Manager, Credit & Collections in Poway, California at Chef Works

The Credit & Collections Manager is responsible for leading the company's Accounts Receivable, Credit, and Collections function to maximize cash flow, protect company assets, and support profitable sales growth. This role provides leadership to a team of nine professionals and is accountable for driving collection performance, improving working capital, developing talent, and fostering strong partnerships across Sales, Customer Service, Operations, and Finance.

The successful candidate is a collaborative leader who balances sound credit practices with exceptional customer service and understands the unique challenges of a business-to-business distribution environment. This role provides strategic oversight, manages high-risk accounts and escalated customer situations, and drives continuous improvement across the order-to-cash process.

Our Hybrid Work Program: To create vibrancy and foster collaboration, while providing for hours spent working from home, we have implemented a hybrid work schedule. We work from the office in Poway on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Fridays are spent working from home. Team members can always work more hours in the office, if they choose.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Accounts Receivable, Credit, and Collections team.

• Establish departmental goals, KPIs, and performance expectations that drive accountability and continuous improvement.

• Build a collaborative, customer-focused culture while developing future leaders within the department.

• Allocate resources and prioritize work to ensure operational efficiency and exceptional customer service.

Credit & Collections Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight of the company's commercial credit and collections program.

• Supervise the Credit Analyst responsible for credit evaluations, account setup, and credit limit recommendations.

• Review and approve credit policy exceptions, high-risk accounts, and significant customer credit decisions.

• Lead collection strategies for complex or delinquent accounts and serve as the primary escalation point for customer payment issues.

• Partner with Sales to balance profitable growth with prudent credit risk management.

Financial & Operational Performance

• Drive improvements in cash flow and working capital by reducing delinquent receivables and improving collection effectiveness.

• Monitor key performance indicators, including DSO, aging, CEI, cash collections, and bad debt.

• Prepare reporting and analysis for Finance leadership and identify trends, risks, and opportunities.

• Support month-end close activities, including bad debt reserve analysis.

Process Improvement & Business Partnership

• Continuously improve credit, collections, cash application, and dispute resolution processes.

• Partner with Sales, Customer Service, Operations, and Accounting to resolve deductions, pricing discrepancies, short pays, freight claims, returns, and other issues affecting customer payments.

• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, and system enhancements to improve efficiency and the customer experience.

• Serve as a trusted business partner to Finance leadership by recommending policy improvements and strategies that strengthen working capital and reduce financial risk.

Qualifications Required

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field.

• 7+ years of progressive experience in Accounts Receivable, Credit, or Collections, including at least 3 years in a leadership role.

• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.

• Experience in a business-to-business distribution, wholesale, or manufacturing environment.

• Demonstrated success improving cash flow, reducing delinquent receivables, and implementing process improvements.

• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance customer relationships, sales objectives, and financial risk.

• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and ERP systems.

Preferred

• Experience with Sage 300 or a similar ERP system.

• Experience working with national accounts, customer deductions, chargebacks, and complex commercial collections.

• Professional certification such as Certified Credit Executive (CCE) or Certified Credit and Risk Analyst (CCRA).

Physical Requirements:

Occasional lifting of 10lbs or less (less than 5% of the time) generally at waist level, some above/below waist, none above shoulders. Must be able to do desk work, which includes computer work for extended periods of time. Position also requires extensive use of telephone. Travel of less than 10% also required, generally via airplane.