Credit and Collections Manager, EMEA at Cognex in Cork

Job description

Job Description The Company: Cognex is the global leader in the exciting and growing field of machine vision, with annual revenue of $1 Billion. We are a financially strong international company with a culture that maintains the fast-paced, creative environment of a startup. Our employees, proudly called “Cognoids,” take their work seriously but don't take themselves seriously. Our Work Hard, Play Hard, Move Fast culture recognizes our employees for their innovation, perseverance, and hard work in a fun and rewarding environment. We value in-person team collaboration, while offering remote workplace flexibility up to two days a week. The Role: The Credit and Collections Manager, EMEA is responsible for leading Credit, Collections and Cash Application activities across the EMEA region while maintaining ownership of a designated customer portfolio. The role combines people leadership, credit risk management, collections strategy, operational oversight, escalation management, process improvement and cross-functional stakeholder management. The position is accountable for driving cash collection performance, minimizing credit risk exposure, overseeing cash application and Accounts Receivable activities, coordinating month-end closing requirements and ensuring the consistent execution of global Order-to-Cash processes. The Manager serves as the primary escalation point for complex customer, credit and collections matters and provides functional leadership for continuous improvement initiatives, system implementations and global business transformation projects. Essential Functions: Team Leadership and Operational Management Lead, coach, develop and motivate a team of Credit, Collections and Cash Application professionals through performance management, objective setting, succession planning, career development, capacity planning and workload prioritization. Build a high-performing team culture focused on accountability, collaboration, continuous learning and operational excellence. Portfolio and Collections Management Manage a customer portfolio, driving collection performance, overdue debt reduction and DSO improvements across the EMEA region. Collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to resolve issues impacting collection activities and accelerate payment resolution. Cash Application Oversight Monitor unapplied, unidentified and incorrectly allocated cash balances and work with relevant internal teams and customers to obtain remittance information and resolve allocation issues. Credit Risk Management Lead customer credit assessments, financial analysis, credit limit approvals and risk mitigation activities across the EMEA portfolio. Monitor customer exposure, payment behavior and portfolio risk, implementing actions to minimize financial risk and bad debt. Exercise delegated credit authority and ensure credit decisions are appropriately documented and compliant with company policies and controls. Partner with Sales and Order Management to achieve timely resolution of orders placed on credit hold while balancing risk management and commercial objectives. Escalation and Stakeholder Management Build effective relationships with internal stakeholders and act as the primary regional escalation point for complex customer issues, credit challenges, collection disputes and order release decisions. Communicate significant portfolio risks, overdue balances and recommended actions to senior management and key stakeholders, while coordinating actions, owners and timelines across relevant functions. Month-End Closing and Financial Controls Review aging, unapplied cash, customer credit balances, bad debt exposure and other relevant Accounts Receivable balances as part of the month-end close. Coordinate monthly Accounts Receivable closing activities, ensuring reconciliations are completed, documented, reviewed and submitted in line with SOX requirements, internal controls, company policies and applicable regulatory requirements. Iden