Senior Credit Controller

at  Kings College London

Job id: 094646. Salary: £32,979 – £36,396 (Inclusive of London Weighting Allowance).
Posted: 20 August 2024. Closing date: 08 September 2024.
Business unit: FPSPA. Department: Credit Control Services.
Contact details: Antony Harrild. Antony.Harrild@kcl.ac.uk
Location: Guy’s Campus. Category: Professional & Support Services.
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About us:
King’s College London’s Finance Department is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to join our outstanding Credit Control team in the role of Senior Credit Controller.
Credit Control are part of the Finance, Procurement, Strategic Planning and Analytics Directorate (FPSPA) and are responsible for the invoicing and collection of tuition, residence and commercial fees to customers, students, sponsors, embassies and the Student Loan Company, totalling over £700m p.a.,
This position is a maternity cover opportunity, offering a chance to work in a dynamic and supportive environment within a prestigious institution. The successful candidate will play a key role in managing the college’s credit control processes, ensuring efficient handling of accounts receivable, and contributing to the financial health of the organization.
About the role:
King’s College London is seeking a proactive and detail-oriented individual to join our Tuition Fee Debt Management team as a Senior Credit Controller, providing maternity cover. The successful candidate will work closely with the section supervisor and team members to manage and oversee the collection of tuition fees, ensuring compliance with the College’s credit policy and to support in the fee billing team function of university tuition fees.
This position is offered on a full-time basis (35 hours per week) under a fixed-term contract for 12 months, covering maternity leave.
Debt Pursuit and Reporting: The role involves actively pursuing unpaid debts in accordance with University policies and procedures. This includes monitoring overdue accounts, contacting debtors, and using appropriate measures to recover outstanding amounts. Additionally, the role requires the preparation of detailed and professional reports for management, highlighting the status of debt recovery efforts and any significant issues or trends observed.
Customer Service Management: A key aspect of this role is managing a high volume of inbound communications, including emails and phone calls, from students and other internal and external stakeholders. It is essential to respond to these inquiries promptly and efficiently, adhering to strict service level agreements (SLAs) to maintain high standards of customer service and satisfaction.
Proactive Communication: This position demands a proactive and professional approach when communicating with students and third parties about outstanding accounts. The goal is to resolve issues swiftly and effectively, ensuring clear and courteous communication to maintain positive relationships and encourage timely payments.
Collaboration and Query Resolution: The role requires close collaboration with various college departments, third parties, and solicitors to address complex queries. This includes investigating issues, providing accurate information, and ensuring that all parties involved work towards a prompt and professional resolution of any disputes or misunderstandings.
Payment Arrangements: An important responsibility is to assess requests for payment extensions and plans. This involves reviewing financial information, making independent decisions, and setting up appropriate payment arrangements. The role also includes monitoring compliance with these arrangements and taking necessary actions if there are any defaults, such as renegotiating terms or escalating the issue.
Escalation and Recommendation: In cases where all efforts to resolve outstanding debts have been unsuccessful, it is crucial to advise the team Supervisor on potential next steps. This may include recommending the transfer of unresolved accounts to external debt collection agencies, ensuring that all actions taken are in line with University policies.
Team Performance and Objectives: Working collaboratively with colleagues is essential to achieving both individual and team objectives. This includes sharing knowledge, supporting each other in tasks, and contributing to the overall success of the team’s performance goals set by the section Supervisor.
Process Improvement: The role encourages a continuous improvement mindset, where the individual is expected to lead or participate in short-term projects aimed at enhancing operational efficiency. This includes identifying areas for improvement, implementing changes, and ensuring that these improvements lead to better outcomes for the team and the organization.
Documentation and Review: Maintaining thorough documentation of credit control processes and system configurations is critical. This ensures that all procedures are clearly recorded, stored centrally, and periodically reviewed to reflect any changes. Accurate documentation supports compliance, training, and continuous improvement efforts.
Analytical and Escalation Handling: The role requires strong analytical skills to review processes, identify inefficiencies, and challenge bad practices constructively. As the primary point of escalation within the credit team, it involves resolving complex issues, providing guidance on difficult cases, and coordinating with other departments to ensure smooth and efficient operations.
Billing and Adjustments: The role involves promptly processing weekly student tuition fee billing, handling ad hoc billing adjustments, and ensuring timely transmission of invoices to debtors. It also includes issuing pro-forma invoices for distance learning students and generating monthly cyclical invoices and credit notes.
About you: (the candidate)
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
1. Educational and Professional Qualifications: Candidates should possess a minimum of a degree qualification or an equivalent financial certification, such as those offered by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM), Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), or demonstrate equivalent experience in the financial field.
2. Experience in Debt Management: Applicants must have a proven track record of at least 12 months in handling complex debt-related queries. This experience should demonstrate the ability to manage high volumes of such queries within tight timeframes, reflecting strong problem-solving and efficiency skills.
3. Consumer Debt Collection Success: The ideal candidate will have a history of successful outcomes in high-volume consumer debt collection. This includes demonstrating effective strategies in recovering outstanding debts, reducing delinquency rates, and maintaining positive debtor relationships.
4. Organizsational and Time Management Skills: Strong organizational abilities and excellent time management skills are essential. The candidate must be able to prioritize tasks effectively, manage tight deadlines, and handle large volumes of inbound inquiries without compromising on quality or efficiency.
5. Numeracy and IT Proficiency: A high level of numeracy and proficiency in IT are crucial. The role requires adeptness in using standard office software, particularly MS Excel, for data manipulation, including creating graphs, pivot tables, and using advanced functions like VLOOKUP to analysze and present data clearly.
6. Professionalism and Attention to Detail: The candidate must exhibit a highly professional approach to their work, ensuring meticulous attention to detail and maintaining high accuracy levels. This includes managing their workload independently, meeting tight deadlines, and ensuring that all tasks are completed to a high standard.
7. Independent Working and Communication Skills: The ability to work with minimal supervision is vital, as is the capacity to communicate clearly and effectively with customers and stakeholders. This includes conveying complex information in an understandable manner and maintaining professionalism in all interactions.
8. Positive and Solution-Focused Attitude: A positive, solution-focused, and forward-thinking approach is essential for this role. The candidate should demonstrate a willingness to engage in system improvement projects, aiming to enhance business processes and efficiency. This involves proactively identifying areas for improvement and working towards implementing solutions that benefit the organization.
Desirable criteria
1. Knowledge of administrative and accounting functions and processes within a Higher Education environment
2. Knowledge of SITS/SAM Student Records and Unit 4 ERP (formerly called Agresso or Business World)
3. Knowledge and good understanding of financial controls, anti-fraud related compliance regulations (e.g. Money Laundering) and legislation (e.g Proceeds of Crime Act) and of Data Protection Legislation / General Data Protection Regulation

Please refer the Job description for details