Collections and Recoveries Advisor

Manpower are currently recruiting for an Collections and Recoveries Advisor to work with their prestigious client in Milton Keynes.

Role - This role is 90% phone work. Incoming calls mainly with some outbound. Customers will call in after receiving a letter to discuss payment options when there is a current struggle to make payments. Direct customer collections role not B2B role.

Experience required - previous collections experience, customer services, telesales would be considered, previous PPI experience would be considered. Financial services background desirable. Candidate would be able to manage high call volumes, deal with difficult calls, show empathy to the customer while adhering to processes and resolving the issue. Candidate will be confident on the phone, be able to deal with complaints, work in a call centre environment where call stats are monitored length of calls/call volume, working day is planned by the department due to requirements for phone cover at all times.

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE JOB

You will be responsible for achieving positive customer outcomes and commercially balanced decision making in line with the clients policy and procedures.

The role holder will be responsible for being fully compliant with relevant legislation, including but not limited to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Treating Customer Fairly (TCF) and relevant Vulnerable Customer guidance.

Act as the voice of the business to our retail customer to maintain a long-term relationship during a sensitive time.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• This role provides customers with a high quality customer experience through assistance and support when the customer self-indicates or falls into financial difficulty during and after their financial services agreement.

• Take full ownership and use initiative to investigate and resolve arrears balance for customers facing financial difficulty. Where possible do so with first contact resolution and deliver a personal service.

• Ability to review evidence internally and from the customer to make a commercially balanced decision.

• Taking ownership of arrears management by interfacing with external solicitors, repossession agents and debt collections agencies where appropriate.

• This role concentrates on a focused range of processes and enquiries, with a range of potential solutions through various channels (e.g. Telephony, White mail and E-mail).

• Required to evaluate customer circumstance, inconvenience and distress in order to make the decision to achieve appropriate and proportionate resolution from a wide range of potential options

• Use personal judgement to identify when redress and negotiation is needed to resolve a first-line complaint and utilise the "Limits of Authority" matrix where appropriate.

• Use personal judgement to negotiate with third parties, including but not limited to: solicitors, repossession agents and debt collections agencies.

• In accordance with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation, where a query cannot be resolved at first instance this is required to be correctly noted on the relevant complaints software programme and escalated as appropriate.

• Actively participate in a culture that adheres to the 6 Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) outcomes as defined by the FCA.

• Meet or exceed quality targets for regular risk based quality assurance focusing on customer outcomes and address development issues arising from the feedback provided through the QA process.

• Be proficient in multiple systems in order to achieve appropriate customer and business outcomes.

• In conjunction with systems, identify the correct combination of manual processes and execute accordingly.

• Managing high volume workloads and prioritising accordingly to achieve agreed service levels, quality targets and operational metrics as determined by the department relating to all aspects of Collections provision and Customer Operations.

• Understand and adhere to all regulatory and both internal and external compliance based requirements. Including but not limited to Identification and Verification (ID&V) process, card payments and financial crime.

• Add value on every call and ensure that customers receive the right level of appropriate information to make informed decisions about their financial circumstances.

• Maintain accurate record keeping at all times.