Credit Manager

Corrs Chambers Westgarth; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Bonus leave

Parental leave

Wellbeing program

Diversity & Inclusion

Training & development

Job summary

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is seeking an experienced Credit Manager to lead the national credit function and strengthen the firm’s cash position. Reporting to the Finance Operations Manager, you will develop strategies to reduce debtors and debtor days while maintaining client relationships.

You will manage a Credit Officer team, establish KPIs, monitor aged debt, and coordinate legal recovery when required. A tertiary finance qualification and robust leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• Extensive credit management experience, including leadership in professional services.
• Proven experience managing people/resources and coaching.
• Strong analytical, reconciliation and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of debt recovery, insolvency, and relevant regulatory requirements.
• Advanced Excel and MS Office; experience with CMS and reporting tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and implementation of credit strategies to reduce debtors, debtor days and aged debt.
• Manage debtors nationally and drive consistent collection practices across the business.
• Coach, develop and engage credit staff, establishing a high-performing team.
• Establish and monitor credit team KPIs including debtor days and cash collections.
• Prepare debtor and credit reporting for management with insights and recommendations.
• Assess creditworthiness and set credit limits within delegated authority.
• Develop procedures to meet firm’s credit criteria for new clients.
• Coordinate legal recovery actions and manage external debt collection relationships.
• Monitor provisions for bad and doubtful debts and escalate issues.
• Collaborate with Partners on client communications and payment arrangements.

Skills

Credit management leadership

Debt collection strategies

Stakeholder engagement

Financial reconciliation

Client relationship management

Education

Tertiary qualification in finance/accounting

Diploma of Credit Management

Professional membership with Australian Institute of Credit Management

Tools

Practice management CMS

Reporting tools

MS Excel

Job description

Join Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia's leading independent law firm.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Credit Manager to lead our national credit function and play a key role in strengthening the firm’s cash position.

Reporting to the Finance Operations Manager and leading a Credit Officer, you will develop and implement effective credit and collection strategies that reduce debtors and debtor days. A key priority will be reducing debt aged over 91 days to no more than 10% of total debtors, while maintaining strong relationships with clients, Partners and internal stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

In this nationally focused role, you will:

• Lead the development and implementation of strategies, practices and procedures to reduce debtors, debtor days and aged debt.
• Manage the firm’s debtors nationally and drive consistent collection practices across the business.
• Coach, develop and engage credit staff, creating a positive and high-performing team environment.
• Establish and monitor credit team KPIs, including debtor days, aged debt and cash collections against target.
• Prepare regular debtor and credit reporting for the Finance Operations Manager and firm management, providing meaningful insights and recommendations.
• Assess the creditworthiness of new and existing clients and recommend appropriate credit limits and payment terms within delegated authority.
• Develop procedures to ensure new clients meet the firm’s credit criteria.
• Monitor aged debtor reports and escalation overdue matters to responsible Partners and the Working Capital Team.
• Coordinate legal recovery action where required and manage relationships with external debt collection agents, including referrals, performance and recovery outcomes.
• Monitor and maintain provisions for bad and doubtful debts.
• Investigate and resolve billing queries and disputes, negotiate payment arrangements and escalation unresolved matters appropriately.
• Work closely with Partners and management to prepare professional client correspondence relating to outstanding accounts, disputes, payment arrangements and negotiated settlements.
• Develop and maintain standard credit correspondence and templates, including reminders, final notices, external agent referral instructions and payment arrangement wording.
• Develop and regularly review the firm’s collection policies and ensure credit and recovery activity complies with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
• Continuously improve credit processes and systems through automation, reporting and data analytics.
• Provide a high level of service and support to internal and external clients while protecting important client relationships.

About You

You will be an experienced credit management professional with strong commercial judgement and the confidence to lead a national function. You will bring:

• Extensive credit management experience, including at least three years in a leadership role, ideally within professional services.
• Proven experience managing people and resources, with a strong focus on coaching, engagement and development.
• Excellent reconciliation, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to balance credit risk, client relationships and business growth.
• Sound knowledge of debt recovery processes, insolvency and relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to negotiate payment arrangements and manage sensitive client conversations.
• The confidence and credibility to work with senior stakeholders, particularly Partners and Business Services leaders.
• Strong planning and project management capability, with the ability to monitor performance and ensure objectives are achieved.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build effective relationships across Finance and the wider business.
• Professionalism, discretion and integrity when handling sensitive client, financial and Partner matters.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and strong broader Microsoft Office capability.
• Experience using practice management or CMS platforms and reporting tools would be highly regarded.

A tertiary qualification in finance, accounting, business or a related discipline, a Diploma of Credit Management, or equivalent relevant experience is required. Membership of the Australian Institute of Credit Management is desirable.

This is an influential national role for a capable credit leader who enjoys combining people leadership, stakeholder engagement and operational improvement. You will have the opportunity to shape credit practices, improve reporting and systems, and deliver measurable improvements in debtor performance and cash collection.

If you are commercially minded, service focused and confident working with senior stakeholders, we would welcome your application.

At Corrs, we help you achieve your ambition - at every stage of your career.

About us:

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm. We provide exceptional legal services across the full spectrum of matters, including major transactions, projects and significant disputes, offering strategic advice on our clients’ most challenging issues.

Why Corrs?

We pride ourselves on meeting our clients needs in a culture characterised by excellence, commitment, collaboration and respect. Our policies, practices and behaviours foster a safe and inclusive workplace, and we focus on creating opportunities and supporting a diverse workforce.

• Flexible working as standard – we’ve established flexibility as standard business practice and an option for all our people.
• Bonus leave - an additional week of leave each year (5 weeks annual leave in total).
• Generous parental leave entitlements – we offer up to 26 weeks paid leave and pay superannuation on both paid and unpaid leave (up to 12 months).
• Wellbeing program – we support the wellbeing of our people across areas including resilience, mental health, mindfulness, personal development, physical health and self-care.
• Diversity and Inclusion – this is a key area of focus for the firm. We set meaningful goals to improve diversity and foster an inclusive culture in which all employees feel supported and valued.
• Responsible business approach – we are a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and are committed to promoting and respecting human rights, supporting the Compact’s Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We are also a member of AusLSA, which works to promote and increase sustainable practices across the legal sector.
• Learning and development opportunities – including our Australian-first international study scholarship, our national training program and our mentoring program.