Accounts Payable and Billing Specialist

Department

OPS Operations, Strategy, and Finance - Supply Chain Management - Accounts Payable

About the Department

The Office of the Vice President for Operations supports the highest ambitions of the University’s teaching and learning, research, and engagement goals with the mandate to oversee enabling infrastructure of the University including the built environment, technology, and human resources organizations. In support of faculty, students, and staff, the Office of the Vice President for Operations prioritizes an exceptional level of service and delivery of robust business practices that steward the University’s infrastructure resources efficiently and contributes to the long-range planning and culture of the University.

Job Summary

Join our team as an Accounts Payable and Billing Specialist within the Department of Safety and Security (DSS), where you'll play a vital role in managing the University's accounts payable and billing operations. In this dynamic position, you will support DSS’s financial integrity by processing vendor invoices, ensuring timely payments, and maintaining compliance with University policies. You'll deliver crucial weekly and ad hoc reporting to the Executive Director, contribute to internal audits, and monitor the status of purchase orders, payments, and billing transactions.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, shows meticulous attention to detail, and collaborates seamlessly with both internal stakeholders and external vendors. You will be responsible for maintaining accurate financial records, resolving discrepancies, validating payment transactions, and providing insightful metrics to guide departmental decisions.

Responsibilities

• Processes and validates vendor invoices, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with university policies and procedures.
• Reconciles accounts payable (AP) balances monthly; investigates and resolves discrepancies, including outstanding procurement invoices and billing errors.
• Manages and maintains an active list of all DSS purchase orders, providing timely status updates and alerts regarding renewals or increases needed for invoice processing.
• Addresses invoice-related issues, such as missing, rejected, uploading errors, etc., and resolves internal notices concerning outstanding payments, particularly within Oracle.
• Prepares and delivers monthly summaries of invoices in Oracle with payment status exceeding 45 days.
• Audits DSS payment transactions (ACH, wires, paper checks) and review the Account Payables Daily Diagnostic reports to identify and resolve payment errors or disputes.
• Review and validate vendor AP adjustments and write-offs.
• Responds to vendor inquiries regarding payment status, maintaining positive relationships with external vendor accounting departments.
• Maintains accurate records related to DSS payment processing and prepares departmental financial metrics around expense payments.
• Calculates, processes, and tracks internal billing transactions for various University billing functions.
• Serves as an AP resource for DSS, providing weekly status reports to the Financial Manager and supporting departmental financial communications.
• Performs a variety of accounts receivable/payable related activities which requires functional knowledge of invoice processing procedures.
• Responds to and researches accounts receivable/payable inquiries including payments to vendors and reimbursements to individuals with a limited degree of supervision.
• Collects, interprets, and performs some routine analyses of payables data. May act as an informal resource to associates with less experience.
• Reviews invoice payment reports and creates appropriate payables transactions to correct errors, with skills learned through considerable on-the-job experience.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include vocational training, apprenticeships or the equivalent experience in related field (not typically required to have a four-year degree).

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications 

Experience:

• Background in higher education.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficient in Microsoft Word and other Microsoft applications.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, especially pivot tables, VLOOKUP’s, macros, etc.

Preferred Competencies 

• Attention to Detail - demonstrates a high level of accura