Temporary Senior Accounts Payable Specialist

Overview

This role is a temporary, hands-on Senior Accounts Payable Specialist position supporting the AP Director. The assignment is three months with potential to extend. Preference will be given to candidates in the New York/New Jersey tri-state area.

The hourly rate for this role is $40.00 - $43.00.

Responsibilities

• Daily AP Operations & Ownership: Independently manage daily accounts payable priorities across invoice intake, coding, approval follow-up, exception resolution, and payment preparation; monitor work in progress and proactively address bottlenecks and approaching deadlines.
• Hands-On Processing & Review: Process and review invoices and Concur expense reports for accuracy, proper coding, documentation, approvals, and policy compliance; remain comfortable handling transactional work as business needs require.
• Analytical Problem Solving: Investigate complex or recurring invoice discrepancies, duplicate payments, vendor disputes, and missing information; identify root causes, recommend practical solutions, and escalate material issues with a proposed course of action.
• AP Aging & Month-End Support: Review AP aging and open items, investigate unusual or stale balances, support reconciliations and accruals, and partner with the accounting team to support an accurate and timely month-end close.
• Payments & Controls: Prepare and initiate domestic and international wire and ACH payment runs in accordance with approval requirements, segregation-of-duties controls, and established security procedures; flag unusual or urgent payment requests.
• Vendor Management & Compliance: Coordinate vendor onboarding, maintain accurate vendor master data, obtain and review W-9/W-8 documentation, respond to vendor inquiries, and support annual 1099 reporting.
• Communication & Judgment: Serve as a reliable point of contact for employees, vendors, and Finance colleagues; resolve routine operational issues independently while keeping the AP Director informed of significant risks, exceptions, and trends.
• Process Improvement & Reporting: Use ERP reports and Excel to identify errors, recurring issues, and opportunities to streamline workflows; recommend practical improvements using system functionality, automation, and approved AI tools where appropriate.

Requirements

• Experience: 5–7+ years of progressive accounts payable or related accounting experience, including substantial independent ownership of AP workflows.
• Accounting Knowledge: Strong understanding of general ledger coding, accruals, reconciliations, internal controls, and the impact of AP activity on financial reporting and cash requirements.
• Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to analyze data, recognize patterns, investigate exceptions, and solve unfamiliar problems without step-by-step direction.
• Excel & Tools: Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and analysis of large transaction lists; proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Systems: Hands-on experience with ERP and expense systems; Concur and Carta AP experience are desirable.
• Communication & Detail Orientation: Excellent organizational skills, written and verbal communication, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize competing deadlines.
• Judgment & Escalation: Proven initiative and sound judgment, including knowing when to make a decision independently and when to escalate a control, compliance, or financial risk.

Compensation & Benefits

• Hourly rate: $40.00 - $43.00

Location

• Remote: This role is remote.
• State eligibility: This position is only open to candidates residing in California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, & Washington. Due to business operations and compliance requirements, applicants based outside these states cannot be considered.
• Preference: Preference will be given to candidates in the New York/New Jersey tri-state area.

Additional Information

This role may evolve over time. Additional duties may be assigned as business needs change. This position is not a people-management role.