PAYMENT SPECIALIST

On your cover letter, indicate that you have a permanent accountant title -or- Reachable on the accountant list. Otherwise you will not be considered for an interview.

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the city.

The Agency Chief Contracting Office ACCO is responsible for managing all agency procurement and payment activity in accordance with all applicable city and state laws and regulations including General Municipal Law, City Charter, local laws such as Local Law 1 for MWBE, Procurement Policy Board Rules and NYC Comptroller Directives. ACCO works cooperatively with DEP’s bureaus in support of their operational and programmatic needs including procurement of capital construction and related professional services (design, engineering, and construction management services), maintenance and repair contracts, and a wide array of supply and standard service contracts. In addition, ACCO staff manages agency compliance with vendor performance evaluations, MWBE participation goals, opportunities and requirements, prevailing wage, labor law compliance and vendor management. ACCO processes hundreds of both large and small contracts and thousands of payment transactions procuring about $2 billion in contracts annually. The ACCO consists of ten (10) organizational groups: Competitive Sealed Bids, Procurement Administration, Technology Development & Innovation, Contract Administration, Contract Compliance and Opportunities, Purchasing Management, Payments & Accounting, Contracts Review and Negotiations, Large Payments and Accounting Management, and the Process Optimization & Change Management group.

The ACCO Payments Group is currently divided into two core teams:

- Large Contract Payments Team, responsible for processing payments exceeding $250,000, including capital construction, design, and professional service contracts. This team manages approximately 4,500 payments annually, totaling over $1.6 billion.

- Small Contract Payments and Accounting Team, which handles all micro, small, non-competitive, real estate tax payments and requirement contract payments, as well as key accounting functions and year-end exercises. This team manages approximately 11,000 payments annually, totaling over $500 million.

The selected candidate will work within the Large Contract Payments Team, which manages high-volume payment processing and accounting functions, and will perform the following duties:

- Ensure payment information is entered into the Small Procurement and Contract Tracking (sPACT) System in a timely manner. Review information for discrepancies; input correct and missing data.
- Review payment packages for completeness to ensure the completion of source documents and determine whether to continue payment processing while adhering to Procurement Policy Board ( PPB) Rules.
- Ensure payment vouchers are complete and includes all pertinent documents, i.e., (Purchase Order, Invoice, Packing Slip, Receiving Report, etc) and accepted in a timely manner; liaise with procurement liaisons to obtain missing documents.
- Utilize the city’s Financial Management System (FMS) enter and process payment vouchers for (EFT) Electronic Fund Transfers.
- Review assigned procurement invoice packages for completeness and confirm sufficient funding in purchase orders.
- Reconcile accounts payable transactions with vendor statements and internal records, work with bureau liaisons to rectify any discrepancies.
- Prepare reports for management on procurement activities and spending analysis, including supplier performance.
- Generate monthly financial reports, including balance sheets; monitor cash flow by performing audits to ensure efficient use of funding.
- Review and verify the accuracy of ledger balances and account reconciliation.

ACCOUNTANT - 40510