Part Time Collections Agent

Part-time Collections Agent –Unsecured Lending

  • Location: Sheffield Contact Centre – UK
  • Function: Operations / Credit & Collections
  • Reporting to: Collections Team Leader / Manager
  • Salary: £26,500 (pro rata)
  • Contract - 27 hours per week

Role Purpose

The Collections Agent – Unsecured Lending is responsible for managing arrears on unsecured credit products, such as personal loans, in a fair, proportionate, and customer-focused manner. The role is focused on achieving sustainable repayment outcomes, supporting customers in financial difficulty, and ensuring all activity complies with FCA regulation, Consumer Duty, and internal credit risk and forbearance policies.

Key Accountabilities

  • Customer Outcomes and Engagement
  • Engage with customers in arrears using a supportive, non-judgemental approach that promotes trust and positive customer outcomes.
  • Conduct effective income and expenditure discussions to assess affordability and agree sustainable repayment solutions.
  • Identify indicators of vulnerability or financial hardship and apply appropriate forbearance options in line with policy and FCA guidance.
  • Ensure customers clearly understand their account status, available options, and the implications of different repayment choices.
  • Treat customers fairly at all stages of the arrears journey, balancing customer needs with responsible credit risk management.

Unsecured Lending Collections Activity

  • Manage arrears across unsecured lending portfolios, including early, mid, and late-stage delinquency.
  • Apply appropriate collections forbearance strategies, such as payment plans, temporary arrangements, interest or fee concessions, and signposting to free debt advice.
  • Escalate accounts appropriately in line with policy, ensuring decisions are evidence based and well-documented.
  • Support the transition of accounts through different stages of collections while maintaining a customer-centric approach.
  • Multi-Channel Workflow Management
  • Handle inbound and outbound customer interactions across multiple channels, including telephone, email, SMS, webchat, and written correspondence.
  • Work efficiently within automated dialler and workflow systems, ensuring timely and accurate action on assigned accounts.
  • Maintain high standards of written and verbal communication across all channels, ensuring consistency, clarity, and regulatory compliance.
  • Update customer records accurately and contemporaneously following each interaction.

Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management

  • Perform all duties in accordance with FCA principles, Consumer Duty, and Treating Customers Fairly requirements.
  • Comply with internal policies, procedures, scripts, and quality standards to ensure fair treatment and consistent decision-making.
  • Support complaint avoidance and resolution by addressing customer concerns effectively at first point of contact.
  • Maintain awareness of regulatory updates and demonstrate ongoing compliance through daily activities.
  • Performance and Continuous Improvement
  • Achieve individual and team performance targets, balancing productivity, quality, and customer outcomes.
  • Actively participate in coaching, quality assurance, training, and competency assessments.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying process inefficiencies or customer pain points.
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders to deliver operational and regulatory objectives.

Working Hours

  • The role is 27 hours per week worked over 4 days
  • Friday 08:30 – 16:30
  • Saturday 09:00 – 16:00
  • Sunday 10:00 – 16:00
  • Monday 10:00 – 16:00

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Essential

  • Experience in a customer-facing role within a contact centre environment.
  • Strong customer-outcomes focus, with the ability to conduct sensitive and sometimes challenging conversations.
  • Excellent communication skills across voice and digital channels.
  • Ability to assess affordability and make balanced, compliant decisions.
  • Strong attention to detail and accurate record-keeping.

Desirable

  • Previous experience in unsecured lending collections, debt recovery, or credit risk.
  • Knowledge of FCA regulation, Consumer Duty, and vulnerability frameworks.
  • Familiarity with income and expenditure assessments and forbearance tools.
  • Experience using CRM, collections systems, and automated workflows.

Behaviours and Values

  • Acts with integrity and professionalism at all times.
  • Demonstrates empathy and fairness when supporting customers in financial difficulty.
  • Takes ownership of customer outcomes and personal performance.
  • Open to change and committed to continuous learning and development

Job Types: Permanent, Part-time

Pay: Up to £26,500.00 per year

Expected hours: 27 per week

Benefits:

  • Company pension
  • Employee discount
  • Health & wellbeing programme
  • Store discount

Application question(s):

  • Do have a disability that will require any reasonable adjustments for the interview/recruitment process or job role (working in-person from the office) ?

Work Location: In person

Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...