Accounts Payable Supplier & Administrative Coordinator

American University•Spring Valley, DC

17h•Onsite

About The Position

The Accounts Payable Supplier & Administrative Coordinator is primarily responsible for coordinating supplier (vendor) records and supporting administrative operations within the Accounts Payable (AP) department. This role serves as the primary point of contact for supplier on-boarding, maintenance, and compliance, ensuring all supplier records are accurate, complete, and meet university and regulatory requirements. These duties include processing supplier registrations and updates, validating required documentation (e.g., W-9/W-8 forms), performing compliance checks, and ensuring proper verification procedures are followed for the accurate processing of this critical information. Additionally, this position provides administrative support to the AP office, including invoice intake coordination, mail handling, distribution of checks; and providing general assistance to internal and external stakeholders. Additional duties include assisting maintaining the vendor file. The role contributes to maintaining strong internal controls, improving operational efficiency, and delivering excellent customer service. This position reports to the Manager of Accounts Payable and has no direct reports. Must work collaboratively with all AP staff, internal department personnel and external suppliers.

Requirements

Associate's degree or equivalent.
1 - 3 years of relevant experience.
Minimum of 1 year of relevant general office support.
Microsoft Office Suite skills - Excel, Word, Outlook.

Nice To Haves

Associate's degree.
2 - 4 years of relevant experience.
Customer service oriented.
General knowledge of 1099 reporting requirements.
Working knowledge of ERP systems (Workday preferred) and document management platforms such as SharePoint.

Responsibilities

Process new supplier registrations and change requests via ServiceNow and supplier portal.
Review submissions for completeness and accuracy prior to approval.
Validate required documentation (W-9, W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, etc.) ensuring forms are complete and compliant.
Perform TIN match validation and ensuring alignment of legal name and tax ID.
Conduct compliance checks including OFAC screening and other required verifications.
Ensure proper documentation is attached and audit-ready (e.g., flattened PDFs, no editable fields).
Establish and maintain supplier remit-to records.
Independently verify supplier banking changes using approved verification methods.
Communicate with supplier points of contact on file to confirm updates.
Ensure adherence to university policies to prevent fraudulent or unauthorized changes.
Maintain proper documentation and audit trail for all supplier updates.
Escalate discrepancies or suspicious activity as appropriate.
Receive, review, and organize incoming invoices and payment documentation.
Ensure invoices meet submission requirements (e.g., PO included, one PDF per invoice, invoice on page one for OCR processing).
Manage incoming mail and distributing checks and payments.
Respond to general AP inquiries from departments and suppliers.
Assist with document management, and record retention.
Support front-line office operations and customer service needs.
Assist with P2P operations and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and internal controls.
Perform special duties and projects as assigned by the Manager or Director of Accounts Payable.