Director - Credit & Collections

Job Title: Director – Credit & Collections

Department: Finance

Location: Clearwater, FL (Salon Centric National Operating Center)

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

Salon Centric, 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, Salon Centric promotes the finest professional beauty brands and educates stylists on the latest products and trends.

This strategic Finance leadership role is responsible for the end‑to‑end oversight and evolution of the Credit & Collections function within Salon Centric. 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.

• 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).

• 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 Salon Centric’s standards, customer experience expectations, and compliance requirements.
• Partner closely with Treasury, FP&A, and…