Senior Credit Controller
Employer Location Stoke-on-Trent, England, Staffordshire Salary - per annum + Dependent on experience Closing date 26 May 2026 View more categoriesView less categories Sector Salary band, Contract type Hours Where will they be working You need to or to save a job.
Job Details
Role Overview
A senior, highly autonomous credit control professional responsible for the full end to end management of the sales ledger within a complex, product led business. Operating independently, the role focuses on customer credit risk management, cash collection, dispute resolution, and the continuous improvement of credit control processes. Strong use of systems, automation, and data insight is applied to maximise cash flow while maintaining effective customer and internal stakeholder relationships.
Key Responsibilities:
Credit Risk Management & Customer Setup
1. Full ownership of the customer credit lifecycle, including:
2. Reviewing and assessing new customer credit applications
3. Ongoing credit reviews within agreed authority levels
4. Setting and maintaining appropriate credit limits and payment terms
5. Regular assessment of credit risk using:
6. Financial information and trading history
7. External credit data
8. Payment behaviour and exposure analysis
9. Proactive recommendation of risk mitigation actions such as adjusted terms, advance payments, or phased payment structures where required.
Cash Collection & Ledger Control
10. End to end responsibility for the sales ledger, ensuring:
11. Timely and structured collection of outstanding balances
12. Delivery against agreed cash and debt KPIs
13. Managing collections across a broad and diverse customer base, including a significant international element
14. Carrying out professional, structured collection activity via telephone, written communication, and escalation processes, supported by automated reminder systems.
Query & Dispute Resolution
15. Acting as the primary contact for invoice, pricing, and account queries
16. Managing disputes efficiently by liaising with internal teams and driving resolution to payments
Automation & Process Improvement
17. Designing, maintaining, and enhancing credit control processes, including:
18. Electronic invoicing and customer portals
19. Automated statements and reminder schedules
20. System driven credit limit controls and order holds
21. Using reporting, dashboards, and exception based workflows to prioritise activity
22. Reducing manual intervention through automation and system integration between finance systems and supporting platforms where applicable.
Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement
23. Producing clear and accurate reporting on:
24. Aged debt
25. Credit risk exposure
26. Bad debt risk
Debtor days and trends
27. Providing insights, commentary, and recommendations to senior finance stakeholders
28. Working closely with commercial teams to balance revenue growth with robust credit risk management.
Governance & Continuous Improvement
29. Ensuring adherence to internal controls, policies, and audit requirements
30. Regularly reviewing and refining credit control processes to support business growth and efficiency
31. Maintaining accurate documentation to support escalation, legal action, or external debt recovery if required.
Measures of Success
32. Sustained reduction in overdue and aged debt
33. Improvement in debtor days and overall risk profile
34. Effective and timely resolution of customer disputes
35. Increased efficiency through reduced manual processing
36. Positive feedback from internal stakeholders and customers.
Person Specification
Essential Requirements
37. GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English
38. Proven experience in a standalone or highly autonomous Credit Control role
39. Strong understanding of credit risk, collections strategy, and dispute management
40. A confident communicator able to manage challenging conversations professionally
41. Highly organised, able to prioritise workload independently.
Desirable Experience & Skills
42. Background in manufacturing or product based environments
43. Strong systems capability, including accounting software and Excel
44. Experience working with ERP or finance systems commonly used in large or complex businesses.
Key Competencies & Attributes
45. Comfortable working cross functionally with sales, operations, and logistics teams
46. Self motivated, accountable, and commercially minded
47. Strong cash focused mindset with a structured, process driven approach
48. Calm under pressure and confident managing complex or sensitive situations.
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV.
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Company
At Hays we invest in lifelong partnerships that empower people and businesses to succeed. With over 50 years’ success under our belts and a workforce of 10,000+ people across 32 countries, we’ve evolved to put our customers at the heart of everything we do.
From CFO to Newly Qualified, we work with talented finance professionals and match them with organisations where they can achieve a lasting impact.
So much more than specialist recruiters in accounting and finance, what really sets us apart is our knowledge through scale, deep understanding and our ability to meaningfully innovate for our customers. All our consultants have strong relationships across the industry and the support of our extensive global network. That’s why organisations of all types and sizes – from international blue chips to SMEs – trust us to find the people who can help transform their business.
So, whether you want something local or international, permanent, or interim, we have the breadth of coverage and the depth of understanding to help you find it.
We have specialist recruitment teams in the following areas:
49. Corporate Governance
50. Credit Control
51. Part-Qualified Accountant
52. Payroll
53. Public Practice Accounting
54. Public Services Accounting
55. Senior Finance – Qualified
56. Support, Ledgers & Bookkeeping
57. Tax & Treasury
You can rely on us to deliver today and help you plan for tomorrow
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