Finance Assistant – Debt Collection

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Support for unpaid carers

Disability Confident Leader

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Finance Assistant - Debt Collection in Chelmsford to support P2P and Income teams. You will input financial transactions, reconcile income, and help ensure data accuracy within policy standards. The role requires GCSE English and Maths and experience with accounts payable/receivable.

The fixed-term Full Time position offers routine use of Microsoft Office and strong collaboration with finance staff to deliver timely payment processes and customer service.

Qualifications

• GCSE English and Maths required (RQF Level 2) or equivalent.
• Experience with P2P/Income systems and accounts payable/receivable is desirable.
• Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Willingness to work flexibly in multi-skilled operational teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Outlook, Word and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Contributes to delivery of the financial transactions business plan.
• Processes and manages financial transactions with accuracy and timeliness.
• Adheres to policy and legislation standards and quality controls.
• Delivers activities to meet deadlines and flags risks early.
• Provides professional support to internal/external customers.
• Collaborates across P2P and Income to improve processes.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Verbal & written communication

Microsoft Office (Outlook/Word/Excel)

P2P/Income systems knowledge

Accounts payable/receivable

Education

GCSE English & Maths

RQF Level 2

Tools

Microsoft Office

P2P/Income systems

E-invoicing

Job description

Finance Assistant - Debt Collection

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,959 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 28th October 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Interviews: w/c 9th November

This vacancy is available as a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 12 Months.

The Income Collection Team aims to provide a comprehensive financial transactional and support service, engaging with those being invoiced for care services to secure payments and reconciliation of income received.

Purchase to Pay (P2P) and Income aims to provide a comprehensive financial transactional and support service, maximising new and innovative technology to provide excellent customer service using a multi skilled workforce.

The Finance Assistant supports the Purchase to Pay (P2P) and Income teams to deliver the business plan for financial transactions. With a working knowledge of financial processes and systems across P2P and Income, ensuring data or income is input accurately, timely and within policy and legislation standards.

Accountabilities

• Contributes to the delivery of the business plan for financial transactions, in support of the wider organisational vision.
• Responsible for processing and managing financial transactions, following defined business processes, inputting and interpreting data to ensure quality, consistency, accuracy, timeliness and high performance.
• Responsible for delivering all activities to meet defined deadlines, proactively reporting any risks or issues for early resolution.
• Provides support and guidance to internal and external customers in a professional manner, in line with Financial processes, ensuring that policy and legislation are met.
• Carries out basic reporting for P2P and Income and external customers, which contributes to the management of organisational performance, maximises income and ensures compliance with Financial Regulations and ECC Policies.
• Work flexibly and collaboratively across P2P and Income to deliver finance support.
• Recommend process improvements and redesign to achieve best practice and organisational efficiency.
• Contributes to maintaining currency on legislation changes and translating these into local policy and procedure, to identify and review potential changes in technology.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to RQF Level 2 (GCSE) must include English and Mathematics, or equivalent by experience.
• Commitment to continued personal development within a working environment.
• Some knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience would be desirable.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Aptitude and willingness to work flexibly in multi skilled Operational Teams.
• Level of good competency using Microsoft office packages including, Outlook, Word and Excel.
• Ability to interpret varied information for supporting continuous improvements in service delivery.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with internal and external customers, suppliers and partners.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we are dedicated to making a positive difference for residents, communities and businesses across the county. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, Greater Essex was accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our .

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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