Credit/Collections Specialist

Commercial Lending Collections Executive

North West London 

Permanent - Mon - Fri 09.00 - 5.30pm

£45,000

 

Are you an experienced collections professional with a background in commercial lending, SME finance or business loans?

 

We're recruiting for a growing alternative finance provider looking to add an experienced Collections Executive to its financial operations team.

 

This isn't a traditional invoice-led Credit Controller position. You'll be working with business borrowers, primarily managing early arrears and helping customers find appropriate solutions, alongside broader credit and loan administration responsibilities.

 

You'll join a small, experienced team where you'll gain exposure to different areas of the commercial lending and collections process rather than being restricted to one part of the customer journey.

 

What you'll be doing

• Managing a portfolio of business customers in early arrears.
• Speaking with customers to understand their circumstances and agree appropriate repayment arrangements.
• Negotiating payment plans and revised payment terms.
• Reviewing commercial credit reports to understand customers' wider financial position.
• Using credit reference and property search platforms to support collections and recovery decisions.
• Reconciling loan accounts and preparing accurate customer statements.
• Supporting loan restructuring and forbearance processes, including documentation and customer communication.
• Preparing documentation such as proof of debt forms where required.
• Supporting more complex recovery cases and liaising internally with colleagues responsible for later-stage recoveries.
• Maintaining accurate records and ensuring cases progress appropriately.

 

What we're looking for

The most important requirement for this position is previous commercial lending experience.

We're particularly interested in candidates who have worked within SME finance, business lending, alternative lending or commercial loan collections and already understand the relationship between a lender and a business borrower.

 

You'll ideally have:

• Previous collections, arrears or recoveries experience within commercial/SME lending.
• Experience speaking directly with business customers experiencing payment difficulties.
• Confidence negotiating repayment arrangements and resolving arrears.
• Exposure to more than one aspect of the collections process rather than purely high-volume telephone collections.
• Experience using commercial credit reports or credit reference agencies such as Experian, Creditsafe or TransUnion would be advantageous.
• Good Excel and numerical skills, including confidence working with loan balances and basic interest calculations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple cases accurately.

 

Previous experience of loan restructuring, forbearance, insolvency or legal recoveries would be useful but isn't essential, as training can be provided in these areas.

 

What's in it for you?

• £45,000 salary, dependent on experience
• 25 days' annual leave.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Opportunity to join a growing alternative finance business.
• Broad exposure across commercial lending, collections and loan operations.
• Support and training from an experienced team.
• Genuine opportunity to develop your commercial lending and recoveries knowledge.

 

This role is based in North West London and candidates should be comfortable with regular office attendance, particularly during their initial training and onboarding period.

 

If you already have experience within commercial lending or SME finance and would like a broader collections role where you can develop your exposure across the lending lifecycle, we'd love to hear from you.