View Vacancy – MNL – Process Team Lead, B3 (L)

The British Embassy Manila is a large diplomatic mission (around 250 staff) delivering a dynamic and rapidly expanding programme of activity in support of the UK’s objectives on prosperity, security and consular matters. The Embassy is a modern, diverse and inclusive employer where everyone contributes to the Embassy’s CORE Values of Collaboration, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence.

Main purpose of job:

To support the effective and efficient delivery of the GTPC processing teams to British Embassies/High Commissions in Asia Pacific, MENAD, EECAD, SAAD and Africa providing Purchase to Pay (P2P) services to 150 overseas missions. Overseeing the accurate and timely processing which will contribute to the payment of circa 11,000 monthly supplier payments, staff expenses and payroll payments through Oracle.

Manage the day-to-day operations of one of the functional teams engaged in P2P processes. Encouraging a culture of continuous improvement to not only meet, but exceed the service standards set by the Service Level Agreement while working to improve financial compliance across the FCDO. 

Ensure the team is trained to a high level in both their technical job skills and behavioural softer skills, particularly those involving communication and providing a quality service. This position will need to support as necessary  FCDO’s transition to a new Oracle Cloud Based system.

Note: The incumbent will hold the position for one of the functional P2P teams. If the business need arises, the incumbent may be moved to cover another P2P requirement as outlined in the job specification with the same grade.

Roles and responsibilities:

Operational Management

• Manage the operational delivery of a “best in class” Finance P2P end-to-end function.  This ranges from processes associated with Supplier Maintenance, Purchase Orders, Accounts Payable, Invoice/Payments, Accounts Receipts and Reconciliation.
• Ensuring all transactions and requests are processed within agreed SLAs.
• Plan daily workload of team ensuring fair distribution amongst officers.  Monitor progress within the day, re-assess and re-prioritise workloads if necessary to manage overall team and individual productivity. Ensure that team are working to the quality standard and the compliance is being adhered to and risks are being managed
• Investigate any aging transactions and initiate action to resolve underlying issues.
• Drive process improvements through the Continuous Improvement Process by collaborating with HSP GTPC and overseas missions to ensure any improvements add value and are adopted by both GTPCs.
• Support Business Continuity by working with GTPC HSP colleagues on the on-going alignment of Purchase to Pay processes used by both GTPCs.
• Oversee management of shared mailboxes ensuring all emails are actioned within SLA. 
• Ensure team’s compliance with financial policies and guidance as well as audit recommendations. Be accountable for any non-compliance within the team.
• Be the subject matter expert for processes and ensure regular training and development of the team.
• Promptly address any incidents in accordance with guidance, ensuring that lessons learnt are taken forward and any agreed changes implemented to prevent future recurrence.
• Maintain confidentiality of information as per GDPR guidance especially those that pertain to bank and staff details.  
• Assist with providing accurate data for monthly KPI reporting. Escalate that any concerns identified are addressed, escalating where appropriate.
• Submit contributions to the monthly One GTPC newsletter to provide other overseas missions with process updates and reminders on best practice.   
• Demonstrate flexibility by completing tasks related to the work of the team as delegated by my line manager.
• Provide cover for the Process Head in their absence and perform other duties as requested by the Line Manager.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as 2nd stage escalation for any customer issues resolving and investigating queries as necessary.
• Act as 2nd point of contact for any escalations to the assigned overseas missions/regions, finance and payroll hubs and different teams within GTPC ensuring responses are provided within SLA. 
• Co-ordinate closely with P2P processing teams in GTPC Manila and GTPC HSP to ensure no transactions are missed between the teams and passed quickly from one team to another.  Build relationships to increase understanding of Purchase to Pay processes. 
• Build relationships with others teams such as Finance & HR Payroll Hubs, Procurement and Strategic Banking working together to ensure smooth transitions between teams to minimise processing time and reduce errors.
• Participate in GTPC activities from overseas visits, training/open houses sessions as well as process migration and system upgrade implementation as part of FCDO’s transition to a new Oracle Based Cloud system.

Staff Management

• Ensure all staff are managed according to Performance Management guidance with monthly one-on-ones, SMART objectives, timely feedback and appraisals and complete at least 5 days development a year.
• Monitor individual team performance and immediately address performance improvement monitoring of an identified officer.
• Ensure all staff are aware of and consistently adhering to data security policies and financial guidance providing clear instruction and training on any new process while updating staff regularly on outcomes from Incident Management meetings. 
• Ensure staff are motivated and that high performance is  recognised and rewarded. Ensure that Manila Embassy core values are embedded in behaviours.

Learning and Development

• Commit at least 5 days each year for personal development like job shadowing, rotations, attending meetings and training
• Expand knowledge by redeployment to different GTPC (MLA) functional teams.
• Be subject matter expert in end to end P2P.

Resources managed:

• Direct line management for 5-7 xA2

• 3 years management experience of managing a large team
• 4 years of operations experience
• Substantial understanding of Purchase to Pay end to end
• Finance Qualification
• High level of IT skills with minimum MS Excel to level 2  and other Microsoft applications such as MS Outlook