Collections Officer

Peabody View All Jobs; London Borough of Ealing; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days’ annual leave

Flexible benefits

Life assurance

Pension contribution

Job summary

Peabody is seeking a Collections Officer to prioritise customers and rent accounts, driving arrears reduction while supporting residents through financial challenges. You will use your knowledge of welfare benefits and tenancy management to maximise rent collection and promote sustainable outcomes.

You’ll contact customers, negotiate repayment plans, and collaborate with teams to resolve issues, ensuring excellent service and compliance across debt recovery activities.

Qualifications

• Experience in income collection or tenancy-related debt recovery.
• Understanding of welfare benefits, Universal Credit and welfare reform.
• Ability to manage repayment arrangements while sustaining tenancies.

Responsibilities

• Maximise rent collection and reduce arrears through proactive account management and early intervention.
• Support customers to sustain tenancies by identifying barriers to payment and arranging realistic repayment solutions.
• Manage rent accounts through the tenancy lifecycle and take appropriate recovery actions.
• Make proactive outbound calls to achieve collection targets and deliver excellent customer service.
• Provide advice on rent payments, debt prevention, welfare reform and housing-related benefits.
• Handle arrears-related legal actions including documentation, court applications and attending hearings.

Skills

Income collection

Tenancy management

Negotiation

Communication

Attention to detail

Self-motivation

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Joining us as a Collections Officer, you'll play a vital role in delivering this ambition by putting customers at the heart of everything you do. As the first point of contact for customers in arrears, you'll proactively manage rent accounts, identify early intervention opportunities, and work collaboratively with customers to find sustainable solutions. Using your knowledge of income collection, welfare benefits and tenancy management, you'll help maximise rent collection while supporting residents through financial challenges.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Maximising rent collection and reducing arrears through proactive account management and early intervention.
• Supporting customers to sustain their tenancies by identifying barriers to payment and agreeing realistic repayment solutions.
• Managing rent accounts throughout the tenancy lifecycle, taking timely and appropriate recovery action where required.
• Making proactive outbound calls to customers, achieving collection and case management targets while delivering excellent customer service.
• Providing advice and guidance on rent payments, debt prevention, welfare reform and housing-related benefits.
• Managing legal action relating to arrears, including preparing documentation, court applications and attending court hearings where required.

We're looking for someone who combines strong income collection experience with a genuine passion for supporting customers. You're committed to delivering an exceptional customer experience, passionate about supporting customers through financial difficulties and helping them sustain their tenancies. You're adaptable and resilient, with the ability to manage a varied caseload in a fast-paced environment.

What You’ll Bring

• Previous experience within a collection (income recovery or tenancy-related) and fast paced, target driven environment.
• A strong understanding of welfare benefits, Universal Credit and welfare reform.
• Experience managing customer accounts and taking appropriate action to recover debt while balancing tenancy sustainment.
• You're a confident communicator with the ability to negotiate and influence a wide range of customers, including vulnerable residents and those facing financial hardship.
• Strong administrative, numeracy and IT skills, with excellent attention to detail.
• An excellent communicator with strong listening, influencing and negotiation skills.
• You're self-motivated with the ability to work independently

Do you want to make a real difference by helping customers maintain successful tenancies and achieve positive outcomes?

At Peabody, our purpose is to help people flourish. We're not just a landlord - we're committed to supporting our residents, improving lives, reducing arrears, increasing rent collection and sustaining tenancies wherever possible.

At Peabody, our values guide everything we do: Be Kind, Do the Right Thing, Love New Ideas, Celebrate Diversity, Keep Our Promises, and Pull Together. You'll be part of a supportive and inclusive organisation that is focused on making a real difference to the lives of our customers and communities.

What we offer

• 30 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Flexible benefits scheme, including family-friendly options and access to a discount portal
• 4x salary life assurance
• Up to 10% pension contribution

Peabody does not offer sponsorship to work in the UK.

Our Assessment Process

Our fair, inclusive and transparent recruitment process involves an in-person interview on the 24th or 25th November at our Westminster Bridge Road office. The interview will be a mix of competency and scenario based questions, followed by a numeracy and communication focused exercise - so you'll need to allow up to 90 minutes for the session!

We reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.