Accounts Payable Specialist III

This position on the Disbursement Control team within Procure to Pay serves as a lead on the team overseeing all University payment operations, ensuring accuracy, security, and compliance of checks, ACH transactions, wire transfers, and related disbursement activities. This role provides day‑to‑day assistance with guiding the team, helping manage complex or high‑risk transactions, and strengthens internal controls through proactive monitoring, reconciliation, and fraud‑prevention measures. The position partners with campus and Finance & Budget stakeholders to resolve issues, streamline processes, and enhance the integrity of Procure to Pay operations. As a key contributor to the organization’s mission, the Accounts Payable Specialist III helps advance operational excellence and continuous improvement across financial systems and practices.

When you join the Finance & Budget organization, you become part of a smart, driven team that thrives on solving complex challenges. We align our business practices with the university’s priorities and cultivate talented teams who find purpose in creating simpler, more effective systems that drive institutional success. Our focus is clear: developing our people, transforming our work, and elevating our role.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.

Disbursement Processing:

• Assists in coordinating work and monitoring of disbursement activities, including ACH, checks, wires, and electronic payments, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Ensure all payments are issued within required timelines and in compliance with internal policies and controls.
• Maintain complete and accurate payment records, ensuring proper audit trails and documentation integrity.
• Research and provide detailed remittance information to suppliers, customers, and internal stakeholders.

Reconciliation and Reporting:

• Extensive knowledge and ability to take the lead role for reconciliation of disbursement activity, resolution of payment exceptions, and maintenance of complete audit-ready documentation.
• Monitor and track outstanding checks, returned payments, and other payment exceptions, escalating issues as needed.
• Prepare periodic reports on disbursements, exceptions, and compliance findings as needed
• Support month‑end and year‑end close activities related to accounts payable and disbursement functions.

Internal Controls and Compliance:

• Enforce internal control procedures governing disbursements, including segregation of duties, approval hierarchies, and adherence to established workflows.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with policies, regulatory requirements, and audit standards related to payment activity.
• Applies an in depth understanding of institutional policies, as well as federal and state regulations, to ensure all financial transactions and documentation are compliant and audit-ready.
• Support audits by ensuring and providing required documentation, explanations, and transaction details.
• Recommend and help implement enhancements to strengthen controls, improve efficiency, and reduce financial and operational risk.

Leadership:

• Assists with providing direction, training, and support to staff involved in payment processing and reconciliation.
• Works on complex problems, using judgment and initiative to independently propose solutions for manager review
• Contribute with refining internal workflows and documentation to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and accountability within Accounts Payable operations.
• Identify control gaps, recommend enhancements, and support implementation of process improvements to reduce financial and operational risk.

Vendor and Department Relations:

• Act as an escalation point for complex payment inquiries from vendors, departments, and financial partners.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for vendors and campus departments regarding payment inquiries and issue resolution.
• Use financial systems and reporting tools to research, analyze, and address payment concerns efficiently.
• Maintain clear and organized communication records, including inquiries and resolutions, to support audit requirements and ongoing process improvements.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Ability to effectively communicate with internal and external customers.
• Ability to maintain security sensitive data required for financial payment distribution.
• Knowledge of fraud prevention practices, including stop payments, voids, and positive pay exception handling.
• Ability to maintain attention to detail in a fast pace environment with repetitive work assignments.
• Strong understanding of payment methods, including ACH rules, wire protocols, check processing, and positive pay.
• Ability to perform bank reconciliations, research discrepancies, and resolve payment issues.

This job posting reflects the general nature and level of work expected of the selected candidate(s). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The institution reserves the right to amend or update this description as organizational priorities and institutional needs evolve.

• High school diploma or high school diploma equivalency is required.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

• Experience with high‑volume disbursements (checks, ACH, wires) and related reconciliation work.