Collections Strategy Lead - Small Business

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Job no: 110929
Work type: Permanent Full Time
Location: London, Leeds City, Hybrid
Categories: Customer Service

Business Unit: Customer Operations
Salary range: £45,600 - £57,000 per annum
Location: UK Hybrid – Leeds/ London
Contract type
:
Permanent

Our Collections and Recoveries team is investing in strategic improvements across the Collections operation. These enhancements will ensure the operation is fit for purpose in the context of a continually evolving and complex regulatory landscape where customer circumstances require often tailored and sensitive solutions. Positive customer outcomes will continue to be at the heart of everything the function does with broader functional improvements driving a more engaging colleague experience across the front-line Collections operation.

We’re looking for individuals to join us to help deliver this exciting strategic initiative, working with colleagues across Virgin Money and Nationwide, to deliver improvements in the operation of the Collections and Recoveries function.

As a Strategy Specialist, your role will include driving the delivery of collections and recoveries strategies to ensure we offer the right treatments to Small Business customers in arrears, at the right time. You are primarily responsible for utilising your knowledge and experience, using data analysis, to drive the direction of the customer journeys for Small Business customer in arrears. You’ll use your well-developed skills to draw conclusions, offer solutions and make recommendations that contribute to achieving our businesses ambitions.

This ensures that they support customers in line with risk appetite, within regulatory guidelines and delivers delightfully surprising customer solutions.

• Own the collections and recovery strategy for Small Business customers, ensuring alignment with customer outcomes, risk appetite and regulatory requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve the collections journey, delivering better customer outcomes while making best use of operational resources.
• Design, monitor and continuously improve contact strategies to reach the right customer, through the right channel, at the right time.
• Work closely with legal, compliance and risk team to ensure adherence to current and new regulatory requirements, adapting strategies and monitoring as required.
• Build and maintain strong internal relationships across Financial Care, 2 nd line risk, compliance and commercial teams, as well as external partnerships with third parties including Debt Collection Agencies and the British Business Bank.
• Support the development, evaluation and delivery of key strategic change initiatives, ensuring clear communication and engagement with multiple stakeholder groups.
• Support the running of monthly strategy governance, sharing MI trends, strategy updates and general credit considerations.
• Monitor business performance, providing early warning of emerging risks and making recommendations to drive continuous improvement.

• Demonstrable experience in Small Business collections strategy (early & late arrears, pre‑default, default, and recoveries), with proven track record of delivering improved customer, risk and commercial outcomes.
• Proven analytical capability, with hands on experience using SAS and/or SQL to work across multiple data sources and translate insight into effective strategy.
• Working knowledge of FCA CONC, Consumer Duty, SME lending standards, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), vulnerability guidance, and forbearance expectations.
• Evidence of delivering measurable change and continuous improvement within a regulated financial services environment.
• Strong ability to communicate complex information clearly and confidently, both in writing and verbally
• A proactive and self‑directed approach, with a track record of identifying opportunities, driving improvement and taking ownership from insight through to delivery.
• A collaborative team player with proven experience working across multiple stakeholders to deliver shared outcomes

• Expe…