Collections Representative - Lending

Hastings Direct; Leicester; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Up to 5% annual discretionary Bonus

Hybrid working (1 day a week in office

Modern open-plan office

Pension match up to 10%

Life insurance (4 x base salary)

Discounted Hastings Direct products

Cycle to work scheme

Tech scheme

Refer a friend £500

Brand-new Microsoft Surface laptop

Job summary

Hastings Direct in Leicester is seeking an AR collections advisor to manage inbound and outbound arrears activity across a portfolio of customers. You will identify reasons for financial difficulty and tailor recovery strategies to meet customer needs and business requirements.

The role requires 2+ years in financial services collections with strong negotiation, empathy, and communication skills. Hybrid working with office visits 1 day per week is available, and training is provided.

Qualifications

• At least 2 years' experience in financial services collections, recoveries or arrears.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.
• Ability to handle challenging conversations with empathy and professionalism.
• Experience assessing affordability and discussing financial difficulty with customers.

Responsibilities

• Manage inbound and outbound collections across a portfolio of arrears customers.
• Understand root causes of financial difficulty and identify appropriate support strategies.
• Negotiate affordable, sustainable repayment solutions.
• Utilise forbearance options to support customers in difficulty.
• Identify and support vulnerable customers per regulatory expectations.

Skills

Customer communication

Negotiation

Empathy & professionalism

Affordability assessment

Vulnerable customers support

Problem solving

Decision making

Attention to detail

Process improvement

Multitasking

Job description

Working Hours / Shift Patterns

You will work 37.5 hours per week on a Monday to Friday 9:00 - 17:30 No weekends or bank holidays.

Training

The main training period runs for the first 4-6 weeks and takes place face to face in the office.

Hybrid Working

With hybrid working, you have more flexibility, as you usually only have to visit our office once or twice a week and work remotely for the rest of the time. You can always opt to work from the office more frequently if that suits you better. When we organise training and events you may be required to attend in person for the duration.

Salary

The starting salary is £26,850 plus benefits. There will be opportunities for further salary progression with the right focus on personal development.

Location

Leicester Team Overview

Job Details

• Manage inbound and outbound collections activity across a portfolio of customers in arrears.
• Understand the root cause of a customer's financial difficulty and identify the most appropriate support strategy.
• Negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment solutions that meet customer needs and business requirements.
• Utilise the range of available forbearance options to support customers experiencing financial difficulty.
• Identify, support and appropriately manage vulnerable customers in line with regulatory expectations and company policy.
• Deliver fair customer outcomes whilst balancing commercial performance and arrears reduction objectives.
• Manage customer complaints in an effective manner and in line with company policies.
• Maintain accurate customer records and document all decisions clearly and comprehensively.
• Be a self-starter and proactively manage work queues in an efficient and effective manner on a day-to-day basis.
• Be a team player, supporting colleagues and suggesting process or system improvements where necessary.

Transferable/Essential Skills

• We would love you to have a minimum of 2 years' experience working within a financial services collections, recoveries or arrears environment.
• Strong customer communication and negotiation skills.
• Ability to have challenging conversations with empathy, professionalism and confidence.
• Experience assessing affordability and discussing financial difficulty with customers.
• Experience identifying and supporting vulnerable customers.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and record-keeping standards.
• Proactively identifying process improvements to help improve customer and business outcomes.

Benefits you’ll receive

• Up to 5% annual discretionary Bonus
• Hybrid working (1 day per week in the office with the option to do more depending on your preference)
• A fantastic open plan modern office
• We promote a relaxed, friendly & diverse working environment
• 'Harrys’ - a great onsite restaurant, with a wide range of choice at breakfast and lunchtime & an on-site Costa coffee
• 25 days holiday and bank holidays equivalent (plus buy and sell up to 5 days)
• Pension match up to 10% of your salary
• Life insurance (4 x base salary)
• Discounted Hastings Direct products
• Discounts & cashback with well-known retailers
• Tech scheme, cycle to work, health assessments, and skin check - on completion of probation
• Refer a friend scheme - earn £500 for every friend you refer
• We will provide you will all the tech that you need! Including a brand-new Microsoft Surface laptop

Disability Confident Employer Statement

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey.

For this position, we’re regrettably unable to accept applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) due to the extremely high volumes of applications we receive. However, what we put in place for these positions instead in order to remove barriers is an opportunity for all candidates to complete first stage assessments, in the form of some online exercises, which we can also provide adjustments for on a case-by-case basis.

For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers site.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made throughout the assessment process you should contact the recruitment team at [e-mail] prior to starting any assessments, in order that adjustments can be considered.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly.

We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly.

We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.