Late Stage Collections Agent

A leading business lender specialising in providing financial solutions to businesses across various industries. They are seeking an experienced Late Stage Collections Agent. This role offers a unique opportunity to work with a dynamic and forward-thinking team focused on resolving debt-related matters and supporting the continued success of our lending operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Account Management: Handle a portfolio of late-stage delinquent accounts (typically 60+ days past due). Prioritise accounts based on risk, balance size, and likelihood of recovery. Determine appropriate strategies (payment plan, settlement, escalation, or legal referral).
• Customer Engagement: Initiate and manage inbound and outbound communications with customers via phone, email, and SMS. Use effective negotiation and communication techniques to understand customer financial situations. Strong customer service skills are important given a number of the debtors you will be handling will be vulnerable and in financial difficulties. Handle vulnerable customers effectively as per internal policies. Handle complaints effectively by objection handling before escalating to a complaints handler.
• Payment Plan Structuring: Complete income and expenditure forms with personal guarantors to agree on realistic and sustainable repayment plans. Where required assess bank statements to assess the suitability of payment plan proposals. Ensure all arrangements align with company guidelines and affordability assessments.
• Settlement Negotiation: Negotiate partial settlements where appropriate to maximise recovery. Look to balance commercial outcomes with fair treatment of customers.
• Review & Monitoring: Regularly review active payment plans to ensure that the agreed payment plan remains affordable and suitable. Pursue missed payments if a change in circumstances has occurred review what options the debtor has available.
• Compliance & Regulation: A strong understanding of compliance is required within the collections and recoveries industry to ensure that debtors are being treated in accordance with the latest regulator guidance. Ensure all customer interactions are compliant, documented, and auditable.
• Documentation & Systems: Accurately record all customer interactions, agreements, and account updates in internal systems. Send payment plan confirmation letters once a formalised payment plan is agreed upon. Maintain high-quality notes and audit trails.
• Performance Targets: Meet or exceed KPIs such as conversion rates, promise to pay percentage, call volumes, emails sent, debit card payments, settlement volumes and payment plan review increases. Contribute to team targets and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Proven experience in late-stage collections or recoveries (60+ DPD).
• Strong commercial judgement across settlements, plans, and escalation.
• Deep understanding of financial difficulty and affordability assessments.
• Experience handling vulnerable customers in a regulated environment.
• Strong negotiation and objection-handling skills.
• Experience with personal guarantees / SME lending.
• Exposure to legal recoveries, insolvency, or enforcement processes.
• Ability to handle sensitive conversations with empathy and professionalism.
• Solid understanding of collections strategies and financial hardship indicators.
• Analytical mindset with attention to detail when assessing affordability.
• Resilience and ability to work in a target-driven environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong organisational and time management abilities.
• The ability to handle vulnerable customers with compassion and understanding.
• Excellent written communication skills in order to handle customers effectively over SMS or email.
• The ability to suggest improvements to processes and policies in order to optimise the working environment.