Collections Team Leader

Shift; Sydney; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Shift in Sydney is seeking a Collections Team Leader to guide a high-volume commercial collections team, balancing customer focus with strong commercial outcomes.

You will mentor staff, manage complex accounts, and drive improvements to reduce losses while aligning with AU regulatory obligations and credit frameworks.

Qualifications

• 7+ years’ experience in receivables, credit management, or debt recovery.
• Leadership in collections or credit operations, including coaching and performance management.
• Track record of achieving team targets for delinquency, recovery, and loss metrics.
• Expertise in managing escalations for complex and high-stake commercial accounts.
• Understanding AU regulatory obligations (NCCP Act, ASIC guidelines, Privacy Act).
• Experience with credit control frameworks, process improvement, and commercial collections models.
• Strong communication with stakeholders and influencing skills.
• Experience with collections systems and CRM platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and support a team of Collections Officers in a high-volume, commercial collections environment.
• Be the escalation point for complex, high-value, or sensitive commercial accounts—solving tricky cases and guiding your team.
• Own team KPIs, driving results on delinquency, recovery, and loss targets with a solutions-oriented approach.
• Set clear expectations and allocate workloads effectively.
• Provide regular feedback, coaching, and drive ongoing team capability and engagement.
• Spot areas for improvement and champion smarter, faster processes across the collections function.
• Play a key part in shaping and maintaining a credit control management framework fit for commercial lending.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Finance, Credit, Account Management, and Operations to ensure the best outcomes.
• Identify team growth opportunities and handle performance issues constructively.

Skills

People leadership

Credit operations

Coaching

Performance management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Debt recovery

Tools

CRM platforms

Debt management tools

Job description

At Shift, we’re business specialists dedicated to helping Australian SMEs take control of their cashflow, streamline trade terms and choose the right financial products.

We believe Australian businesses are the driving force behind our economy and are core to our communities. That’s why our business expertise, focus on relationships, and market-leading technology is at the core of everything we do. We’ve helped solve the credit and payment pain points for more than 30,000 businesses, providing over $6 billion in aggregate funding.

Our unique approach to product innovation combined with our collaborative culture means you can build your career in a supportive environment. You’ll be joining a diverse team of over 300 people who are always looking to deliver better outcomes for Australian businesses.

About the Role:

At Shift, we’re on the lookout for a Collections Team Leader who knows the ins and outs of recovering commercial debts and enjoys challenging the status quo. You’ll motivate, coach, and develop your team to achieve outstanding results balancing customer focus with sharp commercial outcomes. Your expertise will help us keep losses low and our portfolio healthy, all while making the collections process smarter and more effective.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead, mentor, and support a team of Collections Officers in a high-volume, commercial collections environment
• Be the escalation point for complex, high-value, or sensitive commercial accounts—solving tricky cases and guiding your team
• Own team KPIs, driving results on delinquency, recovery, and loss targets with a solutions-oriented approach
• Set clear expectations and allocate workloads effectively
• Provide regular feedback, coaching, and drive ongoing team capability and engagement
• Spot areas for improvement and champion smarter, faster processes across the collections function
• Play a key part in shaping and maintaining a credit control management framework fit for commercial lending
• Collaborate with colleagues in Finance, Credit, Account Management, and Operations to ensure the best outcomes
• Identify team growth opportunities and handle performance issues constructively

What You’ll Bring:

• 7+ years’ experience in receivables, credit management, or debt recovery, with significant experience in commercial collections and commercial lending
• Proven leadership in collections or credit operations, including coaching and performance management
• Track record of achieving team targets for commercial delinquency, recovery, and loss metrics
• Expertise in managing escalations for complex and high-stake commercial accounts
• Comprehensive understanding of AU regulatory obligations (NCCP Act, ASIC guidelines, Privacy Act)
• Experience with credit control frameworks, process improvement, and commercial collections modelsStrong communicator with great stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Comfortable with collections systems, CRM platforms, and debt management tools