Collections/Accounts Receivable (AR) Lead

Location: Portland, OR - In person
Employment Type: Full-Time
Department: Finance & Accounting
Reports to: Controller

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on and highly organized Accounts Receivable (AR) Lead to support and guide our Collections team. This role will work alongside other collectors to drive timely customer payments while ensuring the team remains focused, accountable, and on track with collection goals.

The AR Lead will serve as the primary point of escalation for complex collection issues, monitor team performance and progress, and provide regular reporting to management. This person will also identify process breakdowns, recurring issues, and opportunities to improve the overall collections function.

The ideal candidate is an experienced collections professional who can balance individual collection responsibilities with team leadership, accountability, problem-solving, and process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Collections & Team Support

• Actively manage a portfolio of customer accounts and perform collection activities alongside the Collections team.
• Monitor outstanding receivables and follow up on past-due balances to drive timely payment.
• Support collectors with difficult or complex accounts, collection strategies, and customer issues.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for customer disputes, challenging collection situations, and issues that require additional resolution.
• Help ensure collectors are consistently following up on assigned accounts and meeting team expectations.
• Monitor team workload, priorities, and deadlines to ensure collection activities remain on track.
• Provide coaching, guidance, and support to collectors as needed.

Team Performance & Reporting

• Track and monitor team progress against collection goals, priorities, and deadlines.
• Review aging, past-due balances, collection activity, and other relevant metrics to identify trends and areas requiring attention.
• Prepare and present weekly updates on team performance, collection progress, challenges, and key escalations.
• Communicate risks, roadblocks, and opportunities to management in a timely manner.
• Hold team members accountable for completing assigned collection activities and following established processes.

Process Improvement

• Identify process breakdowns, gaps, and recurring issues that impact collections effectiveness.
• Investigate the root causes of collection delays, customer disputes, and other AR issues.
• Partner with Accounting, Sales, Customer Service, and other departments to resolve issues affecting collections.
• Recommend and help implement improvements to collection processes, workflows, documentation, and team practices.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce past-due balances, and strengthen accountability across the collections process.
• Help develop and maintain consistent collections procedures and best practices.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means the Collections team stays focused, organized, and accountable; past-due accounts are actively managed; escalations are resolved efficiently; and management has clear visibility into the team's progress and challenges.

The AR Lead will also be instrumental in identifying why issues are occurring—not simply addressing individual collection problems. By recognizing process breakdowns, recurring customer issues, and internal bottlenecks, this role will help strengthen the overall collections process and improve team performance.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in accounts receivable, collections, or a related accounting function.
• Previous experience in a senior collections, lead, or team leadership role preferred.
• Strong understanding of accounts receivable and collections processes.
• Demonstrated ability to manage customer collections and resolve complex account issues.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize and keep multiple accounts and team priorities moving forward.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to handle escalations professionally and confidently.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to hold team members accountable while maintaining a collaborative and supportive team environment.
• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills and experience working with ERP/accounting systems.
• Ability to identify process issues, investigate root causes, and recommend practical solutions.
• Comfortable preparing and presenting weekly performance updates to management.

The position is a hands-on collections leader responsible for working alongside the Collections team to drive timely payment of outstanding receivables while ensuring the team remains focused, organized, and on track with established goals. This role serves as the primary escalation point for complex customer accounts and collection issues, provides guidance and support to collectors, and reports weekly on team progress, challenges, and results. The AR Lead will also identify process breakdowns, recurring issues, and opportunities for improvement, partnering with internal teams to resolve root causes and strengthen the overall collections process.