Collector 1

University Federal Credit Union; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 36,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Collector 1 role at UFCU focuses on contacting members with past-due loans across multiple channels, validating information, and coordinating feasible resolutions. You will work to understand member circumstances, document actions, and ensure compliant outcomes within UFCU policies.

You will report to the Assistant Manager - Collections and contribute to a high-performing team dedicated to responsible delinquency resolution across consumer, commercial, and real estate loans.

Qualifications

• Excellent oral and written communication.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Proficiency with arithmetic operations and loan calculations.

Responsibilities

• Communicate with members via phone, email, text, chat, and letters to address past due loan balances.
• Validate member identity and review loan terms and balances.
• Collaborate to identify viable resolution options and document actions taken.
• Produce accurate, timely information and communications to members about UFCU services and policies.
• Maintain compliance with all laws, regulations, and UFCU procedures.

Skills

Excellent communication

Strong critical thinking

Arithmetic proficiency

Negotiation skills

Active listening

Empathy

Tools

Outlook

Excel

Word

Job description

Description

Job Summary

The Collector 1 contributes to a high-performing Collections team by helping members resolve past-due consumer, commercial, or real estate loans. Using supportive, constructive, and empathetic communication across multiple channels, this role seeks to understand each member's circumstances and collaborates with the member to identify practical paths toward resolution. The Collector 1 independently researches account details, prioritizes follow-up activities, validates financial responsibility, locates current contact information, and completes documentation required to advance delinquency resolution. The role adapts its approach as new information emerges, balances individual member needs with those of the broader UFCU membership, and delivers compliant outcomes in accordance with UFCU policies, procedures, and applicable laws and regulations.

The Collector 1 reports to Assistant Manager - Collections.

About UFCU

Our Credit Union was founded in 1936 and has grown to serve members throughout Texas and beyond. At UFCU, we are more than just a financial institution, and our people are more than just employees. We are dedicated to our purpose of empowering our Members to achieve financial success and build brighter futures . In pursuit of our aspiration that UFCU is loved by millions of Members and built to thrive for generations , we are guided by our values:

Purposefully Member-Obsessed

We are driven by a profound sense of empathy to deeply understand our Members' needs and preferences, what brighter futures means to them, and the obstacles in their way. We act in our Members' best interests, forever seeking to empower their financial success.

Possibilities Reimagined

We are inspired to courageously experiment, learn, and iterate in pursuit of positive impact for our Members, UFCU, and coworkers. We challenge assumptions, embrace diverse perspectives, and make use of data and insights.

Performance Excellence Rooted in Unwavering Integrity

We do the right thing, always. We champion teamwork, accountability, continuous improvement, and celebrate successful outcomes of others, fostering an inclusive environment of excellence and collaboration.

Essential Functions

Member Communications

• Validates identity of members and third parties.
• Interacts with members and third parties through a variety of communication channels (telephone calls, email, text, chat, and letters) to develop contact with members responsible for past due loan balances.
• Develops professional, courteous, and empathetic relationships with members to facilitate effective oral and written member communications consistent with UFCU Core Competencies.
• Informs members of past due loan status, develops dialogue with members to discover credible reasons for delinquency, the members' capacity and willingness to resolve the past due loan status, and provides a call to action by the member to resolve the loan delinquency.
• Collaborates with members to identify and prioritize viable options for resolving past-due loan status. Confirms the members' understanding and commitment, completes the activities needed to implement the agreed resolution, and follows up promptly to evaluate progress and adapt next steps as circumstances change.
• Provides member service to resolve any barriers preventing members from making timely loan payments.
• Service tasks include validating: debt responsibility, loan balances, loan terms, and other items; providing copies of loan documents to members; setting up/editing/terminating automated payments; advising members about UFCU's practices that may be of immediate interest or concern for a given member; producing and publishing loss mitigation program documentation.
• Produces written communications, delivered through multiple channels in response to member requests or to initiate member communication.
• Provides accurate and timely information to members regarding UFCU services, including restrictions on services as appropriate.

Systems, Policies, and Procedures Utilization

• Develops proficiency in use of the various system tools available to Collectors including in collections management, billing, telephone, member relationship management, and UFCU's intranet (UFCU Connect).
• Proficiency is demonstrated by consistently, appropriately and accurately finding data, entering data, extracting data, using appropriate information or system functionality for a given need and providing accurate values to be communicated to a member or used in the normal course of past due loan resolution.
• Utilizes Collections systems in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and UFCU policies and procedures, including documentation of collection activities in a manner that fairly represents those activities.
• Becomes familiar with systems and processes used by non-collections functions within UFCU in the servicing of loans.
• Develops proficient understanding and skillful use of and compliance with UFCU's Policies and Procedures in the service of past due loan resolution.
• Identifies and shares opportunities to improve systems, processes, and procedures. Collaborates with partners to test, evaluate, refine, document, and publish improvements based on member impact, operational results, and feedback.
• Participates in cross-functional projects to develop, implement, upgrade, and replace UFCU systems by contributing requirements, providing user feedback, supporting incremental releases, and helping teams evaluate outcomes.

Other

• Adheres to all company policies, procedures, and business ethics codes.
• Completes required regulatory training as assigned.
• Maintains strict adherence to and compliance with all laws, rules, regulations, and internal controls specific to the role, including but not limited to Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and Fair Lending regulations.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Knowledge

• Basic, operational understanding of financial institutions, including differentiation between banks and credit unions.
• Basic knowledge of UFCU products and services.
• Basic understanding of financial terms including principal, collateral, interest, finance charge, late fees, payment schedules, payment due dates, loan maturity, delinquency, and default.
• Basic understanding of bankruptcy.
• Proficient understanding with compliance requirements of debt collection laws.
• Basic understanding of technologies commonly used in debt collection: telephone systems, computer-based software applications, payments platforms, email, text, chat, and popular social media platforms.
• Basic understanding of call center operations.
• Proficiency with customer service principles:
• Acknowledging customer needs
• Expressing empathy
• Finding mutually beneficial solutions
• Professional courtesy
• Basic knowledge of MS Office tools including Outlook, Excel, and Word.

Skills

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong critical thinking skills.
• Proficiency with arithmetic operations; calculates principal and interest payments given loan terms.
• Telephone skills to include:
• Determination of appropriate communication style
• Projection of professionalism, courtesy, and empathy
• Asks probing questions to locate responsible members and discover responsible members' reasons for delinquency; employment; and sources of funds
• Actively listens; does not talk over other parties
• Directs collections activities by keeping member dialogue constructive and focused on acknowledging the debt, providing reason(s) for delinquency, identifying sources of funds for payment arrangements, overcoming objections, asking for payment and confirming arrangements.
• Negotiation skills to include:
• Overcomes gatekeepers
• Clearly conveys member obligation under loan agreement and gets members' acknowledgement of that obligation
• Identifies and overcomes objections
• Proposes mutually beneficial solutions
• Calls members to action
• Gains acknowledgement of commitments made by member

Abilities

• Strong ability to balance the needs of individual members with those of the entire membership.
• Knowing when to say yes, and when to say no to a member.
• Adapts effectively in a dynamic, high-volume environment by reassessing priorities as member needs, workload, and new information change while maintaining quality, compliance, and timely follow-through.
• Demonstrates consistent attendance - punctual and adheres to schedule.
• Talks and types simultaneously.
• Locates possible points of member contact using generally accepted tools.