Billing & Collection Manager

Role Purpose:

The role of the Billing and Collection Manager is to lead a group of Billing Officers that support Fee Earners and Partners in delivery of billing activities, a core element of our service-to-cash process and one which is critical for the business in hitting revenue and cash targets.

As a Billing and Collection Manager, you will be involved in the delivery of billing and collection activities, being the key point of contact for Fee Earners to address related issues.

You will also act as the bridge between the Regional Working Capital Manager and the Partners as part of managing local billing performance. You will lead on the quality of the billing and collection process, to drive the implementation of internal policies taking into account Partners and clients' expectations. The role will also collaborate with our Legal Administration stakeholders who are a critical, client facing and Partner support position.

Overall, you will have a significant impact on the success of our Service-to-Cash process and manage local Billing Officers in their delivery of billing activities.

Key areas of responsibility:

You will be responsible for Managing the Billing Team:

• Managing the performance of the billing team, overseeing workloads, maintaining team structure, supporting development of team members, and ensuring alignment between Billing Officers and Partners.
• Coaching team members on achieving billing and WIP (Work in Progress) key performance indicators (KPIs), providing areas of concern report to the billers to focus on at monthly billing/WIP meetings and leading on performance management in these areas.
• Lead and oversee a team of Billing Officers, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant WIP and Billing cycles by providing coaching support, implementing training to identify ways to shorten WIP to Cash cycle and balancing workloads during peaks and troughs of billing cycles.
• Lead the onboarding and training of new Billing Officers and review updates to the relevant training materials as required.

You will act as the Business Partner between the Billing Teams and Partners/Fee-Earners:

• Serve as the primary point of billing contact for Partners, gaining a thorough understanding of business drivers and the impact of billing on financial performance.
• Assist the Regional Working Capital Manager, Head of Finance and Fee Earners/Partners with ad-hoc tasks.
• Work with Location heads/HOO's to establish, and subsequently monitor, regular billing patterns to provide more accurate forecasting and resolve any group issues.
• Monitor existing fee arrangements and provide commercial and practical advice on fee agreements.

You will lead on Fulfilment and Optimisation of Billing activities:

• Provide oversight in matter review performance with Billing Officers and drive the implementation of necessary actions to meet KPIs. Provide quality assurance of any master data or charge out rate activity taking place in the billing team.
• Review WIP and billing performance with Partner groups and identify levers to improve performance.

Act as a key contact for Billing Officers for escalating ad-hoc complex requests (e-bills, multi-payor matters, etc) by engaging with senior stakeholders across GSC and other DLA Piper offices.

• Coordinate the handling of complex billing issues/queries, both technical and non-technical, from Billing Officers and Clients by raising and escalating the queries to the right stakeholders.
• Identify ways of improvement and optimise the local billing process alongside Head of Finance and Global Process Owners/Leads.
• Drive local implementation of process improvements to meet office KPIs, including the creation of standard/ad-hoc reports and dashboards. Collaborate with Billing Officers, Collectors, Other finance colleagues, Fee Earners, and Partners to achieve these improvements.
• Escalating key issues to the Regional Working Capital Manager when necessary.

You will also lead on WIP Control, Collection Control and Reporting:

• Work closely with Collectors and support in implementing actions for unpaid invoices and aged receivables to ensure a rigorous and efficient follow-up of the collection to meet office targets.

• Ensure compliance with firm's standards and guidelines.
• Provide analysis and reporting on the WIP cull to identify inefficient billing practices and drive implementation of ways of improvement.

Skills, experience and characteristics:

• In-depth knowledge of billing processes, including timely and accurate billing cycles, credit control, and resolving billing issues.
• Experience in analysing financial data and generating reports and dashboards, preferred not required.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with Partners, Finance colleagues, and other stakeholders to drive performance improvement.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
• Strong management skills to effectively manage and guide a team of Billing Officers with previous experience (optional not required) in managing a team and driving performance improvement.
• Commitment to maintain high standards of quality in service delivery, with a proven ability to implement processes that ensure consistency and reliability in billing operations. Previous experience (optional, not required) in quality assurance or process improvement is advantageous.
• Previous experience (preferred, not required) in driving/supporting on implementing process improvements and driving efficiency.
• Sufficient knowledge of local VAT standards and guidelines, with prior experience in leading on accuracy and compliance in billing activities.
• Experienced in handling financial systems and software used for billing and invoicing is a plus, such as SAP S/4HANA, Concur, Service Now, E-Billing Platforms and MS Office Suite.
• 5+ years of experience in billing or finance roles, preferably in a professional services or legal environment.
• Proficient in English. French considered as an asset.

Joining our Billing team is the gateway to an exciting career in the legal sector as well as Finance. We have redefined the role of Billing and Collection Manager by challenging the status quo and investing in their futures. Join us and build a rewarding, varied career that thrives on responsibility and is central to the success of our firm.

We are integral to the success of our business, and highly respected colleagues who add value by enabling our Fee Earners and Partners to focus on client satisfaction and growth. It's varied, satisfying and valued work. As a business service professional, you will be at the heart of our firm and the go-to person for both colleagues and clients.

We believe strongly in investing in the development of our people. For example, the DLA Piper Academy gives instant access to learning and development resources to support your individual learning plan and to help define your future. You can learn new skills to progress your career along a path that is right for you, and help you reach your full potential in a diverse and global team that thrives on collaboration.