Sr. Manager

Company Overview
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, operate collectively as a "Bridgestone West" strategic region. This region services the strategic business needs of teams across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. BSAM and BSEMEA are subsidiaries of Bridgestone Corporation, globally headquartered in Japan. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products and solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers and industries.

Job Category
Finance

Position Summary
The Sr. Manager - Credit, Collections, and Underwriting will oversee the credit granting, underwriting, and collections processes for all business units within Bridgestone Americas, Inc. This role involves assessing the creditworthiness of potential customers, managing credit and collections policies, ensuring timely collection of receivables, and maintaining compliance with relevant regulations. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in credit management, collections, and underwriting, excellent analytical skills, and the ability to lead a team effectively.

Responsibilities

• Credit Assessment: Evaluate the creditworthiness of potential and existing customers through detailed financial analysis and risk assessment.
• Underwriting: Oversee the underwriting process, ensuring accurate and timely completion of credit packages and adherence to internal risk guidelines.
• Collections Management: Lead the collections function to ensure timely and effective recovery of outstanding receivables, minimizing bad debt exposure.
• Dispute Resolution: Collaborate with internal teams and customers to resolve billing disputes and payment issues efficiently.
• Policy Maintenance: Develop and maintain credit and collections policies and procedures in alignment with company goals and regulatory requirements.
• Risk Management: Monitor and manage the company's credit and collections risk, providing recommendations to improve overall risk management strategies.
• Compliance: Ensure all credit and collections operations comply with applicable state and federal laws and internal audit requirements.
• Collaboration: Work closely with departments such as sales, accounting, legal, and customer service to support business objectives and resolve credit and collections issues.
• Reporting: Prepare and present reports on credit, cash forecasts, collections, and risk metrics to senior management, highlighting trends and areas for improvement.
• Team Leadership: Provide training, guidance, and performance evaluations for the credit and collections team, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Continuous Process Improvement: In our Bridgestone Business Services, process improvement is in our DNA. We seek a leader who will bring these values to their processes to drive efficiency and value through best-in-class practices and technologies.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 years experience as a Credit Manager, Collections Manager, or Underwriting Manager in a large organization and 5 years leading people.
• Strong knowledge of credit and collections laws and regulations.
• Excellent analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Effective communication and leadership abilities.
• Proficiency in financial software and ERP systems.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Experience in the manufacturing industry.
• Familiarity with international credit, collections, and underwriting practices.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Professional credit certifications (i.e., CCP, CCE, CICP).
• Bilingual - Spanish and/or Portuguese.

At Bridgestone, you are Free to Be
We believe people can only provide superior service and quality to others when they bring their whole self to work. We believe in championing all perspectives, individuals and teams because we understand the importance of seeing the world and our business through many different lenses. We are building a team as diverse as the world we serve. So, show us what you are made of, because who you are is what we need.

What We Offer
At Bridgestone, what really matters is to foster co-creation opportunities and empowering you to be creative and curious to make mobility safer, more efficient, and more sustainable for future generations. Whatever role you fill, when you represent Bridgestone, you are a valued teammate, and part of our larger mission to "Serve Society with Superior Quality", for that, we offer you more than just a competitive compensation; we will provide you:

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.
• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.
• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.
• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.
• A diverse and inclusive team.

Bridgestone is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. It is our policy to consider for employment all individuals regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
Employment Eligibility
If hired, a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification must be completed at the start of employment. Temporary work authorization or the need for sponsorship may disqualify you from employment.