Accounts Payable Specialist

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies. 

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards. 

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries. 

Job Purpose: The Accounts Payable Specialist is an important role in the Accounts Payable team to ensure the accurate processing and payment of vendor invoices and the operation of the related financial controls. The team uses the Esker Accounts Payable system to read all vendor invoices and integrate with SAP ERP system. The Accounts Payable Specialist will focus on supporting particular internal customers and work closely with stakeholders to resolve queries and issues to ensure invoices are processed accurately and paid in accordance with the agreed terms.

Responsibilities:

Duties will include but are not restricted to:

• Process PO and Non‑PO invoices accurately and efficiently using Esker and SAP
• Download invoices from vendor portals and process them in Esker
• Maintenance of Esker for automation of invoice processing
• Obtaining of approval of Non-Purchase Order invoices in accordance with the Delegated Authorities
• Matching of invoice details to Purchase Order details
• Investigating supplier invoice queries
• Analyze and resolve items in the MRBR (Blocked Invoices) report
• Supporting Internal and External Audits
• Liaising with Purchasing teams for resolution of issues
• Actively participate in weekly collaboration calls with Finance Controllers and the Procurement team
• Monthly reconciliation of Intercompany Balances and accrual of missing invoices
• Post month‑end Esker Non‑PO accruals and perform timely reversals, ensuring accrual balances at the lowest possible
• Monitoring of the Concur SAP Cockpit and resolution of issues
• Other AP activities as required

Technical Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 4-6 years of experience of Accounts Payable
• Good working knowledge of SAP ECC6 is a must
• Experience of working within a Shared Service Centre
• Fast learner with the ability to pick up new systems and processes
• Great attention to detail
• Good communicator with fluency in business English (written and spoken)
• Knowledge of another foreign language is an advantage 
• Excellent MS Office skills, particularly Excel (v-lookup, pivot tables) for data analysis
• Numerate with accounting knowledge
• Well organized with strong task management skills

Planning and Decision Making:

•   The ability to work to deadlines and on different shifts, as applicable
•   A flexible approach and the ability to work on own initiative is essential.
•  A good team player

Impact and Scope: 

•   Ability to work in a Shared Service Centre environment for multiple companies from various countries 
•   Ability to cope with month end reporting, tight deadlines
•   Ability to create and maintain a good working environment within the finance team, independently manage actions and to resolve disputes

Key Internal and External Relationships: 

• Reporting to the AP Supervisor and interacting with Head of Accounts Payable SSC, as needed
• Local Procurement teams for resolving blocked invoices
• Financial Controllers for the approval of payment proposals and bank payments
• Contact with vendors to resolve queries and validate changes to sensitive financial information

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (Careers - Smiths Group plc)