Collections Leader Homeworking - Occasional travel to various office sites will be required Welcome to Hastings Direct - From our Director of Unsecured Lending You’ll probably know Hastings Direct as a digital insurance provider, but did you know we also have a growing unsecured lending business? We have a competitive product on market-leading systems offering customers guaranteed eligibility and real rates through price comparison websites (PCWs). We have over four million customers, but know there’s even bigger opportunity out there and have ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our data and tech capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We’re proud of the journey we’re on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues. The fact you’re now reading this job advert means we’ve tempted you to find out more about lifeatHD – we really hope you like what you see, and you’ll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead. We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you are excited about joining us and think you have some of what we are looking for, even if you’re not 100% sure we would love to hear from you. Role overview Hastings Financial Services Limited (HFSL) is one of the fastest growing FinTech’s in the UK having gone from a standing start to lending >£500m to customers in only 3.5 years. Part of the Hastings Direct Group (>4m customers) we are on a mission to ‘build the best tech-enabled lender of our generation’. We live by our values; passionate, collaborative, resilient, authentic, relentless and were only just getting started. This role will be responsible for leading and scaling our collections and recoveries function, supporting HFSL’s ambitious plans to build and grow a multi-product, multi-channel consumer finance business. The role focuses on developing a best-in-class collections and recoveries strategy, ensuring regulatory compliance, and optimising processes to enhance customer satisfaction and financial performance. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience in high-growth environments, exceptional leadership skills, and a strong understanding of financial and regulatory requirements specific to consumer credit. Job details: On a day to day basis, you will lead and develop the collections / recoveries team and outsourced partners, being accountable for KPIs: productivity, quality, team performance etc. however, you will also think long term: developing and implementing a strategic vision for the collections and recoveries department. Continue to enhance our vulnerable customer and forbearance approaches to ensure customers receive good outcomes. Generate succinct reports on collections and recoveries metrics, identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions. Optimise workflows, technology, and automation within the collections function to increase efficiency and reduce manual interventions. A lot of your day to day work will also be collaborate, working with senior leadership to establish collections goals and performance metrics. You will also work closely with Product, Customer Service, and Finance teams to ensure an integrated approach to collections. Essential skills /experience : We are looking for someone with extensive experience within collections and recoveries in and FCA regulated environment (ideally consumer credit) As a result, you will have lead the development and implementation of collections processes and practices with a high-growth scale up environment. We would like to see demonstrable experience of utilising data and analytics to influence and drive performance. You'll strike the balance between working strategically but also being able to go into detail where required. From a personal stand point, you'll be solutions driven with high expectations and hold yourself accountable for delivering a world-class customer experience. We are looking for someone who can work independent Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to articulate complex concepts to diverse audiences The interview process – update per role requirements Our interview process involves the below: Recruiter screening call 1 st stage interview with hiring leader 2 nd interview with hiring leader / peers As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS ).For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers website Benefits: in addition to a competitive salary and £5k car allowance you will also receive… Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus Physical wellbeing – as a Band 4 colleague, Hastings pay for you to receive private medical Insurance (also known as PMI). This gives you flexibility and convenience to see a specialist or consultant and allows you to decide when and where you will be seen Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs There's more! – 27 days annual leave bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more …. Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we’ll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve. At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all. Job posting end date: 24/05/2025