Credit Controller (Service Charge)

Who are we? Founded in 1992, Galliard Homes is one of London's largest privately-owned property development and management groups, with over 250 employees and a £4 billion portfolio. We deliver residential, mixed-use, hospitality, and commercial projects across London, the Home Counties, and the Midlands. Galliard Estate Management, known as GEM, is our in-house property management business. GEM manages over 35 developments, covering a wide range of residential and mixed-use schemes, from high-rise to high-end, across both private and affordable properties.

The Position: Working alongside the wider accounts department, as well as our property managers, a Credit Control & Legal Administrator is responsible for recovering funds from outstanding payments from leaseholders and issuing legal documents while partnering with the wider service charge accounts team. This position is based in our Head Office in Loughton, Essex, five days per week. The working hours are 09:00am to 17:30pm Monday to Thursday, with a shorter workday of 09:00am - 17:00pm on Fridays.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Proactively manage and recover service charge arrears through telephone, email correspondence and arrears letters.
• Negotiate and agree payment plans with leaseholders in line with company policy.
• Produce instructions to debt recovery and ensure follow ups and enquiries are responded to.
• Prepare and issue legal packs (LPE1s) for property sales and re-mortgages and respond to leaseholder and solicitor enquiries.
• Produce and manage other legal documents such as parking licenses, pet permits.
• Process daily receipts, reconcile payments, and follow up on any unallocated or missing items.
• Accept card payments over the phone and allocate them to the correct leaseholder accounts on the system.
• Liaise with solicitors and buyers during the sale of assignment of leasehold properties, processing Notices of Assignment, Notices of Charge, and updating leaseholder contact records.
• Assist with maintaining leaseholder records including change of address, phone numbers, and email addresses.
• Support compliance administration including obtaining Land Registry documents and handling Building Safety Act and landlord licensing certificate enquiries.
• Handle incoming calls and email queries from residents and leaseholders professionally and efficiently.
• Provide general administrative support to the Property Management and Accounts team, such as running mail merges and arrears lists.

The Person: This is an excellent role for someone with experience in property management, residential housing, service charge, or a similar environment. Even if you do not have direct experience in credit control, we still encourage you to apply as full training will be provided. We are seeking a proactive and highly organised professional with strong communication skills and a commitment to providing a high level of service. The ideal candidate will be comfortable handling multiple tasks and shifting priorities in a busy environment. Flexibility, responsiveness, and the ability to adapt to changing demands is key to success in this role.

Essential:

• Understanding of leasehold properties and service charge principles.
• Excellent communication skills across face-to-face, telephone, and email interactions, with a professional approach.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and sometimes challenging conversations.
• Strong background in an administrative and customer service environment.
• Ability to manage workload and adjust priorities quickly in response to changing needs.
• Proficient in basic Microsoft packages including Word, Excel and Outlook with the ability to learn new systems as needed.
• Exceptional administration skills, with strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Professional and courteous manner when liaising with leaseholders, external stakeholders, and internal teams.

Desirable:

• Experience in credit control, property administration, service charge related work, or similar.
• Familiarity with the Leasehold Reform Act and Landlord and Tenant Act.
• Basic understanding of legal processes relating to arrears recovery and leasehold assignments.

The Benefits: As a family-owned business, we want everyone to feel at home from day one. In return for commitment, loyalty, and hard work, we offer benefits ranging from:

• Competitive salary
• 24 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Life assurance
• Private health care
• Critical illness insurance
• Matching contribution pension scheme
• Discretionary salary and bonus review
• Employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym memberships
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Discount portal
• Volunteering opportunities
• Sponsorship of professional qualifications and accreditations