Collections, Recoveries and Customer Relations Executive

Job purpose

Help to Buy Wales provides a shared equity loan to buyers of new-build homes. The scheme supports the purchase of homes bought through a registered Help to Buy Wales builder. The role of Collections, Recoveries and Customer Relations Executive will involve empathising with customers to understand their current situation, work through suitable resolution options and establish a collection strategy that meets the needs of the customer and the business.

Under the direction of the Collections Manager, the role holder will be responsible for maximising arrears collections on behalf of Help to Buy Wales in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulated consumer credit requirements, aligned to the Welsh Government Financial Hardship and Arrears Management Policy.

The successful candidate will have experience of working in a regulated environment dealing with arrears, collections and recoveries. Sensitivity and discretion will be expected to ensure cases of hardship are dealt with objectively. Treating Customers Fairly is a central part of the consumer credit regulatory regime and will be an integral responsibility of this position to assist in the delivery of positive outcomes for customers. 

Main duties and responsibilities

• To ensure a high level of customer service is delivered to all customers in line with legal/regulatory requirements and SLAs
• Negotiating and administering payment promises and arrangements ensuring repayment terms are in accordance with company directives and FCA expectations.
• Engaging with customers, supporting them through the arrears process, maintaining a high level of customer service with customers to encourage a two-way communication, to ensure successful collection of debt
• Delivery of debt recovery processing including issuing claims and obtaining judgment
• Delivery of relevant methods of enforcement as necessary including Insolvency Procedures
• Identify potentially vulnerable customers and or instances of financial hardship, by listening, questioning and data gathering to ensure supportive actions/decisions taken meet that customers' needs/position
• Assess customer Income & Expenditure ensuring all arrangements set are both affordable and sustainable based on the information given and documentary evidence provided
• Recognising when to signpost Borrowers to sources of free and independent debt advice if they are experiencing financial difficulties
• To be proactively accountable and manage individual caseloads with 3^rd parties and internal teams support to ensure all required documentation is pursued
• Ensuring relevant customer information on systems   is accurate and complete, whilst proactively utilising individual reports, to ensure all mandatory fields have been updated
• To effectively deal with any customer dissatisfaction and complaints in accordance with our complaints policy
• Ensure all "over - payments" are resolved within calendar month of balance being in credit
• Dealing with CCA regulated annual statements and arrears notices, to ensure they meet all regulatory requirements and are sent within the required timescales and in the correct format.
• Any other task defined by the fund manager to meet the operational needs of the department

Knowledge, skills, abilities and experience

Essential 

• A minimum of 12 months Collections/Arrears/Recoveries experience working within a regulated environment
• Proven experience of dealing with customers to deliver excellent customer service, particularly vulnerable customers facing financial hardship
• Proven experience of effective complaint handling
• Proven experience of dealing with high caseloads
• Knowledge/experience in financial servicing environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication and negotiation skills
• Proactively looks for solutions to problems, demonstrating professionalism at all times
• Knowledge of Outlook, Word and Excel Software
• Excellent administrations skills and specifically high attention to detail
• Good problem solving and prioritising skills

Desirable

• Welsh speaker
• Knowledge and understanding of the Help to Buy – Wales initiative
• Knowledge/experience of processing applications for mortgages and shared equity loans
• Experience of analysing financial information to include payslips and end of year accounts

Apply

To apply for this role, please go to our recruitment page.

Closing date: 28 April