Collections Specialist — Empathetic Negotiator (Hybrid)

Mcmillan Shakespeare Limited; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Strong culture

Novated leasing

12 weeks paid parental leave

Learning and development opportunities

Sonder digital wellbeing platform

Annual flu vaccinations

Income protection insurance

Exempt Employee Share Plan

Volunteer leave

Career break

Rewards program

Everyone Matters

Job summary

MMS seeks a Collections Officer in Australia to support arrears reduction, engage customers to recover balances, and negotiate suitable repayment arrangements while ensuring compliance with policies and legislation.

You will contact customers by phone, email, or written correspondence; assess circumstances; set up repayment options; maintain accurate CRM notes; and monitor accounts to ensure timely payments. Prior experience in collections or customer service is preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience in collections, customer service or call centre environments.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills are essential.
• Ability to handle difficult conversations calmly and professionally.
• Good attention to detail and record-keeping.
• Ability to work to targets and deadlines.
• Basic computer skills and CRM or collection systems experience.
• Understanding of compliance, privacy and conduct obligations.
• Problem-solving and sound judgement.
• Resilience when dealing with challenging interactions.
• Customer service experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Contact customers via phone, email or written correspondence to discuss arrears.
• Negotiate payment plans and resolve arrears per internal policies.
• Assess customer circumstances and propose repayment options.
• Maintain accurate and detailed account notes in CRM or systems.
• Monitor accounts and follow up to ensure repayments are maintained.
• Escalate cases where balances remain unresolved or risk indicators appear.
• Respond to inquiries and complaints professionally and empathetically.
• Ensure all collection activity complies with regulatory and legal obligations.
• Ad hoc tasks as directed.

Skills

Strong communication

Negotiation skills

Calm under pressure

Attention to detail

Record-keeping

Target driven

CRM systems

Ethical collections

Compliance awareness

Problem solving

Resilience

Customer service

Education

VCE or equivalent

Tools

CRM software

Collection systems

Job description

MMS seeks a Collections Officer in Australia to support arrears reduction, engage customers to recover balances, and negotiate suitable repayment arrangements while ensuring compliance with policies and legislation.

You will contact customers by phone, email, or written correspondence; assess circumstances; set up repayment options; maintain accurate CRM notes; and monitor accounts to ensure timely payments. Prior experience in collections or customer service is preferred.