Manager of Accounts Payable

Position: Manager of Accounts Payable
Reports to: Assistant Controller
Status: Full-time, benefit-eligible, exempt position; non-housed.
Salary range: $75,000–$90,000.

The Thacher School is one of the most selective and highly regarded boarding schools in the nation. Founded in 1889 by Sherman Day Thacher, the School serves academically talented students from over 20 states and close to 10 countries in a rigorous college preparatory experience. More than 54% of students identify as people of color. The faculty and students live and work closely together on a 427-acre campus nestled in the foothills of the Los Padres National Forest in Ojai, California (85-miles north of Los Angeles).

Honor, fairness, kindness, and truth are the cornerstones of school life. Together, the school community commits to the belief that demands in the academic classroom, when combined with those of mountains and horses, of sports and the arts, produce independent minds, strong bodies, and powerful character. The School enrolls 260 students, has an operating budget of $30 million, and an endowment of $190 million.

The Business Office is committed to fulfilling The Thacher School’s mission by providing the highest quality fiscal services through excellence in customer service, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.

The Manager of Accounts Payable performs various accounting functions to process, record, review, reconcile, and analyze payments to vendors for goods and services and supports the Assistant Controller, Controller and Director of Finance (DOF) in managing financial planning, reporting, compliance, and internal controls. This position manages complex accounting functions across multiple funds, including accounts payable (AP), expense reporting, and audit activities, ensuring accuracy and adherence to regulations.

The Manager also provides financial analysis, strengthens internal controls, and recommends process improvements based on data-driven insights to enhance the efficiency and integrity of the office.

• Review, evaluate, and approve vendor invoices and non-invoice payments, reconciling vendor statements against the accounting information system to ensure timely payment.
• Partner with School departments and vendors to request missing invoices, investigate billing discrepancies, and resolve payment inquiries while maintaining positive professional relationships
• Ensure proper identification, coding, and withholding for payments subject to federal or state income taxes associated with invoices, direct pays and payment notifications.
• Manage the Ramp procurement card software by overseeing the review, approval, and reconciliation of travel expenses, reimbursements, and card transactions in line with established standards.
• Monitor documentation and exception reports to ensure compliance and address any discrepancies in transactions.
• Act as the primary contact for cardholders, proxies, and financial managers, offering guidance on expense eligibility, allocation deadlines, and statement reconciliation.
• Responsible for managing workflow permissions and approval hierarchies between Ramp and Blackbaud.
• Identify vendors that can be paid by ACH and promote enrollment in procurement card program.
• Analyze payment documents including invoices, direct pays, and payment notifications to identify expenses which meet criteria for accrual or deferral across fiscal years.
• Ensure expenses are recorded in proper fiscal period. Prepare associated journal entries when necessary.
• Submit journal entries as needed to record or correct accounting distribution of previously approved invoices.
• Scan and/or import accounts payable documents and index in procurement…