Working Capital Manager

This is a permanent role and can be either full or part time (0.8 FTE upwards), and be based in either our Birmingham or Norwich offices with occasional travel to the other offices.  We can offer hybrid working on a 50% office/home basis.

The role

Key to success will be to support the continuous enhancement of system processes, as well as working with our commercial manager’s to further develop business engagement in managing work in WIP and debt (lock up).

The role reports to the financial controller and is responsible for managing a team of around 12 people.

The person

This role requires someone who can evidence process improvements and has a proven track record of delivering results and being able to influence and gain respect from a cross section of stakeholders.  It is likely that your background and experience will include the following areas of expertise:

• Previous experience in a business process / management role, preferably in a professional services environment with proven knowledge of billing, debt recovery (litigated), and credit control.

• Strong track record of building effective relationships at all levels and across departments and functions.

• Strong commercial awareness and influencing skills, with an ability to work on several tasks / projects at the same time

• Excellent IT skills and an ability to interrogate a system to identify issues and enhancements.

• Minimum of three years’ experience in a finance-related discipline, ideally in a law or other professional services firm.

The role additionally requires someone who:

• is educated to degree level, with a law or business degree being desirable

• may also hold an accounting qualification

• is energetic and delivery focused, with a consultative and collaborative working style

• has excellent written and verbal communication skills.

 The activities

• Leadership

• To ensure the revenue and credit control (including debt recovery) teams provide excellent client experience, both to our internal and external clients.

• Become an expert user of the client and matters, billing, and credit control systems, identifying where support is required and developing those relationships.

• To mentor and coach members of the working capital team.

• To encourage continual improvement, actively promoting innovation and system development.

• Revenue control

• To work with the senior working capital advisor, commercial managers, and client account executives to develop effective processes to manage WIP to the firm’s benchmarks, minimising the involvement of business leaders where possible.

• Work with the billing team leader, billing assistants, and e-billing specialist to ensure that all proformas are managed in accordance with our billing and delivery polices and to further develop our e-billing expertise and management of this key area.

• Credit control

• Work with the credit control team leader, credit controllers and consultant to ensure that all unpaid bills are chased in accordance with the agreed chasing pattern and escalated accordingly.

• Set (or oversee) targets for the monthly debt collection process

• Work with the commercial managers and client account executives to develop effective process to manage unpaid bills to the firm’s benchmarks for their NSL, minimising the involvement of the business leaders where possible.

• Continue current program in reducing our insurance debt, as well as other agreed areas of focus.

• Debt enforcement

• To maximise the recovery from difficult debts.

• To support the debt recovery specialist in their day-to-day work, and further develop our processes and proportionate response for the recovery of debt through pre-action and litigation of unpaid fees.

• Projects, systems, and issue resolution

• Work with the project specialists, working capital team, PMS governance team and external suppliers to manage and implement projects, system / upgrade implementations and issue resolutions.

• Work with matter managers, executive assistants, and the working capital team to target client service and lock up delivery.

Pre-employment screening

Please note that, in the event that we make an offer of the secondment, we will conduct pre-transfer screening that includes a disciplinary history recorded with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and a self-declaration to access your character and suitability.

Disclosure and barring service check

This post is also subject to a satisfactory response from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

The Mills & Reeve business services career structure

We have a firm wide business services career structure and a published career progression framework.  Within the firm wide career structure there are five career levels.  For the purposes of the framework, this role is at a Manager level and the role profile that details the outcomes and activities expected of across the firm will be made available as part of the interview process.