Senior Manager of Collections & Recoveries Job Manchester area,England UK,Finance & Banking

As a Senior Manager, Collections & Recoveries you’ll make sure we’re there for our customers when they need us most — whether they’re already in financial difficulty or showing early signs that they could be heading that way
Your focus will be on delivering good customer outcomes, in line with Consumer Duty, while protecting the commercial health of the business
You’ll lead our Collections & Recoveries operation day to day: a compact in-house team (based in our Manchester hub and working remotely), plus the third-party partners who support us across the lifecycle
You’ll set clear goals, motivate your team to achieve them, and continually improve how we work
Digital is at the heart of what we do, so you’ll be confident using data, automation and digital self-service to make collections simpler for customers and more efficient for us
This is a hands‑on role
You’ll get stuck in while keeping sight of the bigger picture
You’ll be comfortable managing resources and relationships across multiple areas, and you’ll work closely with colleagues across the business — including risk, data, product, operations, compliance and finance — to make sure the support we offer customers reflects our mission and values
You’ll also bring structure, sound governance, disciplined planning and authentic people leadership
You’ll engage confidently with colleagues at every level, and you’ll relish stepping outside your comfort zone when new challenges come up — which, in a scaling business, they regularly will
Lead the day‑to‑day running of Collections & Recoveries end to end — in‑house operations, debt collection and recoveries partners, and specialist services — owning performance against clear operational KPIs and customer outcome measures, resourcing and capacity planning, and robust first‑line oversight of key controls and risks
Shape and deliver a digital‑first contact strategy across in‑app, self‑service, messaging, email, SMS and voice, working closely with Data & Analytics
Use segmentation, behavioural insight and test‑and‑learn to engage customers earlier, increase self‑serve resolution, and make every interaction simpler and more effective for customers, and more efficient for us
Identify and responsibly adopt automation and AI‑enabled tools — such as conversational AI, speech and text analytics, and propensity models — where they improve customer outcomes and efficiency, with the right human oversight, testing and controls in place
Own our collections policies, processes and procedures, keeping them clear, current and designed around good customer outcomes, alongside strong business results
Ensure customers approaching or in financial difficulty, or in persistent debt, are offered appropriate and sustainable forbearance and support — including affordable repayment arrangements, Breathing Space and referrals to free debt advice — and that customers with characteristics of vulnerability are identified early, recorded appropriately and receive fair, tailored support
Ensure all collections and recoveries activity complies with relevant laws, regulation and industry guidance, including CONC 7 and the FCA’s rules on borrowers in financial difficulty, Consumer Duty, the FCA’s guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers (FG21/1) and the Debt Respite Scheme
Evidence good customer outcomes through clear MI, quality assurance, outcomes testing and complaints root‑cause analysis, contribute to our Consumer Duty reporting, and act as a key point of contact for regulatory and industry engagement on collections topics
Bring the outside in — keep us ahead of regulatory change (including Consumer Credit Act reform), emerging best practice and new technology, and share the insight that helps the business think ahead
Work…