The purpose of this role is to take ownership and accountability for the credit control activities for student related accounts, minimise bad debt whilst maximising income collection through chasing debtors, ensuring prompt allocation of cash to achieve targets in accordance with Company Credit Management Policies.

Main duties of the job

The role holder will be the prime contact for the timely collection of all student related income owed to the Trust, and be responsible for management of the student financial record system, including credit control, reconciliation and allocation of transactions. They will be responsible for corresponding with students in all matters relating to income collection and maintain effective professional relationships with both students and colleagues.

The postholder will help build external monitoring and reporting to the board of directors with input to an updated debtor report every month.

About us

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust with a focus on training and education alongside a full range of mental health services and psychological therapies for children and their families, young people and adults.

The post holder will report to the Head of Financial Accounts and be ultimately responsible to the CFO and the Director of Education. The Head of Financial Accounts will manage rather than supervise this role. The post holder will need to handle appropriately all routine enquiries from Trust staff and outside organisations and individuals. The post holder will work closely with Department of Education - especially the Student Records & Finance Manager (Academic Registry), as well as the Department of Finance more broadly.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Managing student and sponsor income collection across the Trust, including debt chasing, management of existing instalment plans and prompt payment allocation to student accounts.

Explaining both verbally and in writing the Trusts income collection procedures to students, colleagues and other customers to facilitate the prompt collection of income.

Liaising with the Finance, Student Registry, and Course Administration teams to obtain financial information, allocate payments and investigate academic history and attendance at the Trust to ensure accuracy of invoices applied

Perform day-to-day administrative duties and maintain accurate, detailed and up-to-date student and sponsor records.

Have accountability for efficiently logging customer contact and queries/issues as they are raised, ensuring they are successfully resolved in the most efficient and time-effective manner.

Respond to student queries and proactively collect fees due via various mediums, including phone calls and online communication. Apply a relevant hold to debt chasing following Trust procedures.

Provide an exceptional level of customer service to students, sponsors and other customers.

Negotiate instalment plans with students who experience financial difficulty

Support students experiencing financial difficulties by sign posting them to support services.

Provide copy of invoices/statements, liaise internally to identify and refer accounts to the Head of Financial Accounts which may require escalation, queries which cannot be resolved, high forecasted overdue, bad debts.

Develop and run debtors reports to facilitate the day-to-day management of the student ledger.

Develop and run management reports to present to senior management in order to highlight trends and inform policy changes in relation to income collection.

Recommend debts for write off where appropriate

Support the enrolment and graduation processes by providing details of existing debtors

Assist with the ongoing development of systems, processes and policy in relation to student income collection

Develop effective working relationships with colleagues

Participate in team meetings and ensure any actions arising from this are actioned as necessary in relation to monitoring requirements.

Comply with rules and regulations regarding customer data and financial information, including GDPR and PCIDSS.

Conduct all matters associated with the role in accordance with the Trusts policies and procedures.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the Team Manager / Service Manager.

This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.

Person Specification

Qualification/Training/ Education

Essential

• Degree or equivalent level of tertiary education
• Evidence of postgraduate / qualification study

Desirable

• CCAB professional qualification

Knowledge / Experience

Essential

• Significant experience as a credit controller
• Confident user of IT e.g. Microsoft Office, integrated financial ledger system, databases. Advanced Excel
• Significant practical experience of financial accounting practices (accounts payable, credit control, banking etc.)
• Good communication skills, able to explain complex financial issues to nonfinance managers
• Good analytical skills, able to solve complex financial and non-financial problems

Desirable

• Able to form judgements and make autonomous decisions guided by policies and procedures

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Able to demonstrate a commitment to and a desire to live by the Trust's values
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing
• Ability to plan and prioritise the completion of high volume / complex tasks
• Motivates others
• Acts with integrity and professionalism at all times
• Approachable both to staff, Finance colleagues
• Ability to negotiate and resolve disputes.
• Team player with a positive 'can do' attitude to objectives and challenges

Employer details

Employer name

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Tavistock Centre

120 Belsize Lane

London

NW3 5BA

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

260-TP-750