Senior Director, Accounts Payable (M2)

Save the Children

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life. To have access to education. To be in a safe environment, protected from harm. We work in some of the world's hardest-to-reach places - over 100 countries, including the U.S. No matter what your role is, when you join Save the Children, you're creating positive, irreversible change for children, and the future we all share.

The Role

As the Senior Director, Accounts Payable, you'll be integral to our work in helping vulnerable children achieve a brighter future. You will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of the Accounts Payable department, ensuring the delivery of timely, accurate, and compliant AP services across Save the Children US. You will be responsible for setting and monitoring performance standards, strengthening internal controls, and driving process improvements to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and service quality. You will cultivate strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and demonstrate agility in responding to emerging needs, ensuring that exceptional customer service remains a hallmark of AP operations. A key focus will be guiding the AP team through the implementation of a new financial management system, maintaining continuity of service while positioning the department for long-term success. Additionally, you will provide other projects management oversight for strategic initiatives in close partnership with Accounting, Procurement, Treasury, and other divisions. You will help resolve complex issues, support audit readiness, and deliver seamless AP operations that enable the organization's broader financial and programmatic goals.

Location

Hybrid - Washington DC, Fairfield, CT or Lexington, KY office locations

What You'll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Leadership & Management (40%)

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Accounts Payable department, directly managing a Director of Accounts Payable and a Lead Associate while setting priorities and ensuring operational excellence. Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission and supports Save the Children values
• Oversee AP operations to deliver high-value, high-impact transformation, ensuring efficiency, timeliness, and delivery of agreed business benefits
• Establish and adapt departmental plans to address resource and operational challenges, ensuring agility and responsiveness in a fast-paced environment.
• Maintain strong vendor and stakeholder relationships, ensuring a high level of customer service by responding quickly to issues and fostering trust with internal and external partners.
• Hold accountability for AP outcomes and KPIs, including timeliness, accuracy, compliance, and customer service standards.
• Communicate effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior leadership and project sponsors, to ensure transparency on departmental goals, transformation initiatives, and progress against strategic objectives.
• Provide subject matter guidance to interdepartmental staff involved in S2P-related outcomes, acting as a trusted advisor and escalation point for complex issues.
• Integrate industry best practices into departmental strategy, ensuring AP operations remain innovative, efficient, and aligned with organizational objectives.

Compliance, Performance Monitoring & Process Optimization (30%)

• Monitor and enforce compliance with the Source-to-Pay (S2P) Policy, ensuring adherence to established compliance codes and internal controls through both direct oversight and collaboration with the Strategic Sourcing team.
• Evaluate and interpret KPI performance data, in partnership with Strategic Sourcing, developing methods for systematic analysis and reporting to leadership, and using insights to strengthen AP and procurement outcomes.
• Advance the decentralized procurement processes by identifying compliance gaps, monitoring risk, sharing findings with Strategic Sourcing, and co-developing solutions for greater consistency and accountability across departments.
• Advance automation and technology-enabled efficiencies by assessing, selecting, and implementing tools for three-way matching, exception handling, invoice conversion, and inbound channel automation (e.g., purchase cards, OCR, AI coding).
• Promote continuous improvement and operational excellence by reducing manual processes and leveraging digital solutions to improve accuracy, reduce cycle time, and increase efficiency.

Agency Projects (30%)

• Serve as a core team member on agency-wide projects, providing consultation, risk identification and mitigation, and solutions to ensure smooth operational execution of new requirements.
• Lead Accounts Payable through the implementation of the new Financial Management System (FMS) by managing change, providing clear communications, and serving as the primary point of support for AP staff throughout the transition.
• Develop and deliver training, tools, and resources to equip staff with the knowledge and confidence to navigate new systems and processes successfully.
• Act as a change champion and steady guide, anticipating challenges, staff managing change, and ensuring continuity of service and customer satisfaction during periods of transition.
• Align business and technical requirements of agency projects with S2P processes, adapting and adopting changes to meet project expectations and deliverables while minimizing disruption to AP operations.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing, Finance, and BTS teams to ensure that AP requirements are represented in project design and execution, and that project outcomes strengthen efficiency, compliance, and stakeholder relationships.

Required qualifications for the role

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience
• Experience in accounts payable, financial operations, or related areas
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing teams and driving departmental results, with proven ability to mentor, coach, and develop staff
• Strong knowledge of accounts payable processes, controls, and compliance requirements, including experience with Source-to-Pay (S2P) policies and decentralized procurement environments
• Professional proficiency in MS Office Suite and experience with enterprise financial systems (ERP, FMS, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally
• Proven success in leading organizational change, including system implementations, process redesign, and staff training in new ways of working
• Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, resource, and deliver multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Excellent customer service orientation with ability to maintain strong stakeholder and vendor relationships and respond quickly to emerging needs
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English

Preferred qualifications for the role

• Ambitious and motivated, with the ability to thrive in the complexity of a matrix organization and adapt quickly in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Demonstrated success in leading process reengineering initiatives, building new capabilities, and establishing collaborative cross-functional relationships
• Experience guiding teams through large-scale financial system implementations or technology transformations
• Strong orientation toward innovation and continuous improvement, with the ability to identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, compliance, and customer service

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $108,800 - $121,600 base salary
• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $98,600 - $110,200 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $88,400 - $98,800 base salary

The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here).

About Us

We are looking to build an inclusive team at Save the Children. We offer a range of outstanding benefits to support this goal:

• Flexible schedules and time off: Flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in you.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to applicantsupport@savechildren.org.