Senior Credit Controller

Kings College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK university is seeking a Senior Credit Controller for its Finance Department. The successful candidate will manage university debt, ensuring effective recovery of outstanding fees while delivering excellent customer service. Key responsibilities include producing management reports, handling stakeholder communications, and collaborating with various departments. The ideal candidate holds a degree or financial qualification with significant debt management experience, demonstrating strong organisational skills and advanced Excel proficiency. Salary ranges from £34,713 to £38,127 per annum.

Qualifications

• Holds a degree or financial qualification, or equivalent experience in finance.
• Minimum of 12 months experience handling debt-related queries.
• Proven success in high-volume debt collection.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• High level of numerical accuracy and IT proficiency.
• Detail-oriented and professional approach.
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders.
• Commitment to continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage university debt in line with credit policy.
• Oversee recovery of outstanding university fee balances.
• Produce reports on recovery efforts for management.
• Handle inbound communications regarding fee matters.
• Engage proactively with individuals about fee accounts.
• Collaborate with departments to resolve fee-related queries.
• Evaluate requests for payment extensions or plans.
• Advise on escalation actions for unresolved accounts.
• Document processes and maintain operational compliance.

Skills

Debt Management

Numeracy

Attention to Detail

Effective Communication

Problem Solving

IT Skills

Education

Degree or Financial Qualification

Tools

Excel

Job description

About us

King's College London’s Finance Department is seeking a highly motivated and detail‑oriented individual to join our exceptional Credit Control team as a Senior Credit Controller.

Join a Leading University at the Heart of London

As part of the Finance, Procurement, Strategic Planning and Analytics Directorate (FPSPA), the Credit Control team manages the invoicing and collection of over £750 million annually in tuition, residence, and commercial income from students, sponsors, embassies, the Student Loan Company, and other customers. This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a dynamic, collaborative, and high‑performing team within one of the world’s most prestigious universities. The successful candidate will play a critical role in overseeing the credit control function, ensuring timely and accurate receivables management and supporting the financial sustainability of the institution.

About the role

King’s College London is seeking a proactive, detail‑oriented, and motivated individual to join our Credit Control team as a Senior Credit Controller. In this pivotal role, you will work closely with the Section Supervisor and wider team to manage university debt in line with the university’s credit policy. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the financial health of a world‑renowned institution while working in a collaborative, high‑performing environment.

Debt Recovery and Reporting

The role is responsible for the recovery of outstanding university fee balances in accordance with institutional policies and procedures. This includes monitoring overdue accounts, engaging with relevant parties to secure payment, and taking appropriate action to recover unpaid amounts. The role also involves producing accurate and professional reports for management with excellent attention to detail, outlining the status of recovery efforts and identifying any notable issues or trends affecting university fee collection.

Customer Service Management

A core component of this role is overseeing high volumes of inbound communications, including emails and phone calls, from a range of stakeholders regarding university fee matters. The postholder is expected to manage and respond to these inquiries promptly and effectively, ensuring compliance with service level agreements (SLAs) and maintaining a consistently high standard of customer service and satisfaction.

Proactive Communication

This role requires a proactive and professional approach to engaging with individuals and third parties regarding outstanding university fee accounts. The focus is on resolving issues promptly and effectively, while maintaining clear, courteous, and constructive communication to support positive relationships and encourage timely resolution of balances.

Collaboration and Query Resolution

The role involves working closely with internal departments, external stakeholders, and legal representatives to resolve complex fee‑related queries. Responsibilities include investigating issues thoroughly, providing accurate and timely information, and facilitating effective collaboration to ensure prompt and professional resolution of disputes or misunderstandings.

Payment Arrangements

The role involves evaluating requests for payment extensions or instalment plans related to university fees. This includes reviewing financial information, making informed decisions, and establishing suitable payment arrangements. Ongoing responsibilities include monitoring adherence to agreed terms and taking appropriate action in cases of non‑compliance, such as renegotiating terms or initiating escalation procedures.

Escalation and Recommendation

When internal recovery efforts are exhausted, the role involves advising senior staff on appropriate next steps for unresolved university fee accounts. This may include recommending escalation actions such as referral to external collection agencies, ensuring all decisions align with institutional policies and procedures.

Team Performance and Objectives

Collaboration with colleagues is key to achieving both individual and team objectives. The role involves contributing to shared goals by exchanging knowledge, providing support across tasks, and actively participating in the delivery of performance targets established by supervisory leadership.

Process Improvement

The role promotes a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging active participation in initiatives aimed at enhancing operational effectiveness. This includes identifying opportunities for improvement, contributing to or leading short‑term projects, and implementing changes that deliver measurable benefits for the team and the wider organization.

Documentation and Review

Maintaining accurate and up‑to‑date documentation of processes and system configurations is a key aspect of the role. This ensures procedures are clearly recorded, centrally stored, and regularly reviewed to reflect operational changes. Effective documentation supports compliance, staff training, and ongoing improvement initiatives.

Analytical and Escalation Handling

This role demands strong analytical abilities and meticulous attention to detail in evaluating processes, identifying inefficiencies, and constructively challenging suboptimal practices. Precision is essential when reviewing complex data, interpreting policies, and assessing the implications of decisions. As a key escalation point, the role involves resolving complex issues thoroughly and accurately, providing clear guidance on challenging cases, and working collaboratively with other departments to ensure efficient, compliant, and well‑coordinated operations.

Overpayment Processing

The role includes managing the accurate processing of overpayments in line with institutional policies and regulatory requirements, including anti‑fraud and anti‑money‑laundering standards. It involves handling refunds across multiple payment methods such as card transactions, bank transfers, and third‑party platforms. Additionally, the role requires coordination and compliance in administering external loan schemes, ensuring timely allocation of funds to fees and the appropriate refunding of surplus balances.

During off‑peak periods in the fee collection cycle, the role holder may be required to support the RMID team across their Pre‑Award, Post‑Award and Credit Control activities.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

About you

A list of the essential and desirable criteria provided in your Job description. Candidates will be advised to review the document supplied in the advert to identify where these criteria will be assessed. To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Relevant Qualification or Experience: Holds a degree or a recognised financial qualification (e.g., CICM, AAT, ACCA), or equivalent practical experience in a finance or credit control role.
2. Debt Management Experience: Minimum of 12 months experience handling complex debt‑related queries, demonstrating efficiency in managing high volumes within strict deadlines.
3. Proven Success in Debt Collection: Track record of achieving positive results in high‑volume debt collection, including effective recovery strategies and maintaining customer relationships.
4. Strong Organisational & Time Management Skills: Able to prioritise and manage workload independently, handle tight deadlines, and process high volumes of inquiries with accuracy and efficiency.
5. Numeracy & Advanced IT Skills: High level of numerical accuracy and confidence using Excel (including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and data analysis tools), with general proficiency in standard office software.
6. Attention to Detail and Professionalism: Demonstrates a meticulous and professional approach, ensuring high standards of accuracy, autonomy in task management, and consistent quality of work.
7. Effective Communication and Autonomy: Able to work independently and communicate clearly with internal and external stakeholders, translating complex information into clear, accessible language.
8. Solution‑Focused and Improvement‑Minded: Positive attitude with a commitment to continuous improvement, actively contributing to process and system enhancements across the team.

Desirable criteria

1. Higher Education Experience: Experience in a university or academic setting, with knowledge of tuition fee structures, academic cycles, and student/sponsor debt processes.
2. Student and Finance Systems: Familiarity with SITS or SAM for student records, and Unit4 ERP (Agresso) for finance and reporting functions.
3. Financial Compliance Knowledge: Understanding of financial controls, anti‑fraud regulations (e.g. Money Laundering, Proceeds of Crime Act), and risk awareness in financial operations.
4. Data Protection Awareness: Knowledge of GDPR and data protection principles, particularly in handling financial and personal data securely.
5. Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click Apply Now. This document will provide information on what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our How we Recruit pages.

Grade and Salary: £34,713 - £38,127 per annum inclusive London weighting allowance; Job ID: 132046; Close Date: 14-Dec-2025; Contact Person: Antony Harrild; Contact Details: [e-mail]