OTC Payment Specialist

The OTC Payment Specialist is responsible for the end-to-end oversight, governance, and continuous improvement of the payment allocation (cash application) and accounts receivable management processes within the Order-to-Cash (OTC) cycle. This role ensures operational excellence across payment matching, cash allocation, direct debit collections execution, and working capital optimisation, while acting as the primary interface between internal stakeholders and the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) partner.

The OTC Payment Specialist plays a critical role in driving process efficiency, resolving complex payment issues, ensuring compliance, and delivering measurable business value through proactive cash management and DSO reduction.

Key Responsibilities

1. Process Ownership & Operations

• Own and manage the end-to-end payment allocation (cash application) and direct debit collections processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance
• Monitor unallocated cash queues and proactively manage aging items to maintain a clean AR ledger
• Ensure timely allocation of receipts and resolution of payment exceptions (short payments, overpayments, remittance mismatches)
• Handle complex customer payment queries and high-priority escalations
• Drive continuous backlog reduction initiatives across unallocated cash

2. BPO & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for the BPO partner on payment allocations
• Lead regular governance meetings and track operational performance against KPIs and SLAs
• Ensure effective daily communication and issue resolution with offshore cash application teams
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders
• Drive accountability for ticket resolution across systems (CRM, case management tools)
• Manage and resolve internal and external escalations related to allocation errors

3. Continuous Improvement & Projects

• Identify process inefficiencies and implement improvement initiatives to reduce manual effort and error rates
• Lead or support OTC-related projects including:

      -Driving Direct Debit adaption
      -Automation of payment matching and remittance ingestion
      -Bank reconciliation process improvements

• Contribute to strategic programs impacting OTC operations, including system upgrades, policy changes, etc.

4. Compliance, Audit & Risk Management

• Ensure adherence to internal controls, policies, and regulatory requirements across payment processes
• Support internal and external audits with documentation, evidence, and process walkthroughs
• Identify risks proactively and implement corrective and preventive actions
• Maintain audit-ready documentation for all key processes and exception handling

5. Systems, Training & Documentation

• Act as a key user OTC related systems (billing system, bank/payment portals)
• Maintain and update process documentation, SOPs, and training materials for payment allocation
• Deliver training and knowledge-sharing sessions to stakeholders, including new joiners and BPO teams

6. Issue Resolution & Value Delivery

• Investigate and resolve financial discrepancies
• Drive root cause analysis for recurring issues and implement sustainable fixes
• Deliver measurable improvements in:

      -DSO reduction
      -Unallocated cash elimination
      -Auto-match rate improvement

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field
• 5+ years of experience in OTC operations, with significant exposure to payment allocation (cash application)
• Experience working with BPO/shared service environments (essential)
• Proven experience in process improvement and project delivery within finance operations
• Experience in audit and compliance environments is a plus

Skills and Competencies

Technical & Process

• Strong understanding of end-to-end OTC processes, particularly payment matching, bank reconciliation
• Proficiency in payment allocation rules, remittance matching logic, and exception handling protocols
• Familiarity with bank statement formats, payment file structures, and reconciliation standards

Analytical & Problem-Solving

• Strong analytical thinking and root cause analysis capability
• Ability to identify trends, anomalies, and process gaps from operational data
• Comfortable working with large datasets and producing actionable insights

Stakeholder & Communication

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across finance, operations, and commercial teams
• Ability to translate operational issues into business impact and present to senior stakeholders
• Strong collaboration skills to work across functional and geographic boundaries

Execution & Delivery

• High attention to detail and accuracy in a high-volume, fast-paced environment
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines (month-end, quarter-end close)
• Proactive mindset with a continuous improvement focus
• Strong organisational and coordination skills to manage BPO performance and internal dependencies

Leadership & Ownership

• Demonstrates ownership and accountability for outcomes, not just activities
• Comfortable challenging the status quo and proposing new ways of working
• Acts as a subject matter expert and coach to less experienced team members and BPO staff