Salary: $54.01 - $62.90 Hourly
Location : Parks - Elliott Bay Office Park - 300 Elliott Avenue West, Seattle, 98119, WA
Job Type: Classified Civil Service, Regular, Full-Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number:Department: Seattle Parks & Recreation Department
Division: Performance, Policy and Finance Division
Opening Date: 08/06/2026
Closing Date: Continuous
Position Description About the Position:Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is seeking an Accounts Payable Supervisor (Principal Accountant) to lead and oversee all Accounts Payable operations, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and strong internal controls across a high-volume financial environment. This position serves as the department's A/P subject-matter expert and supervises a team responsible for processing complex transactions, resolving vendor issues, and managing procurement-related financial activity.
This leadership role requires advanced accounting proficiency, strong analytical skills, and the comprehensive ability to evaluate and improve business processes in partnership with internal programs and external vendors. The A/P Supervisor reports to the Accounting Manager and interacts regularly with staff at all levels, including senior leadership, as well as external partners.
Job Responsibilities - Oversee all Accounts Payable operations including invoice processing, payment authorization, reconciliations, and compliance with GAAP, GASB, City policies and internal controls.
- Serve as the primary A/P expert, responding to inquiries from auditors, vendors, internal customers, and leadership.
- Manage and monitor financial controls for A/P workflows, ensuring proper authorization, accuracy of goods/services received, and alignment with purchasing requirements.
- Administer and oversee the City's credit card program including issuance, monitoring, compliance, and reporting.
- Ensure timely month-end and year-end close, validating transaction accuracy, clearing exceptions, and meeting City deadlines.
- Review and approve complex transactions including purchase requisitions, contracts, travel reimbursements, encumbrances, retainage, wire payments, and tax-related items.
- Supervise and develop the A/P team, including hiring, training, coaching, workload oversight, and performance management.
- Develop and maintain departmental A/P procedures, identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and strengthen financial compliance.
QualificationsMinimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration or related field (requires satisfactory completion of at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter credit units in accounting with no substitution allowed) and/or professional certification as a CPA, plus four years professional experience in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, or related work with one year experience equivalent to a Senior Accountant (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class).
Desired Qualifications - You will be successful if you have the following experience, skills, and abilities:- Extensive professional experience in GAAP and GASB as applied to governmental accounting and high-volume A/P operations.
- Advanced proficiency with PeopleSoft 9.2 (or comparable large-scale financial ERP), including A/P modules, reporting tools, and workflow configuration.
- Demonstrated success supervising accounting teams, managing workload priorities, and developing staff capabilities.
- Strong analytical skills, problem-solving ability, and exceptional accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
- Proven ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and proactively address operational issues.
- Experience working in a multi-cultural, customer-focused public environment.
Special Working Conditions and Work Schedule:Hybrid work schedule at home and office; 9/80 or 4/10 work schedule available.
Additional InformationPlease note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Compensation:The full salary range for this position is $54.01 to $62.90 per hour.
Application ProcessPlease submit the following with your online application:
- A complete application with past work history.
- A current resume of your educational and professional work experience.
- A cover letter detailing how your skills and experience are applicable
- Supplemental questionnaire responses
Who May Apply: This position is open to all candidates that meet the qualifications.
Job offers are contingent on the verification of credentials and other information required by the employment process, including the completion of a background check.
The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation time, 12 paid holidays, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents.
Want to know more about Parks and Recreation? Check out our web page:
SPR's Core Competencies are:- Accountability & Action: Holding yourself accountable for achieving goals, completing tasks, and delivering quality work. Demonstrating thoughtful initiative in actions and decision-making and promoting high quality standards.
- Equity and Inclusion: Supporting the goals of the Race and Social Justice Initiative and the City's commitment to workforce equity.
- Communication: Sharing and exchanging information and ideas with people in a variety of ways to help them understand and remember the information.
- Service: An ongoing commitment to base decisions and actions on the needs and priorities of the City.
- Teamwork: Participating as an engaged member of a team to achieve group goals. Effectively working with internal and external people to complete tasks and achieve work group goals.
The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents.
More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at:
01
The minimum qualifications for this role are: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration or related field (requires satisfactory completion of at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter credit units in accounting with no substitution allowed) and/or professional certification as a CPA, plus four years professional experience in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, or related work with one year experience equivalent to a Senior Accountant (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class).Do you have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Accounting?
02
If you do not have an Accounting degree, do you have at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter credit units in accounting classes? Business, Finance, Management, or other related classes will not count towards requirement. A transcript will be requested if you are selected to move forward in this process.
- Yes
- No
- N/A; I have a degree in Accounting
03
Do you have at least four years of professional-level accounting experience (not clerical or bookkeeping)?
04
Do you have experience managing Accounts Payable in a high-volume environment?
05
How many years of experience do you have supervising or leading Accounts Payable staff or financial operations?
- No experience
- 1-3 Years
- 4-8 Years
- 8+ Years
06
How many years of using an enterprise financial system such as PeopleSoft, Oracle or SAP?
- No experience
- Less than 1 Year
- 1-2 Years
- 3-4 Years
- 5+ Years
Required Question
