Head of Spend Operations, Finance

The Company is seeking a Head of Spend Operations to take ownership of and drive innovation in the firm's accounts payable and corporate expense functions. The successful candidate will be responsible for the end-to-end operations, ensuring the accuracy, timeliness, and governance of all outbound vendor and employee spending. This role requires a leader with a proven track record in deploying large-scale innovation programs, particularly in the areas of data and analytics, performance indicators, and enhancing the overall employee experience. The Head of Spend Operations will also be instrumental in modernizing and automating the procure-to-pay and travel-and-expense processes, and will work closely with cross-functional teams to achieve these goals. Applicants for the Head of Spend Operations position at the company should have 6-10 years' of relevant experience, with a minimum of 5 years' in a people-management role. The ideal candidate will have a background in financial services or a similar regulated, fast-paced environment, and a strong command of internal controls, SOX, and compliance frameworks. Technical skills in modernizing or automating finance operations, as well as experience with spend-management tools, are essential. The role demands an individual with excellent quantitative and analytical skills, who is adept at translating spend data into actionable insights. A Bachelor's degree is required, and relevant certifications such as CPA, APP/CAPP, or Lean/Six Sigma are a plus. The Head of Spend Operations should be a self-starter, capable of thriving in an autonomous and ambiguous environment, and possess exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills to effectively manage a distributed team and influence executive stakeholders.