: monitor operational productivity, processing accuracy, invoice aging, turnaround times, purchase order compliance, outstanding work queues, and escalation resolution
- Oversee corporate card and expense management: manage corporate card administration, spending limits, approval controls, transaction reconciliation, expense policy compliance, and timely employee reimbursement processing
- Coordinate cross-functional activities: partner with Legal, Tax, Treasury, Accounting, IT, Operations, and local Finance teams
- Support acquisition integration: lead the integration of procurement and AP operations for acquired businesses
- Improve reporting and financial visibility: ensure AP records are complete, accurate, and current
- Drive continuous improvement: identify opportunities to improve governance, reduce risk, increase automation, strengthen accountability, and establish scalable processes
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, or a related discipline is preferred
- At least eight years of experience in procurement, accounts payable, Procure-to-Pay operations, shared services, accounting operations, or finance process leadership
- Demonstrated experience managing financial or procurement processes across multiple countries, legal entities, or complex organizational structures
- Strong understanding of the full P2P lifecycle, including supplier onboarding, purchasing controls, purchase orders, invoice processing, payment workflows, expense management, and vendor relationship governance
- Experience with ERP systems, procurement platforms, workflow automation, vendor master data management, and technology-enabled financial controls
- Proven ability to establish and maintain robust financial controls, enforce purchasing policies, prevent fraud, manage payment risks, and support compliance requirements
- Experience leading process improvement, standardization, centralization, and automation initiatives across global or complex organizations
- Ability to manage operational performance through measurable service levels, productivity indicators, quality metrics, turnaround times, and effective escalation procedures
- Experience integrating procurement, accounts payable, vendor data, and financial workflows following acquisitions is advantageous
- Strong problem-solving skills and analytical and strategic thinking
Conditions