Group Collections Director (Panama, Belize, Barbados)

About the role

The Director of Collections and Recovery is a hands-on strategic leader responsible for building and managing the collections operation in Panama while overseeing collections and recovery performance across Belize and Barbados. The role leads the Panama operation, directs the Collections Managers in Belize and Barbados, and ensures each market meets its recovery targets with cost-effective operations. It works closely with Credit, Customer Service, Sales, Finance, Legal and Compliance.

Key responsibilities

• Build the collections operation in Panama, including hiring and training the team, setting processes and implementing recovery procedures from the first missed payment through legal enforcement.
• Manage daily operations in Panama and set up legal recovery procedures for small unsecured consumer loans through the Panamanian court system.
• Select, manage and evaluate attorneys, collection agencies and other external providers; oversee their fees and recovery effectiveness.
• Lead and develop the Collections Managers in Belize and Barbados, advise the Performance Committee on recovery targets, and run weekly performance reviews with monthly reviews.
• Travel to Belize and Barbados about one week per country each quarter.
• Develop group-wide collections and recovery strategy, standardized KPIs, reporting definitions and operational standards across markets.
• Prepare monthly performance reports and recovery forecasts for the Senior Director of Credit and executive leadership.
• Define organizational structures, staffing levels and incentive plans, and set criteria for moving accounts between internal teams, external agencies, legal proceedings, settlements and charge-offs.
• Analyze collections performance by segment, product and loan amount, and advise Credit on lending policies and new products.

Required profile

• 10+ years in consumer credit collections, including at least 5 years leading managers.
• Proven experience building or rebuilding a collections operation and recovering small unsecured consumer loans through court proceedings in Panama.
• Experience managing collections with internal teams, external agencies, attorneys and legal channels, and overseeing performance through country managers.
• Fluency in Spanish and English; must be based in Panama and travel quarterly to Belize and Barbados.

Required skills

• Consumer credit collections, late-stage collections, legal proceedings and enforcement.
• Knowledge of Panamanian debt recovery law and commercial viability of legal claims.
• Data analysis and performance management, including recovery cost evaluation.
• Leadership, stakeholder management and cross-market operational standardization.