Purchase Ledger Supervisor

Job description

Job responsibilities

Purchase Ledger and Supplier Payments

• Ensuring at all times that payments are processed in accordance with agreed procedures including the Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs), ensuring that documents are signed / approved in accordance with the Authorised Signatory List (ASL) and that budget managers are made aware when SFIs have not been adhered to in the procurement process;
• Agreeing the overall payment timetable with the Financial Controller
• Reviewing the Supplier payment runs, checking payments over £5k and pushing the payment through the bank;
• Responsible for the overall management of the purchase ledger inbox's.
• Actively reviewing all invoices that do not comply with the Better Payment Practice Code (BPPC) and removing those that were paid late due to them being formally disputed;
• Implementing changes to processes to support BPPC compliance;
• To lead on the quarterly and annual Agreement of balances exercise for Creditor payments.
• Responsible for reconciling statements and agreeing balances with other NHS bodies and other Whole of Government Account bodies in accordance with published timetables and ensuring these are reflected accurately in the Trusts Annual Accounts.
• Liaising with Suppliers, the Procurement department, Trust budget managers and requisitioners in order to ensure that purchase ledger transactions are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible. This will be done by undertaking thorough investigations, interrogating the system, liaising extensively with suppliers and Trust staff in order to make payments and avoid issues escalating. In addition, and as a final resort, it may be necessary to deal with bailiffs, preparation of court papers and to attend small claims court.
• Authorisation of all New Supplier and Supplier Amend requests, adhering to the internal control processes of the Trust and be mindful to keep the supplier reference file at a manageable size and in accordance with naming/numbering conventions.
• Carrying out regular GRNI reviews a monthly exercise to review any purchase orders with goods received against them that have no corresponding invoices recorded on the purchase ledger. This will include reviewing orders to check if they have been duplicated; liaising with suppliers to request invoices and processing the necessary postings on the ledger to resolve any issues identified.
• Working with the Procurement team to support the implementation of a No PO, No pay approach.
• Monitoring and reporting on the movement in the Trusts aged creditors value each month end.
• Weekly review of the Trusts aged creditor position with the team, developing and prioritising an action plan to achieve payment of invoices outstanding over 30 days old.
• Review, action and escalation to the Financial Controller and Head of Financial Services Final Demands and Legal Letters received.
• Production of the monthly over £25k report and submission to IT for sharing publically.

VAT

• Ensuring that Financial Services staff record VAT in accordance with the classification required by HM Customs and Excise to ensure recovery of VAT where appropriate;
• Explaining what VAT is recoverable and ensuring that staff are made aware of the latest VAT legislation, organising formal training as and when required; and communicating VAT recovery errors when highlighted by Finance Control staff to the Financial Services team.
• Ensure that VAT guidelines are implemented across the Trust, with training provided to other departments as required. Liaison with External VAT Advisor as required to ensure that Finance hold relevant and current information regarding the Recovery of VAT
• Responsible for monthly analysis of VAT Recovery, identifying areas for improvement and implementing action plan with other members of staff to ensure that this is achieved. To include a quarterly report to the Senior Financial Accountant on level of VAT under/over recovery in comparison with previous quarter.
• Responsible for the submission of monthly VAT Returns, ensuring that they have been prepared in accordance with HM Revenue & Customs Regulations and Statutory deadlines and that all Inputs and Outputs are correctly identified and calculated.
• Liaise with Estates department to ensure that Capital Additions have been correctly treated to include VAT Recovery

Audit

• Co-operating with internal and external auditors undertaking work on payables and receivables, responding to their reports and actioning any agreed recommendations in line with suggested implementation dates.

Education of Budget Managers and Requisitioners

• Raising awareness of procurement processes and the profile of the Financial Services department amongst Trust budget managers and their staff through one-to-one meetings, group training sessions and attendance at departmental meetings; and
• Working closely with other key departments such as Procurement and Management Accounts and being involved in related projects and system implementations as and when required.
• To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the responsibilities of this post in order to provide a quality (insert) service.

Staff Management

• Recruitment of staff to the team as necessary
• Management of the Purchase Ledger team on a day-to-day basis in accordance with the plan and directions of the Financial Controller and Head of Financial Services
• Ensuring that all deadlines are met within the team including urgent payments, weekly payment runs, monthly closedown processes and annual processes relating to the production of annual statutory accounts.
• Conducting annual appraisals and mid-year reviews with all staff, ensuring that individual and team objectives are in place and personal development needs are identified and met
• Developing the skills and competencies of all staff within the team through learning and development activities including attendance at formal training and also through informal coaching
• Ensuring staff complete all mandatory training
• Ensuring that the workloads of individual members of the Purchase Ledger team is balanced and takes into account their respective Banding, capacity, etc.

Trust and Departmental Policies and Procedures

• Being familiar with Trust policies and notifying the Financial Controller where a breach of policy has occurred, enabling appropriate action to be taken if necessary;
• Constantly reviewing departmental processes and systems of internal control to improve efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring changes are only implemented following consultation with staff, other managers and internal audit as necessary.
• Working closely with the Financial Controller to develop and document processes, systems and procedures.
• Ensuring that staff are operating in line with the agreed processes and systems of internal control within the department.
• Investigating, recording and taking corrective action in respect of all failures of internal control e.g. a duplicate payment.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Minimum GCSE grade C or equivalent English Language & Mathematics
• oNVQ Level 5 / Professional Accountancy Qualification Certificate Level / Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) member or equivalent experience - see below

Desirable

• Evidence of PC based training e.g. Microsoft Word and/or Excel

Experience/Knowledge

Essential

• Extensive experience of paying suppliers invoices, including matching to purchase orders and goods received notes.
• Experience of managing a team.
• Experience of dealing with irate suppliers, taking action to get "stops" removed and handling final notices.
• Experience of using computerised payments systems.

Desirable

• Experience of dealing with small claims court actions.

Skills/Personal qualities

Essential

• Excellent verbal communication skills; in particular the ability to deal with difficult telephone calls in a polite and courteous way.
• Highly persuasive, able to convince suppliers that issues will be satisfactorily resolved and managers and staff of the Trust of the need to take certain actions to which they may be resistant.
• Computer literate, preferably with working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Well-organised, able to prioritise and manage a number of competing demands on time and meet deadlines.
• Problem-solving skills, able to pick up payment processing difficulties, identify reasons and take necessary action
• Excellent staff management skills with ability to motivate and coach own staff to deliver the best service possible.
• Ability to understand systems and processes with the aim of constantly reviewing them and implementing improvements where necessary.

Trust Behaviours

Essential

• Be compassionate, empathetic and caring to everyone
• Enable yourself and others to act with confidence and authority in order to achieve the best outcome for everyone
• Work with others. Be inclusive by understanding and valuing others to achieve the best results for everyone and everything we do
• Act with transparency and honesty; respect and value others to do the right thing at the right time for everyone.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Jack Judge House

Halesowen Street

Oldbury

B69 2AJ

Employer's website

https://www.blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)