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Director - Credit & Collections

Clearwater, FL, Florida

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Permanent

Florida

Clearwater, FL

Finance

Full - Time

14-Jan-2026

Job Title: Director – Credit & Collections

Department: Finance

Reports To: AVP, Credit & Pricing (or VP Finance, depending on org structure)

Company Overview

SalonCentric, a subsidiary of L’Oréal USA, is the premiere distributor of salon professional products in the United States. Through its hundreds of stores, national field sales force, and sub-distribution network, SalonCentric promotes the finest professional beauty brands and educates stylists on the latest products and trends.

Description

This strategic Finance leadership role is responsible for the end-to-end oversight and evolution of the Credit & Collections function within SalonCentric. The Director acts as the primary strategic thought partner to Executive Leadership, Finance, Sales, Customer Care, Pricing, Traffic, IT, Treasury, and Legal—championing a best-in-class customer experience while optimizing working capital, accelerating cash flow, and maintaining strong credit risk discipline.

The Director – Credit & Collections is instrumental in pioneering advanced credit risk strategies, catalyzing significant process innovation across credit, collections, dispute resolution, and cash application, and spearheading the adoption and integration of cutting-edge technology solutions (including SAP). The Director is expected to provide definitive thought leadership on portfolio risk, customer payment behavior, and macro-economic factors, while establishing the strategic framework and governance for the operational lifecycle of credit approval, order release, collections activity, and bad-debt management.

Position Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Planning

+ Conceptualize, define, and lead the execution of comprehensive, high-impact Credit & Collections strategies designed to optimize DSO, reduce past-due balances, minimize bad-debt write-offs, and align with overarching company objectives and growth plans.

+ Serve as the principal thought leader, mentor, and strategic advisor on credit risk and collections to Executive Leadership and cross-functional partners, offering expert guidance on credit policies, terms strategies, portfolio segmentation, and customer risk profiles.

+ Establish and continually refine the governance framework for credit decisioning and order release, orchestrating cross-functional decision-making and ensuring consistent application of policies and escalation protocols.

+ Proactively identify, champion, and oversee the implementation of transformative process improvements and advanced technology solutions to significantly enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability of Credit & Collections operations.

+ Define and maintain clear credit and collections policies, SLAs, and decision-rights that balance commercial objectives with financial integrity, compliance, and internal control requirements (e.g., SOX-related controls).

Operational Excellence & Execution

+ Direct the end-to-end management of Credit & Collections operations, including credit review and underwriting, order release, collection strategies, dispute resolution, and coordination with third-party agencies.

+ Lead the strategic programming and overarching management of collection activities across all customer segments and channels, ensuring disciplined follow-up on aged balances, structured payment plans, final demand letters, and escalations where warranted.

+ Collaborate extensively with Customer Care, Pricing, Traffic, Sales, and Brand teams to ensure timely resolution of issues affecting receivables (pricing/terms, invoice accuracy, shipping errors, deductions) and to prevent recurrence through upstream process improvements.

+ Oversee and enforce stringent financial and operational controls across Credit & Collections processes, including documentation standards, approval matrices, audit readiness, and adherence to corporate and regulatory requirements.

+ Ensure robust oversight of third-party collection partners, including selection, performance management, and alignment to SalonCentric’s standards, customer experience expectations, and compliance requirements.

+ Partner closely with Treasury, FP&A, and Controllership to support cash flow forecasting, reserve calculations, and month-end/quarter-end close activities related to receivables and bad-debt allowances.

Analytics & System Optimization

+ Architect and implement robust, forward-looking analytics frameworks to monitor portfolio health, DSO, aging profiles, delinquency trends, dispute cycle times, recovery rates, and forecasted cash collections.

+ Lead in-depth root cause analysis and proactive corrective action for complex credit and collections challenges, including systemic issues driving disputes, deductions, and late payments, and translate insights into clear, actionable strategies.

+ Collaborate strategically with IT and SAP teams to design, test, and implement new systems, tools, and integrations (e.g., SAP/S4 enhancements, dunning and dispute management modules, EDI/portal solutions, automation/RPA) that drive significant process improvements and risk visibility.

+ Spearhead initiatives to identify and quantify margin and cash flow impacts of credit and collections performance; develop scalable, enduring solutions that improve the overall financial health of the portfolio.

+ Develop and maintain dashboards and KPIs that provide executive-level visibility into Credit & Collections performance and support data-driven decision making.

Team Leadership & Development

+ Provide inspirational leadership, strategic direction, and mentorship to a multi-level Credit & Collections organization, including team leads/managers and a staff of 20+ Collection Specialists.

+ Manage, develop, and empower direct reports, providing rigorous coaching, strategic mentoring, and structured performance feedback that support high performance and career growth.

+ Drive overall team performance by setting clear objectives, monitoring progress against KPIs (DSO, past-due, bad-debt, dispute resolution), and proactively identifying opportunities to enhance capabilities and capacity.

+ Cultivate a high-performance culture of collaboration, accountability, customer-centricity, innovation, and continuous improvement within the Credit & Collections team.

+ Build organizational capability in credit underwriting, negotiation, analytics, and systems proficiency; support succession planning and talent development for key roles within the function.

Position Requirements

Education

+ Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or a related quantitative field.

+ Master’s degree (MBA or related field) strongly preferred.

Experience

+ 8–12+ years of progressive experience in credit, collections, accounts receivable, or related finance functions.

+ At least 3–5 years of demonstrated success managing and developing high-performing, multi-level teams (including managers and/or senior specialists).

+ Experience in a multi-channel, distribution, or consumer products environment preferred.

Technical Skills

+ SAP experience is required; strong familiarity with credit and collections functionality, dispute management, and reporting.

+ Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook); experience with BI/analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) preferred.

+ Comfort working with large datasets and complex reporting to support decision-making.

Strategic Mindset

+ Exceptional command of advanced credit and collections strategies and techniques, with a distinguished track record of developing, socializing, and executing strategic plans that deliver measurable improvements in DSO, past-due reduction, and bad-debt performance.

+ Demonstrated ability to think end-to-end across processes, balancing commercial growth objectives, customer experience, and risk mitigation.

Analytical Skills

+ Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, and executive decision-making skills.

+ Demonstrated ability to leverage complex analytics and KPIs to fundamentally enhance departmental performance and influence strategic business decisions.

Communication & Collaboration

+ Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the demonstrated ability to influence, challenge, and build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders (Finance, Sales, Customer Care, Pricing, Traffic, IT, Treasury, Legal, and key customers as needed).

+ Proven ability to present complex financial and risk concepts clearly and persuasively to senior leadership.

Adaptability & Execution

+ Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, manage multiple priorities, and handle high volume/time-sensitive activities related to month-end, quarter-end, and year-end cycles.

+ Strong bias for action with a track record of driving continuous improvement and delivering sustainable results.

+ High level of professionalism, diplomacy, and negotiation skill in managing challenging credit/collection situations and escalations.