Americas Regional Leader of Credit and Collections

We’re Hiring for an Americas Regional Leader of Credit and Collections! 
 

If you are excited and passionate about helping #LetsSolveWater, consider joining our team today!  Xylem, Inc. is a leading global water technology company servicing more than 150 countries and is dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues.  We are looking for individuals to join our mission by exceeding customer expectations through smart sustainable solutions.  At Xylem, you will have the opportunity to solve water by participating in our paid Volunteer Program, Xylem Watermark!
 

THE ROLE: The Americas Regional Leader of Credit and Collections will be responsible for overall Credit, Collections and Dispute Management activities for the assigned region. Importantly, this leader will help establish and drive the future vision for organizing the Credit, Collection and Dispute Management functions to be more centralized leveraging the latest IT solutions to improve processes and efficiency.  This role is responsible for leading & developing the Credit, Collections and Dispute Management teams through effective service delivery, drive process efficiency and work/ life balance through continuous improvement, and ensuring the business maximizes shareholder value.  In this role, you are responsible to develop analytical processes including a detailed ‘grounding’ of customer credit and contract negotiation as well as driving education among sales and project management groups to optimize Working Capital across the region.     
 

This role provides support to the finance/sales and customer service teams and other key stakeholders (i.e. CFOs, Controllers & Finance Leaders) within the region. This role collaborates with the O2C GPO Team working closely together with the Global Process Team to ensure standarization, automation and digitization of on-going process improvement as well as compliance to the O2C Treasury Global Credit & Collections Policies. This role requires an enthusiastic and highly motivated self-starter professional capable of working in a fast paced environment while collaborating with various business stakeholders in administering the day-to-day service delivery excellence operation of Xylem’s Global Finance program. We offer a full benefits package to include Flexible Time Off (FTO) for salaried positions, health, dental, vision, investment savings plan, and additional miscellaneous benefits.    

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:  To perform the job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
 

• Lead, direct, evaluate and develop the Credit, Collections and Disputes teams to ensure the organization’s financial strategy is implemented effectively, consistently, and according to established guidelines.
• Responsible for Account Receivable performance and for reaching the Regional, Team and individual targets.
• Overall responsibility for Customer/Country Credit risk assessment across the region.
• Overall responsibility for Collection and Disputes activities across the region.
• Develop relationships with Strategic customers including customer visits.
• Business partner to Commercial Sales, Customer Service, CFOs, Controllers & Finance leaders.
• Overall responsibility for Bank guarantees and letters of credit and to work close with Treasury.
• Overall responsibility of Bankruptcies, Bonds, Lien Waivers.
• Overall responsibility and business partnership with O2C Treasury 3rd parties.
• Drive and lead the creation of a Cash culture within the organization to keep the financial objectives.
• Apply the Group Credit strategy and support the standardization of financial processes across the company.
• Establish and execute plans across the region to be able to reach WC targets.
• Responsible for Budget and Forecast for AR related accounts.
• Month end analyses and presentation to CFOs/Controllers/Finance/Sales/Customer Service Leadership team.
• Work close with GPO Team to implement improvements and standardizations in the Order to Cash capabilities.
• Gather feedback from relevant stakeholders and make recommendations for technological and process improvement.
• Leading the transition of in-country credit, collection and disputes management service delivery activities (where assessed to be appropriate) to a center of excellence while ensuring minimal disruption to such activities. 
• Assisting in all applicable User Acceptance testing as it relates to service delivery.
• Effective remote management of personnel in the hubs.
• Drive continuous improvement in terms of cost of finance as well as performance level.
• Comply with Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct.
• Drive process efficiency and work/ life balance through continuous improvement, ensuring the business maximizes shareholder value.
• Assess current talent and determine staffing levels and strategic plans for talent development and succession. planning, including establishing clear objectives, communicating specific performance feedback, and giving timely and thorough performance reviews (CPG).
• Lead the Credit, Collection and Disputes Management teams, assess and provide feedback to fully develop high-performing team. 
• Manage and execute the Delegation of Authority (DOAs) approval as application to the day-today O2C Treasury operations.
• Drive the O2C Treasury SOX compliance controls and support all internal & external audits.
• Manage daily “personal admin” demands (presence sheet, vacations, business trips, expense reports…).
   

QUALIFICATIONS:
 

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business or related field or equivalent.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience in a Corporate Finance environment, specifically, credit, Collections and Disputes Management.
• People development management.
• Results driven to drive service delivery excellence (SLAs, KPIs, metrics, etc.).
• Significant change management experience.
• Demonstrated leadership experience.
• Fluent in English (effective verbal & written communication especially with presentation skills).
• Experience in a shared service/ COE environment.
• LEAN/ GB experience.
• Expertise in customer financial statement analysis, trade reports and credit reference processing preferred.
• Prior experience and knowledge of regional & global credit bureaus (i.e. Dunn & Bradstreet, CreditSafe, Moody’s, Soliditte, Equifax, etc.).
• An understanding of relevant legislation, policies, and procedures in the specific countries in the region.
• Demonstrate both the ability and motivation to work collaboratively in a team environment, across regions and functions, as well as working independently with minimal oversight (as well as remote team management).
• Self-starter who can prioritize tasks and manage deadlines, navigate and be successful in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.
• Excellent analytical skills demonstrating an ability to identify root cause, generating and evaluating alternatives, and implementing solutions.
   

SALARY:

The estimated salary range at this professional level is $120,000 to $160,000 plus bonus.   Starting pay is dependent on multiple factors, such as skills, experience and work location, and is not typically at the top of the range.  At Xylem we offer a competitive compensation package with a generous benefit package, including Medical, Dental, Vision plans, Wellness programs, 401(k) with company contribution, paid time off, paid parental leave and tuition reimbursement.
 

At Xylem, we embrace diversity and strive to create avenues where employees feel valued and appreciated through our DE&I initiatives and Employee Resources Groups (ERG).  Xylem is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action workplace.  Xylem prohibits discrimination, harassment of any kind and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or sexual orientation (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, medical conditions or disability, genetic information, age, or other non-merit factors. 
 

Join the global Xylem team today!  Xylem is a team creating advanced technology solutions to the world’s water challenges through developing new technologies and services that will improve the way water is used, conserved, and re-used in the future is central to our work. Our products and services move, treat, analyze, monitor, and return water to the environment, in public utility, industrial, residential, and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a leading portfolio of smart metering, network technologies and advanced analytics solutions for water, electric and gas utilities.
 

Disclaimer: The information listed within this job description is designed to indicate the general nature of work expected for this position and shall not be viewed as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required in this position.  Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship.  Xylem reserves the right to modify this job description or assign other duties to this position as needed.