Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization
At adidas, we have a clear purpose: “Through sport, we have the power to change lives.” This guiding principle shapes how we operate as a company, how we collaborate with our partners, how we create our products, and how we connect with our consumers.
Within Global Business Services (GBS), the Payments Specialist is responsible for ensuring that all company payments—including those to vendors, employees, and customer reimbursements—are processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with internal controls and local regulations.
The Payments Specialist safeguards the integrity of financial transactions, supports day-to-day business operations, maintains strong relationships with vendors and business users, provides visibility on interim open items and root causes, and ensures timely resolution of discrepancies.
Key Responsibilities
- Execute vendor, tax, and intercompany payments in full compliance with internal policies, controls, and local regulations.
- Prepare and review payment proposals to ensure accuracy and completeness prior to execution.
- Verify daily bank statements, classify outgoing payments, and reconcile discrepancies.
- Ensure all payments have proper documentation and approvals before processing.
- Maintain and reconcile interim account open items and clearing accounts, promptly identifying and resolving differences.
- Support Accounting, Treasury, Procurement, vendors, and other stakeholders by addressing payment-related inquiries.
- Participate in month-end closing and ensure accurate posting of payment-related transactions.
- Maintain DTPs and documentation thoroughly and accurately, following company and audit standards.
- Identify improvement opportunities within the payment process and support their implementation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams on automation, standardization, and process optimization initiatives.
Key Relationships
Internal stakeholders include Corporate Treasury, Accounting, Local Market Finance teams, Internal Controls, Procurement, and GPO/IT support teams. External stakeholders include banks, financial entities, and external auditors. Operational partners include the Accounts Payable delivery team and business users.
Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications
- University degree in Accounting, Commerce, Business Administration, or Finance.
- 2+ years of relevant experience in Payments, Treasury Operations, or Accounts Payable.
- Strong understanding of banking processes, payment controls, and financial compliance standards.
- Experience using SAP and banking platforms; knowledge of Ariba, Concur, or APWF is a plus.
- Fluent in English and Spanish; Portuguese is a plus.
- Proven analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and drive timely resolutions.
- Experience in a GBS or Shared Service environment is a plus.
- Highly adaptable, customer-focused professional with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate across functions, levels, and cultures.
Culture and Inclusion
adidas fosters a winning culture built around courage, ownership, innovation, teamplay, integrity, and respect. The company is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and aims to build a culture where employees feel a sense of belonging.