Head Accounts Payable

Role purpose

The Head of Accounts Payable & Procurement Operations will lead FNZ's global Accounts Payable and Procurement Operations capability from India. The role will be the Global Process Owner for Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process and is accountable for consolidating fragmented activity into a controlled, scalable and service-led operating model.

This is both an operational leadership and transformation role. The successful candidate will improve process discipline, strengthen controls, increase automation, enhance supplier and stakeholder experience, and build a high-performing India-based centre of excellence supporting FNZ globally.

• One global P2P operating model, with clear ownership, governance, service standards and escalation routes.
• Consolidated AP and Procurement Operations activity in India, supported by effective transition and knowledge-transfer plans.
• Improved invoice-to-pay performance, including faster cycle times, fewer exceptions and better on-time payment outcomes.
• Higher purchase order and procurement policy compliance, with improved visibility of spend and supplier commitments.
• Stronger supplier onboarding, master-data governance, payment controls and fraud-prevention measures.
• A measurable productivity and automation roadmap, aligned to D365 and FNZ's wider finance systems strategy.
• A capable, engaged team with clear roles, objectives, development plans and succession coverage.

Key accountabilities

1. End-to-end P2P ownership

• Act as the global process owner for Procure-to-Pay, spanning requisition, sourcing support, purchase order creation, goods or service receipt, invoice processing, approvals, payment and supplier query resolution.
• Design and embed a standard global process, control framework and service catalogue, allowing only clearly justified local variations.
• Establish clear governance across Finance, Procurement, Legal, Risk, Technology and business, including decision rights and escalation routes.
• Maintain process documentation, controls, training and role accountability across the P2P lifecycle.

2. Consolidation and service delivery

• Lead the consolidation of AP and Procurement Operations activities into the India operating hub, with robust transition planning and no loss of control or service continuity.
• Define service levels, capacity requirements, workload allocation and quality assurance routines.
• Create disciplined daily, weekly and monthly operational management, including backlogs, ageing, exceptions, payment readiness and stakeholder issues.
• Provide a responsive service to suppliers and internal stakeholders, with clear ownership of queries and root-cause resolution.

3. Accounts Payable operations and control

• Own global invoice processing, payment preparation, supplier reconciliations, query management and AP close activities.
• Ensure payments are accurate, appropriately authorised, secure and completed in accordance with agreed terms and cash-management priorities.
• Strengthen duplicate-payment prevention, bank-detail change controls, segregation of duties and supplier master-data governance.
• Manage aged invoices, unmatched items, manual journals and recurring processing exceptions.
• Ensure AP balances, accrual inputs and month-end reporting are complete, accurate and delivered to timetable.

4. Procurement operations and supplier governance

• Lead procurement operations, including intake and triage, sourcing administration, purchase order support, supplier onboarding and contract-record administration.
• Improve compliance with procurement policy, approved buying channels and purchase order requirements.
• Partner with category and business owners to improve spend visibility, demand discipline and supplier rationalisation.
• Embed consistent supplier due diligence, onboarding, classification and ongoing governance in partnership with Risk, Legal, Compliance and Information Security.
• Maintain effective supplier performance and issue-management routines for strategically important or high-volume suppliers.

5. Transformation, systems and data

• Develop and execute a P2P improvement roadmap covering simplification, standardisation, automation and control enhancement.
• Support the design improvements and optimisation of D365 and associated procurement, workflow, data and reporting solutions.
• Increase touchless processing and reduce manual hand-offs through better data, workflow and automation.
• Use process and performance data to identify bottlenecks, quantify benefits and prioritise improvement activity.
• Ensure technology changes are supported by clear process ownership, testing, training, adoption and benefits tracking.

6. Performance accountability

• Own and report global P2P performance across service delivery, process quality, controls, compliance, efficiency, working capital and stakeholder experience.
• Establish weekly operational management and provide concise monthly reporting covering trends, root causes, risks, recovery actions and transformation benefits.

7. Leadership and stakeholder partnership

• Build and lead a high-performing, service-oriented AP and Procurement Operations team in India.
• Set clear objectives and accountabilities, manage performance fairly and develop technical, operational and leadership capability.
• Partner effectively with regional finance teams, Group Finance, business leaders and corporate functions across FNZ.
• Communicate operational performance, risks, dependencies and decisions clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Create a culture of ownership, control, continuous improvement and constructive challenge.

Experience required

• Relevant industry experience of over 10 years and above
• Significant leadership experience across Accounts Payable, Procurement Operations, Procure-to-Pay or Global Business Services in a complex international organization with demonstrable success working in and building high performance shared-services teams
• Demonstrable experience consolidating or transitioning activity into a shared-services or offshore centre while protecting service quality, business continuity and control.
• End-to-end P2P process knowledge, including procurement governance, supplier lifecycle management, invoice-to-pay controls and month-end requirements.
• Proven delivery of process standardisation, automation and operating model change with measurable benefits.
• Experience leading sizeable teams through change and building capability in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience with a major ERP and procurement technology ecosystem. Microsoft D365 experience would be advantageous.
• Experience in financial services, fintech, technology or another regulated and control-focused environment would be beneficial.
• Relevant degree or professional qualification in Finance, Accounting, Procurement, Operations or a related discipline is desirable.

Skills and leadership attributes

• Enterprise mindset, with the ability to optimise the whole P2P process rather than individual functional steps.
• Strong operational leadership, able to combine attention to detail with clear strategic direction.
• Data-led and commercially aware, with the ability to translate performance information into decisions and action.
• Confident stakeholder management and influencing skills across cultures, functions and seniority levels.
• Strong control orientation and sound judgement, particularly in payment, supplier and fraud-risk matters.
• Pragmatic change leadership, with a docus on simplification, standardisation and sustainable adoption.
• Clear, concise communication and the ability to escalate issues with options and recommendations.
• High personal accountability, resilience and integrity.

About FNZ

FNZ is a global financial technology business. This role will operate across a complex international environment and must combine strong service delivery with disciplined control, scalable processes and effective partnership across regions and functions.