Collection Manager - Key Customer Accounts (Mid-Market Segment) at Sage

Job Description

This role leads key strategic business relationships for Sage AME Region for Mid-market customers, business partners and distributors. The role requires regular collaboration with the internal sales function, internal Partners and Alliances function, sales and operations function and internal Customer for Life function and internal training function. The management of these relationships will entail risk management, strong customer relationship management, and efficient cash collection.
This role manages the Credit and Collections team for key relationships to ensure timely and accurate processing, as well as manages continuous improvement initiatives.
This role is also accountable for all customer receipting being done accurately and on time.
Based in Johannesburg, the successful candidate will be experienced in leading a Credit and Collections team in a Finance Operations environment.

Key Responsibilities Key Accountabilities And Decision Ownership

• Accountable for Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and collection rate targets; as set by Sage Group; to ensure at a manageable level and agreed targets achieved.
• Management of key mid-market customer relationships (customers, business partners and distributors) including internal stakeholder engagement.
• Accountable for accurate and timeous cash allocation. Monthly reporting of cash levels; unapplied cash and unknown cash is required.
• Accountable for unallocated cash to ensure it is at the agreed minimal level.
• Regular reviews of ledger balances including proactive remedies to ensure unallocated cash is investigated and applied/escalated.
• Ensure collections book is proactively managed and workload effectively distributed.
• Management of key relationships team. This includes objective settings, and annual reviews, regular one to ones, development and engagement activities. Ensure teams performance is measured at all times and remedial action taken when necessary.
• Manage company exposure to risk via effective credit checking of new and current customers.
• Manage robust debt chase policy and procedures, to ensure customer debt is collected as pre agreed terms. Ensuring that cash flow is optimised at all times.
• Regular reviews of ledger balances including proactive remedies to reduce or eliminate bad debt. Liaise with reporting finance function to provide provision data and analysis
• Provide a customer focused service to key partners for all financial issues that cannot be resolved via ‘my sage’ or customer services.
• Management and reporting of team KPIs and process controls
• Alignment to Order to Cash/Collections strategy including input into the future direction of the department.

Skills, Know-how And Experience

• Proven credit & collections experience, including legal action, preferably in a technology environment.
• Proven experience of managing complex accounts and relationships.
• Proven leadership / people management experience.
• Experience in a service-oriented culture including management of SLAs.
• Thorough understanding of end to end Credit and Collections process.
• Proven experience in driving a culture of continuous improvement.
• Active participation in systems improvement/implementation programmes.
• Preferably good ERP experience.
• Preferably good CRM experience.

Technical / Professional Qualifications

• Finance qualification preferred

Direct Reports

• Credit and Collections Analyst for Key Relationships