Collections Advisor

Metropolitan Thames Valley; Beeston; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A housing organization is seeking a Customer Accounts Advisor to manage Home Ownership accounts and assist customers with financial challenges. This role involves engaging with customers through various channels, negotiating payment plans, and providing support for welfare benefits. The ideal candidate will possess excellent communication skills and a strong background in collections. The position offers a hybrid working arrangement with competitive benefits.

Benefits

28 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays

Volunteering days

Enhanced pension contributions

Life assurance cover

Health cash plan scheme

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in debt recovery processes.
• Knowledge of Homeownership tenure and welfare benefits.
• Ability to manage caseload independently.

Responsibilities

• Engage with customers by phone and email.
• Negotiate payment arrangements to prevent arrears.
• Assist with welfare benefits issues.
• Consult with teams to reach resolutions.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Collections experience

Ability to negotiate

Empathy

Attention to detail

Job description

Overview

As a Customer Accounts Advisor your role will be to proactively review and manage Home Ownership accounts that are in static or increasing arrears, and sometimes at risk of legal action or eviction. Empathy and a desire to help others is vital to understand each customers situation and look for possible avenues of income recovery, while also being firm and clear with outcomes and expectations.

Responsibilities

• Engage with our customers by phone, usually through outbound contact and less frequently through inbound, also via email and letters where required.
• Prevent and reduce arrears by providing information and support, negotiate and implement payment arrangements, and signpost for external funding where applicable.
• Assist with welfare benefits related issues and queries, using knowledge of this area to help residents maximise potential income.
• Consult with internal teams and external agencies in order to reach resolutions and maximise the support our residents receive.
• Follow the debt recovery process, taking cases through the legal process until concluded where necessary.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to negotiate and deliver clear messages.
• Collections experience is essential.
• Knowledge of the Homeownership tenure is essential and a good understanding of the Social Housing section is desirable.
• Be able to work and manage your caseload independently, as well as working within the team to achieve shared targets.
• Great attention to detail and be process driven.
• Empathy combined with judgement and facts established to assess and decide on the best course of action for each case.
• Prior knowledge of the welfare benefits system, and a background in collections or within social housing would be desirable.

Working arrangements

In line with our smarter working approach, hybrid working is available for this post to be discussed at interview. Office days will be on an alternate basis, with shifts ranging between 8am - 6pm, Monday to Friday. You will have access to your rota and shift pattern at least 4 weeks in advance.

Disability Confident Statement

Disability Confident. A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to .

Commitment to Sustainability

We are committed to developing and implementing or maintaining sustainability initiatives to reduce environmental impact and promote sustainable practices within MTVH.

Our promise

Here at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) we want to capture the value that difference brings and are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. We work collaboratively 'Serving people better every day' to educate, support and develop all of our diverse employees and the communities that we serve. We are also part of the disability confident employer scheme. We want every employee and every customer to feel comfortable enough to be their true self and are working tirelessly in the background to create an environment that encourages our employees to challenge non-inclusive behaviours and to be mindful of their own and other's wellbeing. We provide a platform of Network groups for employees to share views, tell us what we're doing well and recommend improvements. We want to create a real sense of community and a workforce who feel that their opinions are valued.

Network groups

• Gender
• Ethnicity
• LGBTQ+
• Disability

Core values

Our core values of Dare, Care and Collaborate demonstrate that we are a people focused business, solving social issues by working together!

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata for part time) per year
• 2 volunteering days per year for things like helping out in local communities
• An additional 'Beliefs day' once a year to have an extra a day off
• Supported family friendly approach with extended parental leave
• Enhanced pension with matched contributions of up to 9%
• Option to buy or sell up to 5 days annual leave per year
• Life assurance cover 3x your salary
• Cycle2work scheme
• Hybrid Working - Dependent on job role and department
• Health cash plan scheme for your everyday healthcare needs which you can add your family members too
• Tenancy deposit - interest free loan to help with rental deposits and season Ticket loan
• Access to extensive learning and training opportunities with Wisebox platform
• Colleague virtual social platform with our workplace pages where you can keep up to date with the organisational activity and link in with colleagues
• Career progression across the organisation with our mentoring/coaching programmes, apprenticeships and career planning support
• Employee Assistance Programme - We are committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues and support this as an organisation