Accounts Receivable Team Leader
3 days ago
Manchester
Based - Manchester, M2 6DN ((hybrid working structure spending 50% of time in the office) Permanent Purpose Are you an experienced people leader with a passion for driving performance, building strong relationships, and delivering exceptional service? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where you can make a meaningful impact every day? If so, Premier Foods would love to hear from you.We are seeking a proactive and engaging Accounts Receivable Team Leader to oversee a team delivering Credit Control, Dispute Management and Commercial Support activities. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead, influence, and shape the AR function while working in a highly supportive and values-driven environment. As the Accounts Receivable Team Leader, you will play a critical role in ensuring the smooth, efficient and effective running of our AR operations. Your team will be responsible for managing customer accounts, resolving disputes, monitoring promotional claims and supporting commercial colleagues to ensure business processes run seamlessly.In this hands-on leadership role, you will oversee day-to-day activities, guide your team to achieve KPIs, and ensure the accuracy and timeliness of all reporting and ledger management. You'll have the autonomy to improve processes, drive continuous improvement and cultivate a high-performing culture that aligns with the Premier Foods values. You will also work closely with the AR Credit Manager, contributing to KPI reviews, risk reporting and governance activities. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys a blend of operational oversight, people leadership, stakeholder collaboration and customer interaction. What you'll be doing? Operational Leadership Lead daily performance across the AR team, ensuring that productivity targets, SLAs and KPIs are consistently met. Manage the promotional ledger proactively, ensuring accurate processing, timely resolution of queries and strong communication with internal teams. Build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders across PBS, Customer Teams, Finance, and other business units to ensure smooth end-to-end processes. Chair ledger reviews, prepare updates, and attend site or customer visits to support the optimisation of credit control processes. Deliver accurate, high-quality reporting to meet internal and external audit requirements, ensuring records are maintained and easily accessible. Support Business Continuity planning, ensuring documentation is up to date, tested and robust. Champion behaviours aligned to Premier Foods' values and promote a collaborative, solutions-focused team environment. People Leadership Lead, inspire and motivate your team to deliver exceptional performance with a strong emphasis on engagement and development. Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews and coaching conversations to support individual growth and team effectiveness. Identify training needs, development opportunities and succession plans to support long-term capability building. Manage team absences, holiday planning and return-to-work processes. Address performance issues constructively and professionally, ensuring alignment with company expectations and values. Customer Service & Stakeholder Collaboration Champion a customer-first mindset within the AR team, ensuring all stakeholders receive a professional, responsive and high-quality service. Handle escalated customer queries and complaints promptly, ensuring issues are resolved with clarity, empathy and efficiency. Attend regular cross-functional meetings to improve communication, streamline processes and strengthen working relationships across PBS and the wider business. Promote knowledge-sharing and continuous improvement across the AR function. Control, Compliance & Process Improvements Ensure all team activities align with the business controls framework, including adherence to the Credit Policy and Risk & Control Framework. Support internal and external audit requirements, providing timely and accurate information. Maintain and update process documentation, ensuring procedures remain accurate, relevant and clear. Identify opportunities to improve data quality, standardise processes and enhance overall efficiency. What we need from you? Proven experience managing or leading a Credit Control, Accounts Receivable, or query resolution team. Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels Demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional customer service and build strong relationships. Intermediate Excel capability (including Pivot Tables and VLOOKUPs). Ability to manage a busy workload, prioritise effectively and perform under pressure. High level of accuracy, strong attention to detail and solid problem-solving capability. Experience with commercial claims processes. A team-player mindset, with an enthusiasm for continuous improvement and collaborative working. Experience of working with SAP What we offer in return: Competitive salary Pension scheme of up to 7.5% Life assurance Holiday purchase scheme Sharesave scheme Employee discount platform At Premier foods we believe in inclusion, authenticity and individuality. We aim to ensure all existing and future colleagues are given equitable opportunities and are respected, valued and encouraged to bring their true authentic selves to work no matter who they are, what they look like, who they love or what they believe in. Our culture is one where everyone is welcome. We're proud to be a Disability Smart employer and are committed to supporting disability inclusion throughout our recruitment process. If you experience any access issues or require reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know so we can ensure you have the support you need. TPBN1_UKTJ