CTC Functional Solution Architect

Purpose of the Role:

The Solution Architect — Functional, Credit to Cash is the functional design authority for the end-to-end Credit to Cash value chain. The outcome is a Credit to Cash process that is predictable, automated and controlled: faster and better credit decisions, higher straight-through cash application, risk-based and largely automated collections, fewer exceptions and disputes, lower DSO and overdue, and <1 Day Resolution wherever the process allows. Everything this role does serves that outcome.

The scope is the Credit to Cash value chain end to end, not a single module or platform — customer onboarding and credit risk assessment, credit limits, scoring, reviews and order hold or release; billing and invoice presentment as they feed receivables; customer statements and self-service portals; collections strategy, worklists and dunning; payment capture, bank statement and lockbox processing, remittance capture and cash application; unapplied and on-account cash; deductions, short-pays, claims and disputes; AR accounting, reconciliation, write-offs and bad-debt provisioning; and the period-end close, controls, reporting and KPIs that sit on top. The role designs across this scope as one integrated solution rather than as separate credit, collections and cash solutions.

A central part of the remit is bringing HighRadius into Diageo. The postholder leads the functional architecture and design for the HighRadius Cash Application, Collections and Credit Management modules — and the adjacent capabilities that touch them, such as deductions and integrates them with S/4HANA / ECC FI-AR and FSCM, banks, ClaimOne (under Control Tower) and the wider Customer Operations landscape. HighRadius is an enabler of the target design, not the design itself; the role decides what the process should be first, and then how the platform best delivers it.

The role combines four capabilities in one person. As a functional solution architect, they own the end-to-end Credit to Cash solution blueprint, the fit-gap against the global standard and the design decisions that hold it together. As a platform expert, they turn the blueprint into working configuration and integration design on HighRadius and SAP FSCM — matching rules, AI models, collection strategies, credit scoring and workflows. As a consultant, they diagnose where cash, credit and collection issues are really created and build the case for the fix. As a design authority, they set standards, review and assure the work of Specialists, system integrators and vendors, and keep the solution coherent as it scales across markets.

The defining discipline of this role is architecting the value chain, not the module. A well-configured cash application engine is a smaller prize than a remittance that arrives clean; a sophisticated collections strategy is a smaller prize than a credit decision and invoice that never become overdue. The postholder is expected to design the hand-offs — order and credit, invoice and remittance, payment and dispute, AR and the ledger — as carefully as the modules themselves, and to push the fix upstream into O2I, Commercial, master data or the customer setup where that is where the problem starts.

Understanding of markets and of upstream and downstream impact is central to the role. Credit to Cash outcomes are shaped by pricing, promotions, customer agreements, invoicing, banking practice, local regulation and the retained, GBO and BPO operating model. The postholder is expected to know how these differ across LAC, NAM, Europe, Africa and APAC, to define what must be global standard and what genuinely requires localisation, and to design accordingly.

This is a transformation design and architecture role, not an operational one. The postholder does not run credit, collections or cash application; that stays with market, GBO and BPO run teams. The role changes how that work is done and ensures the solution handed to run is controlled, measurable and sustainable.

The role works independently within the frame set by the workstream lead, forms its own view and brings recommendations and design decisions rather than questions. It partners closely with D&T Enterprise and Solution Architecture, which own the technical architecture, and provides functional design direction to Specialists working on Credit to Cash fragments. Decisions are expected to be based on evidence rather than opinion, and every artefact is expected to meet the programme documentation, taxonomy and quality standards, including BPQMS.

Key Accountabilities (3-5)

Own the end-to-end Credit to Cash functional architecture and target design — 25%. Define and maintain the Credit to Cash target process and solution architecture across credit, billing hand-off, collections, cash application, deductions and disputes, AR and close, aligned to the global standard and the target operating model. Lead current-state assessment and fit-gap across markets, platforms and controls, using exception, aging, matching, collection-effectiveness and dispute data to baseline the problem and size the opportunity. Own the solution blueprint, key design decisions and design principles; define what is global standard versus market localisation; and make sure the Credit to Cash design is joined up with O2I, Claims, Commercial and Customer Service.

Lead the HighRadius functional solution design and deployment — 25%. Act as functional lead for bringing HighRadius into Diageo across Cash Application, Collections and Credit Management. Design remittance capture and cash-application rules toward straight-through posting — bank, lockbox, EDI 820, email and portal remittances, matching logic, auto-match and AI-led recommendations, unapplied-cash and exception handling. Design risk-based collection strategies, segmentation, prioritised worklists, automated dunning and correspondence, promise-to-pay and dispute routing. Design credit applications, scoring models, credit-limit setting and review cycles, blocked-order release and credit workflows. Lead fit-gap, configuration design, functional specifications and sign-off with HighRadius, system integrators and D&T, and shape the multi-market deployment approach and template.

Design integration, data and controls across the Credit to Cash landscape — 20%. Own the functional design of data flows and integration between HighRadius, SAP S/4HANA / ECC FSCM, banks and payment providers, ClaimOne, customer portals and the reporting layer — customer master, open items, payments, postings, disputes, credit exposure and limits. Define master-data and reference-data requirements, reason-code frameworks and posting logic. Embed financial controls, segregation of duties, audit trail and SOX / internal-control requirements in the design, and define the KPIs and reporting — DSO, CEI, overdue, auto-match rate, unapplied cash, credit-decision cycle time, exception and resolution time — that let the business manage the process in BAU.

Deliver the outcome and assure design quality through the value drops — 20%. Break the architecture into fragments that can be delivered on the two to four week value drop cadence, and act as design authority on each: review requirements, specifications, configuration and test coverage produced by Specialists, integrators and vendors. Define end-to-end test scenarios, lead integrated SIT and UAT across the value chain, and own resolution of design-level defects. Support cutover, data migration, deployment, hypercare and handover into run. Monitor post-go-live performance against the baseline and drive continuous improvement in automation rates, exception volume and resolution time. This is the accountability every other accountability serves.

Shape the roadmap and lead across the programme — 10%. Own the Credit to Cash functional roadmap: sequencing of modules and markets, adoption of new HighRadius and SAP capability, AI and automation opportunities, and retirement of legacy tools and manual workarounds. Act as trusted adviser to the workstream lead, market Finance, Credit and Collections leaders, GBO, D&T and vendors. Coach and guide Specialists on Credit to Cash design, and surface cross-boundary impact with Order-to-Invoice, Claims, Customer Service and Record-to-Report before it becomes a deployment defect.

Key Competencies (3)

1. End-to-end Credit to Cash mastery and functional architecture. Expert, end-to-end knowledge of the Credit to Cash value chain — credit risk and credit management, collections and dunning, payments and cash application, deductions, claims and disputes, AR accounting, reconciliation and close — and of how each step drives the next. Able to design an integrated target process and solution architecture, run a fit-gap, make and document design decisions, and balance global standard against local need. Built on a broad understanding of Customer Operations end to end (Order to Cash, Commercial and Supply) and of how markets actually work. Knows Consumer Products industry standards and the realities of Beer, Wine & Spirits — distributor and wholesaler concentration, complex customer agreements, deduction-laden remittances, multi-currency receipts and diverse banking practice. Working knowledge of Diageo BPQMS standards.

2. HighRadius and SAP platform depth, integration and data. Hands-on functional depth in HighRadius Cash Application, Collections and Credit Management — configuration, matching and AI models, strategies, worklists, workflows and scoring — and in SAP FI-AR and FSCM (Credit, Collections and Dispute Management), including how the two integrate. Understands the data model, interfaces, bank formats, posting logic and controls beneath the process, and can work credibly with technical architects and integrators on integration patterns. Comfortable interrogating data directly to baseline problems and prove outcomes. Strong on solution design documentation, end-to-end testing, cutover and hypercare. Keeps up with the C2C technology market and can judge objectively where a platform fits and where it does not.

3. Design authority, influence and leadership. Holds the design line with confidence and evidence — challenges solutions that would not work in the markets and is not satisfied with automating a workaround when the issue could be designed out. Strong stakeholder management and influencing across a global and local matrix, up to senior Finance and Customer Operations leaders, and with vendors and system integrators. Consultative by default: frames the problem before prescribing and drives stakeholders toward aligned decisions. Clear communicator able to explain complex design simply, manage conflict to a resolution and guide less experienced colleagues. Comfortable with ambiguity and with being redeployed across markets and workstreams. Resilient, collaborative and a visible role model for Diageo’s values.

Qualifications and Experience Required:

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in Finance, Accounting, Business, IT or a related discipline; a professional accounting or MBA qualification is an advantage.

• HighRadius certification (Cash Application, Collections or Credit) and / or SAP S/4HANA FI-AR or FSCM certification is preferred. Solution-architecture,  Agile / Scrum or Lean Six Sigma credentials are an advantage. Working knowledge of Diageo BPQMS standards.

Experience — essential

• Overall. 12+ years in Credit to Cash / Order to Cash transformation, solution design and consultancy, including at least 5 years in a functional solution architect, solution lead or design authority role on large-scale, multi-market programmes.

• HighRadius. Functional lead or architect on at least two full-lifecycle HighRadius implementations covering Cash Application, Collections and / or Credit Management — from fit-gap and design through configuration, testing, deployment and stabilisation — ideally integrated with SAP.

• End-to-end Credit to Cash. Deep functional understanding of the whole value chain — credit, collections, cash application, deductions and disputes, AR and close — and evidence of designing across it as one solution, not only within a single module. Operational exposure is useful context; the requirement is designing the process, not running it.

• SAP and integration. Strong functional knowledge of SAP FI-AR and FSCM (Credit, Collections, Dispute Management) in S/4HANA or ECC, and experience defining functional integration with banks, lockbox / bank statement formats, EDI and third-party C2C platforms.

• Transformation. Experience in business process transformation across the full lifecycle, including current-state assessment, future-state operating model design, global template definition and multi-market rollout. Evidence of improving auto-match rates, DSO, overdue, exception volume or manual effort against a defensible baseline.

• Consultative and leadership. A track record as a trusted adviser to senior Finance and Operations stakeholders, leading design decisions across global and local teams, directing system integrators and vendors, and guiding analysts and specialists.

• Industry. FMCG or Consumer Products experience is essential. Beer, Wine & Spirits experience is strongly preferred.

Experience — desirable

• Exposure to the wider HighRadius suite (Deductions, EIPP / invoice presentment, Cash Forecasting, Treasury) or to comparable C2C platforms

• Experience applying AI and machine learning in Credit to Cash — remittance capture, matching, collection prioritisation, payment prediction or credit scoring — and designing the controls around it.

• Experience designing for a retained / GBO / BPO operating model, or of a shared services transition or operating model consolidation.

• Experience with credit insurance, credit bureau and rating-agency integrations, e-invoicing and statutory requirements across multiple regions.

• Experience working in a pooled, on-demand or competency-based delivery model across multiple workstreams.

About us

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world’s most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life’s moments — from everyday connections to landmark celebrations.

Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and raising the bar for our brands, our business and each other.

Join us and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

About the Function:    

About the role: 

Experience / skills required: 

Working with us
Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one. 
We recognise and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including:

Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible.

We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team.

Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to raise the bar, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Ready to bring your best? This could be your opportunity. 

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