The Role

Unite Students has a fantastic opportunity for an Accounts Payable Assistant to join our high-performing Finance team in our Bristol office. You will be responsible for leading an effective and accurate council tax process; covering the processing of bills, engaging with internal and external stakeholders, and helping to develop a forward-facing council tax strategy. This role reports to the Senior Accounts Payable Assistant.

What you`ll be doing

• Support the day-to-day council tax process, including bill processing and actioning payments/queries in a timely manner. Escalating risk where necessary.
• Build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders, such as local councils and universities, ensuring that their needs are met.
• As above, but for internal stakeholders - such as the rest of the accounts payable function, legal team, wider finance etc.
• Work with both internal and external parties to develop and execute a forward-facing council tax strategy.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for council tax, offering expertise and guidance to support the business.
• Follow Data Protection policies, keeping information confidential and secure, in order to ensure employee, supplier and customer data is protected and handled appropriately in line with legislative requirements.
• Take a positive approach to change within the business, generating and implementing ideas for continuous process improvement for council tax processing.
• Ensuring all procedure documentation is maintained and kept up to date.
• Provide management information to support functional and business decisions.
• Liasing with the wider AP team to ensure timely, accurate and efficient processing and payment of council tax related documents.
• Query management on council tax related queries.
• Clearing of the prepayment log for council tax related items to ensure that nothing is on there at month end.

What we`re looking for in you

Essential

• Previous experience in an Accounts Payable role.
• Excellent communication, skills both verbal and written.
• A passion for delivering excellent customer service.
• Ability to work at a fast pace with a high level of accuracy.
• Determination and resilience.
• Comfortable working within a changing environment, managing priorities effectively.
• Strong IT skills including Excel.
• Pro-active and able to work on own initiative.
• Experience working effectively as part of a team.

Desirable

• Experience of working with Oracle.
• Previous experience in council tax matters (in any industry) a bonus.
• Experience working in a customer focused environment and dealing with a variety of different stakeholders.

What You`ll Get in Return

• An annual bonus so you can share in the company`s success
• 25 days` paid holiday
• Pension - based on how much you save, we`ll contribute 1% more
• Flexible working opportunities
• Shared Parental Leave - 18 weeks full pay
• Other benefits include, ShareSave, Bike to Work, Charity Match, amazing discounts and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is a FTSE 100 business and the UK`s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 25 leading university towns and cities, with 74,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

Instinctive inclusion. We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn`t just what we do but who we are.

People make Unite Students. Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

Room for Everyone

We`re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we`re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building a home for success, for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with a passion for creating room for everyone, doing what`s right, keeping US safe, and raising the bar. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.

We are US.