Vice President, EMEA Accounts Payable Operations Leader

We're seeking someone to join our team as a Vice President, Accounts Payable - EMEA to lead and oversee all accounts payable activities across the EMEA region. This role ensures accurate, timely, and compliant processing of supplier payments while driving operational excellence, standardization, and continuous improvement across multiple countries and legal entities.

In the Corporate Services division, we empower our businesses by creating collaborative workplace solutions and commercial services that enhance the employee and client experience, while optimizing the value of our sourcing and third-party lifecycle to enable the Firm to do-and-win business. This is a Vice President level position within the Accounts Payable & Receivables, which specializes in maintaining the Purchase Ledger function and ensuring the payment of all invoices and expense claims. Our responsibilities include ledger reconciliation, all invoice and expense claim queries, and accounts receivable.

Since 1935, Morgan Stanley is known as a global leader in financial services, always evolving and innovating to better serve our clients and our communities in more than 40 countries around the world.

What you'll do in the role:
- Define and execute the EMEA Accounts Payable strategy in alignment with global finance objectives.
- Partner with Global AP, Finance, Procurement, Treasury, and Tax teams to ensure end to end process integration.
- Lead regional transformation initiatives, including automation, shared services optimization, and system enhancements.
- Oversee all AP activities across EMEA, including invoice processing, vendor maintenance, payment runs, and reconciliations.
- Ensure timely and accurate processing of invoices and payments in line with SLAs and KPIs.
- Drive process standardization across countries while accommodating local statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Ensure compliance with local tax, VAT, regulatory, and statutory requirements across EMEA.
- Maintain strong internal controls and ensure adherence to SOX and internal audit requirements.
- Lead and manage internal and external audits related to accounts payable and resolve audit findings effectively.
- Build, lead, and develop high performing regional AP teams.
- Set clear performance expectations, provide coaching, and support succession planning.
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and collaboration.
- Act as the senior point of contact for AP related matters across the EMEA region.
- Manage relationships with key suppliers, resolving escalations and disputes.
- Provide clear, data driven reporting and insights to senior finance leadership.
- Lead initiatives to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance service quality.
- Partner with IT and Finance Systems teams on ERP upgrades and AP technology roadmaps.

What you'll bring to the role:
- Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in Accounts Payable or Finance Operations, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role overseeing large, multi country teams.
- Proven track record of leading Accounts Payable transformation and process improvement initiatives at scale.
- Strong knowledge of EMEA regulatory, VAT, and compliance requirements.
- Experience managing shared services or outsourced operating models.
- Proven ability to lead large, geographically distributed teams.
- Experience with ERP and P2P systems (e.g., SAP, Ariba) and digital automation solutions.
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years.  Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices​ into your browser.

Certified Persons Regulatory Requirements:
If this role is deemed a Certified role and may require the role holder to hold mandatory regulatory qualifications or the minimum qualifications to meet internal company benchmarks.

Flexible work statement
Interested in flexible working opportunities? Morgan Stanley empowers employees to have greater freedom of choice through flexible working arrangements. Speak to our recruitment team to find out more.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background.  Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.