Collections Officer (FMS)

• Deal empathetically with customers whilst questioning and probing to understand their circumstances
• Examine accounts in arrears, and up-to-date accounts, and work with customers to proactively identify; Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances, customers experiencing financial hardship or a customer making a complaint, referring to specialist teams where applicable
• Handle escalated calls from customers to ensure that complex queries and complaints are handled swiftly and effectively by making decisions on the correct course of action for an account
• Understand the reason and likely timeframe of financial hardship and make suitable / sustainable arrangements with customers
• Communicate with customers / authorised third parties to agree and monitor payment arrangements in line with the Customer Operations forbearance policy and the customer’s affordability
• Communicate and provide accurate information in a timely manner by relevant method
• Identify customer needs and complete required actions in accordance with departmental processes and procedures
• Manage, organise and update relevant information onto Aries and relevant Customer Operations databases
• Represent the organisation in a highly professional manner at all times
• Adhere to agreed company regulation and external legislation e.g. FCA, OFCOM, rules, guidelines and principles, GDPR etc
• Operate on an automated inbound and outbound dialling system
• Embrace changes to policy and procedures and use own initiative to challenge potential barriers and provide the most appropriate outcome for the customer
• Achieve personal objectives
• Pro-actively identify and report risk events to the relevant risk champion

Skills

• Demonstrate excellent communication skills, ability to empathise, and challenge processes and work approaches appropriately
• Ability to use own initiative and work as an effective team member
• Ability / experience to identify and probe effectively where vulnerability / complaint or other underlying reasons are suspected
• Ability to recognise when to adapt communication style to suit the customer or colleague
• Problem analysis and problem solving with an attention to detail and accuracy
• IT aptitude and the ability to learn appropriate systems
• Adaptability and the ability to remain calm under pressure
• A passionate “can do” attitude

Even if you don’t meet all the criteria, we encourage you to apply. At Paragon, we value diversity and we’re excited to hear from passionate individuals like you! If you’re ready to contribute to the team, please apply.

Further information on the role can be found in the Purpose and Performance Profile (PPP), which is downloadable on this page.