Finance Officer - Debt Collection

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

Job summary

Essex County Council in Chelmsford is seeking a Finance Officer - Debt Collection to join Income Collection within P2P & Income. The role supports recovery of Adult Social Care income and promotes automated payments, including direct debits.

It is a credit control role with significant customer contact via phone and email. To succeed you should have knowledge of P2P/Income systems and accounts payable/receivable experience, plus strong interpersonal and Office skills.

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 skills

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

RQF Level 3 / A levels

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

Job description

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.

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.