Description
Reimagining how Financial Shared Services operates - and we need a builder to lead the work.
Burns & McDonnell is in a moment of meaningful evolution for how Finance operates. We are engaged in an enterprise-wide Digital Transformation, with a Source-to-Pay modernization on the horizon that will reshape how the firm manages procurement, payables, and the systems behind them. Within Finance, our Financial Shared Services (FSS) team is articulating a forward-looking strategy - Process-as-a-Service (PaaS) - that delivers Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable, Billing, Project Accounting, and Payroll as a managed, intelligent service to the business backed by people.
The Senior Finance Process Analyst - AP is at the leading edge of this work. You will translate the AP modernization strategy into actionable plans and lead execution. Serving as the senior subject matter expert across automation, AI, analytics, and workflow design within AP, you will partner with Financial Systems as a peer collaborator on solution design. This will be a critical role in preparing AP for the upcoming Source-to-Pay (S2P) ERP implementation, helping shape what the AP side of that program looks like.
Why You'll Want This Role:
Strategic Moment: At the leading edge of how Finance operates.
AI in finance operations is genuinely new ground. The Finance Senior Manager of AI & Data will be establishing a playbook for how to govern, design and run AI-driven finance work and this role will help build it. You will help shape how Burns & McDonnell, and Finance organizations like it, approach this work.
Scale of Impact: Real influence on one of our largest finance programs.
The upcoming Source-to-Pay modernization will be one of the largest finance investments Burns & McDonnell makes. This role positions you to lead the functional AP side of that program when it begins - a rare opportunity to be on the front of a transformational implementation.
Career Trajectory: A role designed to develop into bigger work.
Today the role is process engineering and execution leadership in AP. That experience opens paths to broader Financial Shared Services leadership, S2P program leadership, or other Finance leadership roles. The role is built to grow you and the team.
Ownership & Culture: An employee-owned firm where the work matters.
Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee owned. That changes the work - your decisions, your judgment, your ideas all matter to a firm where you have ownership. >93% employee retention is not an accident; it is what an ownership culture and a strong teaming environment produce.
What You'll Do:
STRATEGY TRANSLATION & INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP
Translate the AP modernization strategy into actionable roadmaps and lead execution end-to-end, in close partnership with the Financial Shared Services Manager.
Lead complex AP initiatives from design through sustained adoption - including system enhancements, automation deployments, AI tool implementations, and process redesign efforts.
Oversee and participate in AP user acceptance testing (UAT), validation, and stabilization of new AP capabilities; ensure solutions are sustainably adopted by the team and the business.
PROCESS ENGINEERING & AUTOMATION
Serve as the senior AP subject-matter expert across automation, AI enablement, analytics, workflow design, and process optimization.
Analyze current-state AP processes to identify inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities.
Recommend whether to automate, apply AI, or rebuild a process from the ground up.
Develop and maintain standardized process documentation, controls, and performance metrics that move AP from human-dependent to system-enforced operations.
AI IMPLEMENTATION & GOVERNANCE
Lead the design, deployment, and oversight of AI-driven processes within AP - including human review workflows, accuracy monitoring, and audit-ready documentation.
Help define how Burns & McDonnell governs AI in Finance operations, contributing to a playbook that will inform how the rest of FSS and Finance approaches this work.
Ensure controls designed around AI decisions are clearly documented, explainable, and aligned with audit and compliance expectations.
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
Operate as a peer collaborator with Financial Systems, IT, and other Finance functions on solution design.
Engage with the Source-to-Pay program team as a key AP subject matter expert and as a candidate to lead the AP side of the implementation when it begins.
Partner with the Source-to-Pay value stream and broader Finance leadership to ensure AP processes integrate well with adjacent functions.
MENTORSHIP & CAPABILITY BUILDING
Mentor and develop AP Analysts and other team members on systems, processes, AI/automation tools, and analytical approaches.
Contribute to knowledge transfer and capability development across the broader Financial Shared Services and Finance organization.
What We're Looking For:
We are looking for a senior finance professional who is energized by building, comfortable at the leading edge, and committed to growing as the field evolves.
THE MINDSET THAT FITS THIS ROLE: Skills can be developed; mindset is what makes someone thrive at the leading edge of finance modernization. The candidates who will succeed in this role tend to share a few characteristics:
Designer not maintainer. You see existing processes as starting points, not ceilings. You ask, 'why does it work this way?' before asking 'how do I work within it?'
Comfortable with ambiguity. AI in finance operations doesn't have an established playbook. You are energized rather than frustrated by being asked to figure out the right answer.
Curious about technology. You don't need to be an engineer, but you should be the kind of person who explores new tools, asks how they work, and thinks about what's possible.
Strategic and operational. You can hold the bigger picture in your head while doing the careful, detailed work that makes execution successful.
Generous with knowledge. You are the kind of person who develops others as you grow yourself.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance from an accredited university.
Minimum of 8 years of experience in Finance or Accounting.
Strong knowledge of end-to-end AP processes, controls, and reconciliation practices.
Hands-on experience with enterprise financial systems (Oracle preferred).
Experience leading or supporting system implementations, automation initiatives, or process improvement efforts.
Familiarity with AI, automation, or workflow tools used in finance operations - and a demonstrated willingness to grow expertise as the function evolves.
Strong analytical mindset, with attention to data quality and how it impacts downstream financial reporting.
Advanced Microsoft Office skills (Excel required); proficiency in PowerPoint and Word.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present complex topics to all levels of the organization.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously.
If you're a finance professional who looks at AP and sees a transformation opportunity rather than a back-office function, we should talk.
This job posting will remain open a minimum of 72 hours and on an ongoing basis until filled.
EEO/Disabled/Veterans
Job Accounting/Finance
Primary Location US-MO-Kansas City
Schedule: Full-time
Travel: No
Req ID: 262439
Job Hire Type Experienced #LI-MJ #COR N/A
