Credit & Collections Manager 

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

The Credit & Collections Manager is responsible for maintaining adherence to Global Policies, driving O2C strategy topics related to credit risk and collections, and providing ongoing support to O2C leadership. This role manages the North America Credit & Collections portfolio, ensuring strong performance, process standardization, and effective risk management across the customer lifecycle.

The Credit & Collections Manager acts as the primary escalation point for credit and collections-related issues raised by customers, NAM stakeholders, and internal teams, and is accountable for managing the Global Business Services (GBS) team and balancing workloads to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant execution of credit and collections activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Own service delivery for the team handling credit management and collections processes for NAM customers, ensuring performance meets or exceeds defined service level agreements (SLAs); when targets are not achieved, lead root cause analysis, corrective action planning, and sustainable resolution
• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with NAM and GBS Business Partners by understanding stakeholder needs and developing clear communication packages to present results, risks, recommendations, and solutions
• Foster a collaborative environment by actively engaging with other GBS managers across functions, sharing insights and best practices to strengthen end-to-end O2C execution
• Promote open communication and teamwork to support shared organizational goals
• Lead, coach, and develop the team by providing continuous feedback, setting clear performance expectations, and supporting professional growth and capability building
• Empower team members to enhance technical and functional expertise while ensuring high-quality and timely delivery of operational activities, projects, and initiatives
• Act as a support and backup to O2C leadership by contributing to the development, implementation, and communication of credit and collections strategy
• Ensure alignment with broader O2C objectives and provide leadership during strategic initiatives, transitions, and escalations
• Drive continuous improvement across the Credit & Collections function by introducing and reinforcing Lean principles and efficiency initiatives
• Support the design, development, and implementation of process standardization, harmonization, and automation initiatives in partnership with O2C Global Process Owners and Continuous Improvement teams
• Support internal control frameworks by identifying risk areas, ensuring compliance with adidas regulations, and advising on control enhancements to strengthen audit readiness and governance
• Provide deep operational expertise across credit risk assessment, customer exposure management, collections strategies, dispute prevention, and customer lifecycle processes
• Actively contribute to GBS priorities, KPIs, OKRs, and the overall GBS roadmap by aligning credit and collections outcomes with financial and operational objectives

Key Relationships

• Strategic / Field Accounts in USA and Canada
• NAM Finance Leaders
• NAM Sales Leaders
• NAM Supply Chain Leaders
• Global Process Owners
• GBS Operational Teams (Claims, Cash Application, Account Operations)
• GBS Functional Teams (Communications, Delivery Excellence, Continuous Improvement)
• HR Business Partners

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret adidas business processes, policies, and timelines
• Results-driven and proactive leadership mindset
• Strong customer and stakeholder focus with risk-balanced decision-making
• High adaptability in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and presentation skills across senior and operational audiences
• Ability to make data-driven decisions under time constraints
• Strong decision-making, negotiation, and conflict resolution capabilities
• High attention to detail and strong risk awareness

Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrated knowledge in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related fields, acquired through professional experience, training, or education
• 5+ years of relevant experience in an O2C leadership role, with exposure to Credit & Collections, Customer Lifecycle Management, Cash Application, and/or Claims; Shared Service Center experience is a plus
• Proven experience leading, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams
• Ability to think strategically and make decisions with a long-term, end-to-end O2C perspective
• Experience with continuous improvement methodologies, root cause analysis, and process optimization
• Demonstrated success leading initiatives to improve credit risk management, collections effectiveness, and customer outcomes
• Advanced proficiency in English and Spanish (written and spoken)
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office tools and SAP ERP systems