Accounts Payable Team Lead

Company Description

Navantia UK is a UK incorporated company, subsidiary of Spanish Navantia, created to work with UK industrial partners in shipbuilding, defence and in offshore wind energy. With a history that goes back more than 300 hundred years, Navantia is a world reference in the design, building, integration and life cycle support of state‑of‑the‑art war ships for the Spanish Navy and international customers and has extensive experience in ToT programmes.

Reporting to the Financial Controller, the Accounts Payable (AP) Team Lead is responsible for managing the end‑to‑end accounts payable function. This includes ensuring accurate and timely processing of supplier invoices and payments, maintaining strong financial controls, and complying with company policies and HMRC regulations. The role provides hands‑on leadership to the AP team, drives process improvement initiatives, and collaborates with stakeholders across the business to support supplier management, cash flow, and month‑end close processes.

The AP Team Lead plays a pivotal role in enhancing efficiency, optimising systems, and supporting audits, contributing to a robust and effective finance function.

• Lead, mentor, and manage the accounts payable team across all sites, promoting a high-performance culture, supporting training and development, and ensuring team engagement.
• Oversee the complete accounts payable cycle, including invoice receipt, validation, approvals, matching, payment runs, and supplier statement reconciliations.
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of all supplier invoices and credit notes in line with company policies, procedures, and HMRC compliance.
• Manage month-end and year-end accounts payable activities, including reconciliations, accruals, and reporting.
• Partner with Procurement, Operations, and other stakeholders to support supplier management, control expenditures, and optimise cash flow.
• Act as the key point of contact for supplier queries and internal stakeholder requests, resolving issues professionally and promptly.
• Supervise employee expense claims and corporate credit card reconciliations, ensuring compliance with company policies.
• Maintain robust internal financial controls, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and company standards.
• Support external audits by preparing documentation, responding to queries, and facilitating audit activities.
• Monitor and report on AP performance using KPIs, identifying opportunities to streamline processes, improve accuracy, and enhance controls.
• Promote continuous improvement initiatives across the accounts payable function, fostering accountability, efficiency, and service excellence.

• Strong understanding of accounts payable processes, financial controls, and compliance requirements.
• Proven leadership and team management skills with the ability to motivate and develop staff.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organisational skills; able to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience with ERP systems (SAP experience advantageous).
• Highly detail‑oriented, analytical, and solution‑focused.
• Strong stakeholder management and problem‑solving abilities.

• Significant proven experience in accounts payable, including supervisory or team‑lead responsibility.
• Experience with ERP systems, ideally SAP.
• Understanding of finance processes and regulatory compliance requirements.

• Standard office environment: occasional travel and overnight trips may be required.
• Working hours may extend beyond the standard schedule to meet business deadlines.

• Minimal physical effort required.
• Primarily office‑based tasks including sitting, standing, and keyboarding, with flexible breaks.

• Directs the activities of support staff; works collaboratively with direct reports.
• Sets short-to-medium term priorities for the team to ensure task completion.
• Coordinates work with other supervisors and escalates issues as necessary.
• May track to an…