Collection & Recoveries Manager

Atom; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £55-£60k

Hybrid working in Newcastle

4-day work week

Discretionary cash bonus

Pension scheme (up to 13%)

All About Me fund: £200/year

Generous leave and health benefits

EV scheme

Job summary

Atom is seeking a Collection & Recoveries Manager in Newcastle to lead a specialist team handling residential mortgage and SME arrears with a specialist approach. You will guide end-to-end collections, from pre-delinquency through to forbearance, litigation, and potential repossession, ensuring fair outcomes for customers and regulatory compliance.

You’ll work in a flexible hybrid setup, collaborating with partners and internal teams to optimise processes, data-driven decisions and customer

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience managing teams within a regulated collections, recoveries, or arrears environment.
• Strong knowledge of collections and recoveries processes, including debt advice solutions and forbearance options.
• Experience working with vulnerable customers and driving FCA Consumer Duty-aligned outcomes.
• Practical mindset with initiative, adaptability and drive.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team of direct agents with clear development goals.
• Oversee end-to-end arrears management from pre-delinquency to forbearance, litigation, receivership and repossession.
• Underwrite complex mortgage and loan arrears cases to establish sustainable repayment solutions.
• Drive vulnerable customer advocacy and ensure compliant customer outcomes.
• Oversee relationships with outsourced collections partners, field agents, solicitors and receivers.
• Use MI data to track metrics and drive process improvements and automation.

Skills

Team leadership

Collections & recoveries

Underwriting

Vulnerable customer advocacy

Stakeholder management

Data insights

Job description

Collection & Recoveries Manager

We’re Atom…

The bank that’s on a mission to make finance faster, simpler and way more human.

We’ve ditched the stuffy banking model to build something that actually works for our customers, whenever and wherever they need us.

To make this happen, we’re looking for like-minded people who can help us reach our goals and think differently.

If you’re ready to build the future of banking, we’d love to meet you.

We really value in-person collaboration, so this role requires 1-2 days per week in our Newcastle office.

What will your typical day look like? Different that’s for sure…

Operations is the beating heart of Atom. It’s where we have the most contact with our fantastic customers and where we can ensure we’re truly offering the best possible customer service. The Operations team consists of, Originations, Customer Care, Customer Support, Operational Effectiveness, Payments, Fraud & Reconciliations and Customer Administration.

The Collections and Recovery Manager leads a specialist team responsible for the handling of Residential Mortgage and Business Banking (SME Commercial) customers who are suffering from financial hardship or in arrears, where a specialist approach to dealing with their arrears situation or possession is required through a combination debt advice, non-standard litigation action, receivership, and complex case management where appropriate to satisfy the customer requirements and Atom’s objectives.

So, what will you be doing…

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, coach, and support a team of direct agents, fostering a high-performing, engaged culture with clear personal development goals. Deputise for the Head of Department including working closely with relevant first, second and third line teams and presenting governance committees.
• Arrears & Recovery Management: Oversee end-to-end collections from pre-delinquency through to forbearance, litigation, receivership, and repossession across residential mortgages and SME commercial loans.
• Technical Underwriting: Underwrite complex mortgage and loan arrears cases to establish sustainable long-term repayment solutions that prevent customer detriment.
• Vulnerable Customer Advocacy: Lead Atom’s operational approach to vulnerable customers in financial difficulty, driving positive customer outcomes in line with FCA Consumer Duty requirements.
• Supplier & Stakeholder Oversight: Work closely with outsourced collections partners, field agents, solicitors, and receivers to minimise potential loss and ensure adherence to internal policies
• Continuous Improvement & Data Insights: Use MI data to track metrics, highlight performance insights to senior stakeholders and credit committees, and identify process changes to boost automation and operational efficiency

What do we need from you…

• Proven leadership experience managing teams within a regulated collections, recoveries, or arrears environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of collections and recoveries processes, including debt advice solutions, forbearance options, and litigation.
• Passion for delivering fair customer outcomes and deep experience in vulnerable customer management.
• Practical mindset with strong initiative, adaptability, and drive.
• Excellent communication, coaching, and stakeholder management skills.

What will you get from us?

• Salary range of £55-60k
• Flexible hybrid working in Newcastle
• 4-day work week
• Discretionary Cash Bonus – Individual and Company Performance based.
• Incredibly generous company pension scheme (maximum of 13% of Atom input – you can put in more).
• ‘All About Me’ fund: £200 per year to spend on personal development.
• 22.5 days annual leave plus public holidays.
• Private Medical Insurance, Health Cash Plan & Life Insurance.
• Electric Vehicle Scheme.

PLEASE NOTE: You must have the legal right to work in the UK to apply for this role as Atom is unable to support Visa Applications/Sponsorship

Atom is an equal opportunities employer. We value you as an individual and therefore disregard race, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation, maternity/pregnancy, age, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership and disability in any hiring decisions we make. Atom will always adhere to the Equality Act 2010.

All roles within Atom must adhere to the Conduct Rules as set out by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

As part of Atom bank’s commitment to the FCA’s Consumer Duty, Atom will, take all reasonable steps to avoid causing foreseeable harm to customers, take all reasonable steps to enable customers to pursue their financial objectives and act in good faith.