Senior Accounts Payable Specialist

Kinder's•Walnut Creek, CA

10d•$115,000 - $125,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Accounts Payable Specialist oversees day-to-day Accounts Payable functions and serves as the AP Team’s primary operational lead. The role provides guidance, training, workload management, and policy-compliance support to team members, and acts as the main liaison between AP staff and the Accounts Payable Manager. It supports the Accounting team through AP execution, vendor account management, and cross-functional collaboration. The successful candidate is analytical and precise while remaining adaptable in a fast-paced, evolving environment. The position is based at Kinder’s Walnut Creek, California office and follows a hybrid structure: four days in the office each week, with Fridays flexible between office and home. The expected starting base salary is $115,000–$125,000 per year. Compensation within the range depends on factors such as education, experience, qualifications, skills, business needs, and role location. Kinder’s describes itself as a privately held, founder-led, entrepreneurial consumer packaged goods company that values initiative, collaboration, ownership, smart risk-taking, and adaptability. Benefits may include paid time off, a 401(k), bonus or incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and family-friendly benefits, including parental leave; eligibility varies.

Requirements

5–7 years of accounts payable experience, including at least 3 years of experience as a lead.
Strong understanding of AP processes, three-way matching, and internal controls, including high-volume and multi-entity processing.
Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related field.
Proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, and basic analysis; advanced Excel and data-analysis capabilities are also specified.
Exposure to month-end close and audit support.
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and organize effectively.
Ability to maintain confidentiality of company and client information.
Proficiency with accounting software such as SAP.
Understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Familiarity with standard accounts payable procedures and workflows.
Strong attention to detail for accurate data entry and invoice matching.
Strong time-management skills to meet payment deadlines.
Knowledge of purchasing, invoicing, and vendor payment terms.
Competence with spreadsheet tools for tracking and reconciling transactions.
Experience working with large datasets and multiple data sources.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, or manufacturing environments is strongly preferred.
CPA is preferred.
Exposure to SOX controls and financial systems design is a plus.
Experience with ERP systems such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, or similar.

Responsibilities

Conduct daily AP team huddles and maintain an assigned invoice-processing workload.
Process invoices from receipt through coding, approval routing, publication, and synchronization.
Monitor AP activity throughout the day, including inbox volume, draft bills, approval queues, due dates, exceptions, duplicate-invoice risk, and follow-up items.
Oversee high-volume invoice processing, vendor setup and changes, statement reconciliations, credit memos, refunds, and vendor inquiries.
Prepare and complete weekly check and payment runs, including reviewing approved invoices and due dates, selecting payment methods, confirming cash requirements, printing checks, preparing positive pay files when applicable, and confirming payments are recorded and released.
Review and approve new vendor accounts and present payment packages for approval.
Monitor AP inboxes and ensure timely responses; serve as the first escalation point for team members and vendor inquiries and issue resolution.
Support timely and accurate AP month-end close, including confirming cutoff, identifying uninvoiced liabilities, preparing or reviewing accrual support, reviewing AP aging, and reconciling relevant accounts and reports.
Escalate critical suppliers as appropriate.
Maintain internal controls and compliance with company policies and accounting standards.
Support audits by preparing documentation and responding to audit requests.
Identify opportunities to improve AP processes, efficiency, and automation.
Provide training, guidance, and support to AP team members; review work for accuracy and completeness and address recurring errors or bottlenecks.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve discrepancies and improve workflows; implement process improvements and additional controls as needed.
Assist with vendor reporting, 1099 readiness, and other AP-related financial reporting and reconciliations.
Provide regular reporting on team performance, aging, and operational metrics to the AP Manager.