Accounts payable administrator

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 31st March 2026

Salary: £26,000 to £28,000 (dependent on experience and location, +bonus +benefits)

Location: Didcot, Oxfordshire

Play a key role behind the scenes of a fast-paced publishing environment, keeping finances running smoothly by managing invoices, supplier relationships and essential reporting.

Hachette UK is a creative powerhouse and the UK's second largest book publishing group. Our mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. We're made up of 10 autonomous publishing divisions and over 60 imprints with a rich and diverse history and an incredible range of authors. We're also the market leader in e-books and publish a range of bestsellers in audio format, the fastest growing part of our business.

Our award-winning adult publishing divisions are Orion, which won Publisher of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards; Little, Brown; John Murray Press; Hodder & Stoughton; Headline; Octopus, and Bookouture. They publish fiction and non-fiction in digital, audio and print format, from the world's best and most diverse authors, including Brit Bennett, Candice Carty-Williams, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Stephen King, Stieg Larsson, Nelson Mandela, Stephenie Meyer, Maggie O'Farrell, Delia Owens, Ian Rankin, J.K. Rowling, Colson Whitehead, and Malala Yousafzai. Hachette Children's Group publishes a wide and vibrant range of books for children across all age ranges, while Hachette Learning is a market leader in resources for both primary and secondary schools.

Hachette UK is part of Hachette Livre, the world's third largest trade and educational publisher. As well as our headquarters in Carmelite House, London, and our state-of-the-art book distribution centre in Didcot, Oxfordshire, we have recently opened five new offices in Manchester, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle, and Edinburgh. The UK region also includes offices in Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, the Caribbean, and Ireland.

It's an exciting time to join our business because the publishing market continues to grow and thrive. The UK remains the largest exporter of physical books in the world and book adaptations for film and TV are the foundation of the UK's creative industries.

What you'll be doing

Invoice Processing

• Review and process supplier invoices promptly and accurately using internal systems (including OCR invoice reader, Kofax and SAP).
• Match invoices to purchase orders and agreed payment terms (via OCR invoice reader, Kofax).
• Ensure appropriate approvals are obtained in line with company policy.
• Investigate and resolve invoice discrepancies in a timely manner.

Vendor Management

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date supplier records across finance systems.
• Set up new suppliers in SAP in line with internal controls and compliance requirements.
• Respond to supplier queries professionally and efficiently
• Support positive working relationships with vendors and internal stakeholders.

Reconciliation & Reporting

• Reconcile supplier statements and resolve discrepancies.
• Assist with month-end closing activities and account reconciliations.
• Support the preparation of reports and analysis as required.
• Compliance & Controls
• Ensure all Accounts Payable activities comply with company policies, procedures, and accounting standards.
• Provide documentation and support for internal and external audits.
• Adhere to financial controls and escalate any issues or risks appropriately.

Team & General

• Assist in managing shared AP mailboxes to ensure timely responses.
• Collaborate with colleagues across departments to resolve queries and improve processes.
• Support system testing, process improvements, and ad hoc finance projects as required.

Who we are looking for

Experience/Knowledge

• 1–2 years’ experience in an Accounts Payable role
• Experience using ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Net Suite, etc.)
• Basic understanding of accounting principles
• Ability to manage workload to meet deadlines

Personal Attributes/Skills

• Strong attention to detail
• Good communication skills
• Strong IT skills including MS Office (particularly Excel)
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team
• Calm under pressure and able to manage multiple priorities
• Reliable, flexible and self-motivated

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

The role will be based at our Didcot office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Our commitment

Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.

If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend your interview, please let us know.

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.