AP & AR Manager (12-Month Fixed-Term Contract - Maternity Cover)

We are seeking an experienced and highly organised Finance Operations Manager to provide maternity cover within our Finance team. This role will focus on ensuring the smooth running of Improbable's core finance operations, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, payment runs, bank reconciliations, month end activities, and finance systems administration.

The successful candidate will work closely with stakeholders across Finance, People, Legal, and Operations. Alongside day to day ownership, we are looking for someone who can bring structure, curiosity, and a continuous improvement mindset; identifying opportunities to streamline manual processes, automate recurring tasks where possible, and play a key part in embedding new tools such as ZIP across our finance workflows.

The Opportunity Accounts Payable

• Oversee the Accounts Payable process, ensuring invoices are processed accurately and suppliers are paid on time.

• Approve supplier payment runs in line with internal approval policies.

• Manage appropriate liquidity across the different entity bank accounts ahead of each payment run, coordinating with the FC and VP of Finance to ensure supplier payments, intercompany settlements, and other operational payment obligations can be made on time.

• Act as an escalation point for payment queries and build effective relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders.

• Actively support the onboarding and adoption of ZIP, the company's new procure to pay automation platform, working with Procurement and Finance stakeholders on process design, testing, user adoption, and post go live optimisation to drive further efficiency improvements and embed the system across AP workflows.

Accounts Receivable

• Oversee the Accounts Receivable process, ensuring customer billing is accurate, timely and appropriately documented.

• Monitor aged debtors balances, support collections activity, and act as an escalation point for overdue accounts.

• Identify opportunities to simplify billing, reconciliation, and intercompany settlement processes.

• Reconcile intercompany accounts and support the regular settlement of open balances.

Month End/Year End Close Procedures

• Review and sign off month end close activities across AP, AR and bank reconciliations, and related balance sheet accounts, working with the team to identify bottlenecks and improve the close quality and timelines.

• Prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations for AP and AR related accounts, investigate and resolve reconciling items in a timely manner.

• Ensure financial records remain complete, accurate, and audit ready.

Systems and Process Improvement

• Act as a key administrator and super user for finance systems and associated workflows, including NetSuite, Expensify, Spendesk and ZIP.

• Create, improve and maintain process documentation and standard operating procedures.

• Identify manual, repetitive, or control sensitive processes that could be streamlined or automated.

• Work with Finance and cross functional stakeholders to implement practical improvements that reduce errors, improve visibility, and save time.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across finance operations using existing tools and AI enabled workflows to improve data quality, reporting, reconciliations and documentation.

Why you're made for this

• You have 3+ years' experience managing AP and AR in a fast paced, multi entity environment.

• You are comfortable managing a small team of 2 and overseeing transactional data across multiple currencies, entities, and bank accounts (experience with cryptocurrency payments is a bonus but not required).

• You have a strong understanding of accounting principles, enabling you to assess the accounting impact of finance operations activities across Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and cash related transactions. Bonus points if you're ACA, ACCA, or CIMA qualified, part qualified, or currently studying towards a professional qualification.

• You are an advanced Excel or Google Sheets user and have experience working with finance systems; NetSuite experience is a plus.

• You have a track record of improving finance operations processes, whether through better documentation, stronger controls, automation, or smarter use of systems; not just maintaining them.

• You are comfortable using AI and automation tools to reduce manual work, interrogate data, draft documentation, or improve repeatable workflows. You can operate in ambiguity, manage shifting priorities, and bring structure and clarity to incomplete information.

• You communicate clearly, manage stakeholders well, and know when to escalade.

• You are highly organised, ownership driven, and comfortable keeping critical processes running without close supervision.

• You are curious, collaborative, and always looking for a better way to do things.