Finance Officer – Debt Collection

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council seeks a Finance Officer - Debt Collection in Chelmsford to maximise income for Adult Social Care and recover aged debt. The role centers on credit control, invoicing, and arranging automated payments with strong customer communication by phone and email.

Permanent, full-time, salary £25,959–£28,621 per year. Attends County Hall one day a week; remote working optional. Closing date 11 November 2026; visa sponsorship not available.

Qualifications

• Educated to Level 3 (A level) including English and Mathematics, or equivalent by experience.
• Commitment to continued personal development within a working environment.
• Knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Provides financial support in relation to the payments and collection of income, to both internal and external customers, contributing towards delivery of the business plan for financial transactions, in support of the wider organisational vision.
• Provides technical support to team members and customers answering more complex queries in a professional manner in accordance with financial procedures. Acts as the subject matter expert for P2P, Assessment and/or Income processes.
• Contribute to the identification and clarification of customer needs, to deliver process and technology changes, which drive efficiency and value for money.
• Contribute to improving financial awareness and capability across the organisation, to promote the culture of empowering budget holders in line with financial regulations.
• Carries out data analysis to produce reports for P2P & Income and external customers, to support the management of organisational performance, maximise income and ensure compliance to Financial Regulations and audit requirements.
• Contributes to service improvement projects/programmes to achieve best practice and organisational efficiency by recommending process improvements and redesign.
• Contributes to maintaining currency on legislation changes and translating these into local policy and procedure, to identify and review potential changes in technology.
• Working collaboratively and flexibly across teams within P2P & Income to deliver a high level of service to all functions.
• Contribute to identifying risks and supporting the resolution, to minimise financial impact and loss to the organisation.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Skills

Interpersonal communication

Verbal & written

Accounts payable

Accounts receivable

Purchase to pay

E-invoicing

Microsoft Office

Analytical thinking

Teamwork

Relationship building

Education

Level 3 English & Maths

Tools

P2P/Income systems

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

About The Role

Finance Officer - Debt Collection

Permanent, Full Time

£25,959 to £28,621 Per Annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: Wednesday 11th November 2026 at 11.59pm.

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

The Role

The role sits within Income Collection in order to maximise the income generated for Services in Adult Social Care at Essex County Council, alongside ensuring effective recovery of aged debt. Finance Officers will work with customers to ensure that their invoices for Adult Social Care services are paid promptly with a view to arranging automated future payments including direct debits. Please note that this is a credit control and not an accountancy focused role. Customer interaction by phone / email is the primary function so good communication skills are essential.

Interview Dates: Tuesday 24th November 2026.

This position has the expectation the successful worker will attend County Hall, Chelmsford one day per week, in line with the organisations need, with the remaining time allowing for remote working if desired.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Corporate Services

The Opportunity

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.

Finance Officers in Purchase to Pay (P2P) and Income will contribute to the delivery of the business plan for financial transaction processing, by ensuring data or income is accurately maintained and managed within policy and legislation standards. Responding to more complex customer queries and supporting changes in technology to streamline the customer experience.

Educated to Level 3, with knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience. The role requires good interpersonal and communication skills to deliver excellent customer service.

Accountabilities

• Provides financial support in relation to the payments and collection of income, to both internal and external customers, contributing towards delivery of the business plan for financial transactions, in support of the wider organisational vision.
• Provides technical support to team members and customers answering more complex queries in a professional manner in accordance with financial procedures. Acts as the subject matter expert for P2P, Assessment and/or Income processes.
• Contribute to the identification and clarification of customer needs, to deliver process and technology changes, which drive efficiency and value for money.
• Contribute to improving financial awareness and capability across the organisation, to promote the culture of empowering budget holders in line with financial regulations.
• Carries out data analysis to produce reports for P2P & Income and external customers, to support the management of organisational performance, maximise income and ensure compliance to Financial Regulations and audit requirements.
• Contributes to service improvement projects/programmes to achieve best practice and organisational efficiency by recommending process improvements and redesign.
• Contributes to maintaining currency on legislation changes and translating these into local policy and procedure, to identify and review potential changes in technology.
• Working collaboratively and flexibly across teams within P2P & Income to deliver a high level of service to all functions.
• Contribute to identifying risks and supporting the resolution, to minimise financial impact and loss to the organisation.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to RQF level 3 (A level) including English and Mathematics, or equivalent by experience.
• Commitment to continued personal development within a working environment.
• Knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience.
• 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 careers site.

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 Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

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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