Area Credit Manager - Italy

Position summary

The Area Credit Manager is a senior in-country, individual-contributor role within the Credit and Collections organization. Acting as the local face of I2C for a defined country/area, the role holder manages a portfolio of the most complex, strategic, and critical customer relationships. The Area Credit Manager holds expanded decision-making authority - within delegated limits - over payment plans, order release/hold decisions, and credit limit for higher-risk or higher-value accounts, without carrying formal people-management responsibility. The role combines deep local market and customer knowledge with a managerial level of judgment, autonomy, and stakeholder influence, safeguarding the company's assets, maximizing cash flow and liquidity, and supporting the sales effort at the country/area level.

Essential duties & responsibilities (detailed description)

Credit

• Act as the senior local point of contact for Sales and country leadership on credit-related matters, partnering closely with the Credit Risk Team and the I2C Associate Manager to define and propose risk strategy for the area and spread the credit risk mindset around organization.
• Independently approve or decline order release/hold decisions within delegated authority limits, escalating only cases that exceed those limits or carry elevated risk.
• Review, recommend, and where authorized approve credit limits for critical or higher-risk customers, ensuring analyses are properly documented and aligned with policy.
• Structure, negotiate, and approve payment plans and settlement terms with critical/past-due customers beyond the authority level granted to analysts.
• Provide input on Bad Debt reserve adequacy for the accounts under direct ownership, ensuring alignment with the Bad Debt policy and methodology.

Collections

• Own and manage a portfolio of strategic, complex, or critical customers in the country/area, leading and finalizing face-to-face negotiations directly with senior customer stakeholders.
• Lead resolution of complex, high-value, or sensitive disputes, coordinating with Sales, Customer Service, Legal, and other departments as needed.
• Represent I2C in front of local Sales Directors, Country/General Managers, and other senior stakeholders, building and sustaining trusted relationships and spread credit mindset.
• Proactively identify emerging risk, payment, or customer-relationship issues in the area and drive corrective action ahead of escalation.
• Contribute to and help evolve local reporting and risk assessment tools, providing the Associate Manager with visibility on the health of the area's portfolio.
• Mentor, guide, and share best practices with local team and business in the country to raise the overall quality of collections and credit decisions, while remaining an individual contributor with no direct reports.
• Support and, where required, lead engagement with insolvency, legal, or debt-recovery proceedings for critical accounts.
• Provide the I2C Associate Manager and EMEA Credit Manager with input for portfolio strategy, risk assessment, and resource allocation decisions in the country/area.

Education & special trainings

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field (or equivalent relevant experience).
• Proven experience with face-to-face, senior-level customer and stakeholder interaction.
• Proven experience in collections and credit management within the Medtech industry.
• Advanced MS Office Suite skills.
• Fluent spoken and written Italian
• Advanced English.
• Solid experience with collections-related systems (Oracle, Credit Management tools, or others).

Qualifications & experience

• 10+ years of relevant experience in Credit and Collections, including direct experience negotiating with complex or strategic customer accounts.
• Demonstrated experience exercising independent judgment on credit and collections decisions (e.g., payment plans, order release, credit limits).
• Prior experience mentoring, coaching, or informally guiding other team members is a plus, even without formal supervisory responsibility.
• Strong track record influencing senior internal and external stakeholders (Sales leadership, Country/General Managers, customer executives).

Physical & mental requirements

• Ability to work autonomously and make higher-stakes decisions within delegated authority, with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Ability to work well with cross-functional teams and manage multiple, often competing, priorities.
• Ability to influence and a confident, credible presence in face-to-face interactions with senior customer and internal stakeholders.
• Strong communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate complicated issues effectively to varied audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to perform consistently under pressure and adapt to a quickly changing environment.
• Effective problem-solving and negotiation skills, including in escalated or sensitive situations.

Traveling Percentage

50%

Italy Pay Ranges:

• Italy : €41.300 - €68.800 EUR Annual

At Stryker, we believe transparency helps candidates make confident decisions about their next career step. Compensation is an important part of that process and we want to be clear about how pay is determined. The compensation information posted for this role may be presented as a salary range or a fixed amount depending on the role. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for incentive compensation (such as bonus and/or commissions where applicable), along with Stryker’s comprehensive benefits package.

If you’d like to learn more about the salary or the benefits associated with this role, your recruiter will be happy to walk you through the details as you progress through the hiring process.