Credit Manager

Our client is a well‑established multinational organization operating within a highly regulated and fast‑paced industry. The business has a strong regional footprint across the Middle East and is known for its commitment to operational excellence, robust governance standards, and long‑term investment in talent and leadership capability.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement a regional credit management strategy aligned with business growth objectives and risk appetite
• Define, standardise, and maintain customer credit policies, approval frameworks, and governance standards across multiple markets
• Review and approve customer credit limits within delegated authority, escalating high-risk exposures with mitigation recommendations
• Monitor customer financial health, payment behaviour, concentration risk, and exposure trends across the portfolio
• Drive collections performance and DSO improvement across emerging markets
• Establish and track clear KPIs for collections teams and local finance functions
• Lead overdue debt recovery actions and manage escalation governance
• Partner with commercial leadership to resolve collection challenges while protecting cash flow and business interests
• Improve cash conversion cycles and overall working capital performance
• Oversee all customer-related banking instruments and trade finance mechanisms, including LCs, LGs, bank guarantees, documentary collections, and advance payment instruments
• Ensure robust controls over issuance, tracking, amendments, renewals, expiry management, and release of banking instruments
• Collaborate with treasury teams and banking partners to optimise trade finance processes
• Support contract reviews relating to payment terms and banking security clauses
• Establish and maintain strong credit governance, internal controls, and audit readiness across markets
• Drive standardisation and continuous improvement across order-to-cash and credit management processes
• Support automation, digitalisation, and ERP system enhancements related to credit and collections
• Act as a strategic business partner to commercial teams on payment terms, distributor risk, tenders, and major customer negotiations
• Deliver regular credit risk, working capital, and exposure reporting to regional leadership
• Coach and support local finance teams, building capability and consistency across markets

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related discipline
• 8 to 10 years of progressive experience in finance, with strong hands‑on credit management leadership
• Regional or multi‑country experience, ideally across emerging markets, Middle East, or Africa
• Proven experience within pharma, FMCG, healthcare, medical devices, or similar distribution‑driven industries
• Solid experience in credit risk assessment, collections, working capital optimisation, and DSO improvement
• Strong ERP system exposure, with SAP experience highly preferred
• Ability to operate effectively in fast‑paced, matrix, and cross‑cultural environments