Deduction Manager

Kinder's • Walnut Creek, CA

8h • $130,000 - $145,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Deduction Manager, you will lead a team responsible for handling trade deduction portfolios, ensuring strong performance against KPIs such as aging, recovery, and cycle time. This role owns key customer accounts, oversees the validation and resolution of deductions, and drives recovery efforts, including managing third-party agencies and approving write-offs within authority. The manager analyzes deduction trends and financial exposure, providing actionable insights and recommendations to senior leadership while maintaining accurate reporting and controls. They also drive process improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce preventable deductions, partnering closely with Trade Finance, Sales, and Operations to align financial outcomes. This position requires strong leadership, analytical expertise, and experience in trade deductions within a finance or CPG environment.

Requirements

• 5–8 years of experience in Accounts Receivable, Trade Deduction Management, or related finance function (CPG preferred).
• Leadership experience with ability to manage and develop a team.
• Strong knowledge of trade deductions and accrual validation.
• Advanced analytical skills and proficiency in Excel; experience building dashboards.
• Strong communication skills with ability to present to senior leadership.
• Proven ability to drive process improvements and cross-functional solutions.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership Lead and develop Deduction Specialists responsible for trade deduction portfolios.
• Manage team performance against key KPIs (aging, recovery, write-offs, cycle time).
• Oversee workload distribution and serve as escalation point for complex or high-risk claims.
• Trade Deduction Management Own key customer accounts, including direct responsibility for clearing deductions for high-volume and strategic retailers.
• Oversee validation, dispute resolution, and recovery of promotional deductions.
• Manage customer follow-up on open items, including repay requests for unauthorized deductions.
• Oversee third-party collection agencies (e.g., Stat Recovery, SPS) to drive recovery.
• Approve write-offs within authority and escalate material risks.
• Identify root causes and implement actions to reduce preventable deductions
• Reporting, Insights & Communication Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting on deduction trends, aging, and exposure.
• Analyze data to identify risks and drivers impacting financial performance.
• Communicate insights clearly and present recommendations to cross-functional partners and senior leadership.
• Process Improvement and Financial Impact Drive process improvements to streamline deduction clearing and improve efficiency.
• Partner with Trade Finance to align deductions with accrual balances and monthly reporting.
• Identify and address deduction drivers impacting trade spend and overspend.
• Ensure strong controls around claim validation and financial accuracy.
• Cross-Functional Alignment Partner with Trade Operations and Sales to ensure promotional execution supports accurate deduction processing.
• Collaborate with Trade Finance on accrual management and financial alignment.
• Coordinate with Operations to maintain visibility into total deduction exposure.

Benefits

• We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave.
• Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees