Credit & Collections Specialist II

The purpose of this position is to monitor, review and complete back-office credit and collections processes for Atlanta Gas Light, Chattanooga Gas and Virginia Natural Gas. The successful candidate will be responsible for collecting money due on delinquent customer accounts, assisting income-eligible customers through energy assistance programs, and making sure that adequate security is maintained on each account to secure the company against loss.

This individual contributor works independently, analyzes account and report data to make sound decisions, shifts quickly between daily, weekly, monthly and ad hoc priorities as business needs change, and communicates clearly and professionally, both verbally and in writing, with customers, internal partners, state agencies and external vendors. In every interaction, the successful candidate must act with C.A.R.E. (Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Empowerment).

• Must be proficient in data entry, reviewing account information and generating reports
• Clear, professional written communication, including customer letters, emails, and summaries for leadership
• Confident verbal communication, including outbound collection calls, negotiating payment arrangements, and explaining complex account issues in plain language
• Proven ability to analyze reports and account data (such as aging, arrears, and disconnection eligibility) to spot trends, prioritize work, and recommend action
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong critical thinking and process management skills
• Strong researching and record-keeping skills
• Works independently with minimal supervision, managing a full queue of recurring and ad hoc work and taking ownership from start to finish
• Adapts quickly to shifting priorities, covers other team responsibilities when needed, and learns new processes and systems readily
• Must act with C.A.R.E. (Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Empowerment) in all interactions with customers, coworkers and partners

• Investigates and provides solutions for customer account issues
• Monitors reports and customer accounts and processes adjustments as necessary
• Reviews, analyzes and processes bankruptcies
• Assists Customer Care Center agents with customer inquiries and resolutions
• Protects the brand reputation of the company by helping to resolve customer complaints
• Locates delinquent customer accounts by skip-tracing, phone contact, written correspondence to help secure payments or payment arrangements
• Makes outbound calls to customers to collect money to prevent service disconnections for nonpayment
• Collaborates with collection agencies and Debt Next to monitor gas accounts, as well as verify credit disputes and status changes that affect credit ratings
• Processes, handles and collects Surety Bonds, Irrevocable Letters of Credit and Credit Union Guarantees
• Investigates and acts in response to daily self-restore report, including billing appropriate charges and initiating field activity
• Maintains relationships with the state agencies that assist our income-eligible customers with paying their bills
• Assists with energy assistance programs (including LIHEAP) by processing and tracking assistance payments and pledges, canceling pledges, correcting errors, and processing refunds to the state

• Incorporates customer perspective into solving business issues
• Knows how to leverage internal and external resources to assist with completing job responsibilities
• Effectively plans and prioritizes work
• Consistently drives and delivers quality results
• Protects the security of customer while performing work
• Makes sound decisions based on available information
• Adjusts quickly when priorities change (such as credit season, energy assistance season, or system outages) and reprioritizes work without losing quality
• Uses data and reports to decide which accounts and tasks will have the greatest financial or customer impact
• Recognizes when an issue falls outside established guidance and escalates appropriately

• Listens to understand by showing empathy when communicating with others, including customers
• Generates reports that provide insights to management about customer account activity, trends, and collections results
• Writes clear, accurate, professional correspondence to customers, agencies, collection vendors, and internal partners
• Communicates confidently by phone to negotiate payment arrangements and resolve disputes while keeping the customer experience positive
• Summarizes…