Senior Credit Controller

King's College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious educational institution in Greater London is seeking a Senior Credit Controller to manage debt recovery and ensure timely receivables. The role involves overseeing communications, handling queries, and making payment arrangements. The ideal candidate holds a degree or recognized financial qualification, has debt management experience, and possesses excellent communication skills. This position promises an opportunity to contribute to the institution's financial health while working within a dynamic team environment.

Qualifications

• Holds a degree or a recognised financial qualification or equivalent practical experience in a finance or credit control role.
• Minimum of 12 months' experience handling complex debt-related queries.
• Proven success in debt collection with effective recovery strategies.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for recovering outstanding university fee balances.
• Oversees high volumes of inbound communications regarding university fee matters.
• Evaluates requests for payment extensions and establishes suitable arrangements.

Skills

Debt Management

Communication

Time Management

Numeracy

Attention to Detail

Proactive Approach

Team Collaboration

Education

Degree or financial qualification (CICM, AAT, ACCA)

Tools

Excel

Unit4 ERP (Agresso)

SITS or SAM

Job description

About us:

Join a Leading University at the Heart of London

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.

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's 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: Responsible for recovering outstanding university fee balances in accordance with institutional policies and procedures. Includes monitoring overdue accounts, engaging with relevant parties to secure payment, and taking appropriate action to recover unpaid amounts. Also involves producing accurate and professional reports for management, outlining the status of recovery efforts and identifying any notable issues or trends affecting university fee collection.

Customer Service Management: Oversees high volumes of inbound communications, including emails and phone calls, from a range of stakeholders regarding university fee matters. Manages and responds to inquiries promptly and effectively, ensuring compliance with service level agreements (SLAs) and maintaining a consistently high standard of customer service and satisfaction.

Proactive Communication: Requires a proactive and professional approach to engaging with individuals and third parties regarding outstanding university fee accounts. Focuses 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: Works closely with internal departments, external stakeholders, and legal representatives to resolve complex fee-related queries. Investigates issues thoroughly, provides accurate and timely information, and facilitates effective collaboration to ensure prompt and professional resolution of disputes or misunderstandings.

Payment Arrangements: Evaluates requests for payment extensions or instalment plans related to university fees. Reviews financial information, makes informed decisions, and establishes suitable payment arrangements. Monitors adherence to agreed terms and takes appropriate action in cases of non-compliance, such as renegotiating terms or initiating escalation procedures.

Escalation and Recommendation: When internal recovery efforts are exhausted, advises senior staff on appropriate next steps for unresolved university fee accounts. May recommend 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. Contributes 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: Promotes a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging active participation in initiatives aimed at enhancing operational effectiveness. Identifies opportunities for improvement, contributes to or leads short‑term projects, and implements changes that deliver measurable benefits for the team and the wider organization.

Documentation and Review: Maintains accurate and up-to-date documentation of processes and system configurations. Ensures procedures are clearly recorded, centrally stored, and regularly reviewed to reflect operational changes, supporting compliance, staff training, and ongoing improvement initiatives.

Analytical and Escalation Handling: Requires strong analytical abilities and meticulous attention to detail in evaluating processes, identifying inefficiencies, and constructively challenging suboptimal practices. Provides clear guidance on challenging cases, works collaboratively with other departments, and ensures efficient, compliant, and well‑coordinated operations.

Overpayment Processing: Manages accurate processing of overpayments in line with institutional policies and regulatory requirements, including anti‑fraud and anti‑money laundering standards. Handles refunds across multiple payment methods such as card transactions, bank transfers, and third‑party platforms. Coordinates compliance in administering external loan schemes, ensuring timely allocation of funds to fees and 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.

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 of 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 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.