Accounts Payable Manager - Midrand

Dis-Chem Pharmacies in Midrand has an opportunity available for an Accounts Payable Manager to join the Finance team. The role is responsible for managing the day-to-day Accounts Payable functions across Trade and Non-Trade Creditors, ensuring suppliers are paid accurately and on time, accounts are properly reconciled, queries are resolved efficiently, and strong financial controls are maintained. The role also involves leading and developing the team, maintaining good supplier relationships, and continuously improving processes through better use of systems, data and people. It is a hands-on senior management position where the individual will lead supervisors and team leaders while remaining accountable for the overall performance, controls and service delivery of the function. The role may also take on additional Accounts Payable responsibilities as the business evolves.

Minimum Requirements

Essential:

• Degree in Accounting (preferred) or Finance or related field
• Minimum of 5 - 8 years' experience in Accounts Payable, Finance, or Accounting
• Solid practical accounting expertise and advanced SAP Accounts Payable experience

Advantageous:

• Experience in high-volume, multi-entity environments such as retail, FMCG, wholesale, or pharmaceuticals

Roles & Responsibilities

Leadership, People Management and Performance:

• Lead the function and any additional assigned areas with clear priorities, standards, roles and accountability.
• Set measurable expectations for supervisors and require effective management of team performance, conduct, development and workload.
• Review performance information regularly and intervene where delivery, quality, behaviour or leadership is below standard.
• Address underperformance promptly and fairly, with appropriate feedback, support, documentation and HR processes.
• Develop capable supervisors and team leaders who take ownership, solve problems and follow through.
• Maintain succession, cross-skilling and continuity, recognising that different accounts payable areas may require distinct processes and specialist knowledge.

Operational Process Ownership

• Own end-to-end Accounts Payable operations across Trade and Non-Trade Creditors, including invoice and statement flow, reconciliations, queries, payment readiness, approvals, account maintenance and month-end activities.
• Establish consistent operating disciplines, controls, service standards, escalation paths and reporting, while allowing for necessary differences between supplier types and processes.
• Ensure reconciliations are accurate, complete and reviewed, and aged items have documented reasons, owners and action dates.
• Monitor backlogs, exceptions and recurring failures and drive sustainable closure.
• Maintain effective oversight of delegated work. Delegation does not transfer management accountability.

Accounting Review and Writeback Management

• Apply sound accounting and commercial judgement to supplier queries, claims, reversals, refunds, deductions, accrual-related matters, adjustments and write-back requests.
• Establish the facts, require adequate support, assess accounting and control implications and decide or recommend the correct treatment within delegated authority.
• Challenge unsupported or inappropriate requests and escalate material, unusual, high-risk or policy exception matters with analysis and a recommendation.
• Ensure write-backs and manual entries are valid, correctly coded, properly authorised and supported by a complete audit trail.
• Distinguish accounting corrections from unresolved operational issues, supplier disputes and matters requiring legal, tax, commercial or senior management input.

Supplier and Stakeholder Management

• Act as senior operational owner for significant supplier account and payment matters within the role’s assigned scope.
• Prepare for supplier engagements, understand the account position and drive documented resolution.
• Build effective relationships with Buying, Procurement, Finance Systems, Trade Terms, Treasury,
• Stores, Distribution, Master Data, Tax, Internal Audit and other relevant functions.
• Resolve cross-functional blockages and escalate unclear ownership, decisions or overdue action.

Systems, Data and Continuous Improvement

• Own effective use of SAP and related accounts payable, workflow, reconciliation, payment and reporting systems.
• Identify whether issues arise from data, process, configuration, integration, user behaviour or control design.
• Partner with Finance Systems and the separate Verification/OCR function where processes intersect.
• Use exception reporting and trends to identify bottlenecks, recurring errors, ageing, weak controls and improvement opportunities.
• Ensure improvements are tested, documented, implemented and embedded without weakening control or service.

Controls, Payments, Risk and Compliance

• Ensure payment and beneficiary-related approvals within the role mandate are valid, accurate, supported and authorised.
• Maintain strong controls over supplier accounts, reconciliations, manual entries, master-data dependencies, payment preparation and exceptions.
• Promptly report control failures, non-compliance, suspected fraud, theft, inappropriate business risk or unusual supplier activity.
• Support audits and drive remediation. Maintain current procedures, approval matrices and audit trails.

Management Information and Reporting

• Provide concise, reliable reporting for the full scope of the role, with separate views for different teams, processes or supplier categories where necessary.
• Report on payment readiness, ageing, open queries, supplier escalations, backlogs, productivity, quality, staff performance, controls and improvement initiatives.
• Escalate material risks and overdue actions early, with analysis, options and recommendations.
• Maintain structured reviews with the Group Head of Treasury and ensure agreed actions are completed.

Escalation of Decision

• Make operational decisions within approved policies, procedures and delegated authority.
• Approve or reject qualifying queries, adjustments and entries within authorised limits.
• Escalate matters above authority, policy exceptions, suspected fraud, material disputes, accounting uncertainty and significant financial, legal, compliance or reputational risk.
• Do not merely forward queries. Escalations must include facts, evidence, analysis, options and a recommendation.

Competencies

• Comprehensive knowledge of Accounts Payable processes, accounting principles, supplier reconciliations, accruals, VAT, general ledger impacts, and financial controls within a high-volume environment
• Strong knowledge of payment processing, reconciliations, workflow management, and related tools
• Advanced SAP Accounts Payable proficiency, strong Excel and data analysis skills, and experience with payment processing, workflow management, reconciliation tools, and financial reporting systems
• Cognitive skills
• Business acumen
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Quality orientation
• Self-management skills
• Leadership & management skills

Special conditions of employment

• South African citizen
• MIE, clear criminal and credit
• Driver’s license and/or own reliable transport
• Occasional traveling

Remuneration and benefits

• Market-related salary
• Medical aid
• Provident fund
• Staff account

ONLY SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED. IF YOU HAVEN`T BEEN CONTACTED WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE CLOSING DATE CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION AS UNSUCCESSFUL.

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is an equal opportunity employer. Dis-Chem’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process aligned to Dis-Chem’s Employment Equity & Transformation Strategy. Dis-Chem actively supports the recruitment of People with Disabilities.