Wakefield Canada is a privately owned, entrepreneurial company focused exclusively on servicing the Canadian Automotive and Commercial Heavy Duty aftermarket. With an employee base of over 200 people, Wakefield provides sales, marketing and distribution solutions to over 5000 customers in all segments, including retailers, warehouse distributors, automotive and heavy duty jobbers, franchised and independent installers, quick lubes, fleet companies, new car dealers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).

Wakefield was founded in June 2005 out of a strategic partnership with BP Lubricants to assume stewardship of the Castrol brand, and all customer facing operations, exclusively, in Canada. Wakefield's Brand portfolio includes Castrol as its cornerstone brand and business, along with SuperClean, a line of cleaners and degreasers for which Wakefield is the exclusive trading partner in Canada.

With a large and experienced sales force, in-house team of marketing professionals, and a comprehensive, coast to coast, distribution network, Wakefield provides premium automotive brands, dedicated customer service and technical support, and industry leading marketing programs to help drive growth for both our customers and the brands we represent.

Job Summary:

This Bilingual Credit and Collections Specialist is responsible for preparing credit adjudications, applying cash, monitoring assigned accounts and initiating collections activities. The Credit and Collections Specialist is also responsible for proactively identifying areas of improvement in order to limit bad debt exposure and reduce costs.

Key Accountabilities:

• Prepare the credit adjudication for assigned customer accounts.

• Prepare the daily cash application for assigned customers/payment methods.

• Proactively monitor assigned customer accounts and initiate collections activities.

• Maintain clean and up to date account reconciliations, netting debits and credit where needed and clearing off outstanding items.

• Maintain the email and mail distribution of customer invoices and statements.

• Maintain a tracking mechanism for all customer chargebacks, ensuring timely approval and G/L coding or customer recovery.

• Partner with sales to ensure a two way flow of information on customer credit risk, credit hold status and to seek collection support.

• Investigate pricing and quantity disputes, liaise with sales operations and shipping to obtain source documentation where needed to support collection or initiate a credit.

• Maintain the appropriate sales tax setup for all customer accounts.

• Coordinate with General Accounting Supervisor for quarterly sales tax audit support

• Identify new customers with sales tax exceptions and ensure proper back up is provided by customer and maintained internally for records.

• Prepare daily cash reporting.

• Proactively identify area of improvement in order to limit bad debt exposure, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies while optimizing the customer experience.

• Prepare month end reporting and other analysis as required.

• Prepare miscellaneous “free-text” invoices as required.

• Project work as required.

Key Competencies:

• Proven track record of curing difficult accounts.

• Knowledge of, credit and collection policies, processes and procedures.

• Proven ability to multi-task, prioritize, and consistently produces high-quality work with a high level of accuracy to meet time sensitive deadlines.

• Must possess sound interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to project a positive image to both internal and external clients.

• Must be Bilingual (French/English)

Education / Experience:

• College Diploma or University Degree in Business or a related discipline preferred.

• A CCP designation would be considered an asset.

• Minimum 3-5 years’ experience as a proven collections expert.

• Proficiency required in the Microsoft Office suite of applications, with strong Excel skills, and MS Dynamics AX experience preferred.

Working Conditions:

• Office environment