Credit Control Team Leader

JLA ltd; Ripponden; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A critical infrastructure solutions company in the UK is seeking a Team Leader responsible for managing credit controllers, driving performance, and ensuring achievement of departmental objectives. The ideal candidate will have experience in debt management, team supervision, and excellent communication skills, along with advanced Excel knowledge. This role offers a competitive benefits package, including professional development and wellness support.

Benefits

Employee Assistance Programme

24/7 Wellness and Lifestyle App

Free onsite gym

Life assurance coverage

Company sick pay

Pension scheme

Paid annual leave plus bank holidays

Flexible working options

Colleague Recognition Scheme

Referral bonus scheme

Qualifications

• Minimum 1 year experience in a similar role.
• 3+ years experience of managing high value customers.
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, using Lookup & Pivots.

Responsibilities

• Drive team performance and engagement.
• Manage performance across the team.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement.

Skills

Debt management

Supervising team members

Customer communication

Time management

Attention to detail

Tools

MS Excel

Job description

JLA is a mission critical infrastructure solutions business offering services Laundry, Catering, Heating, Fire Safety, Infection Control and Air Conditioning.

The company offers an end‑to‑end, on premise, machine supply and breakdown service proposition under the name Total Care, and additional products and services. JLA is driven by a world class Sales & Marketing engine, owns and maintains all assets, and has an efficient on‑site operations team working with daily with customers.

When you join the JLA family, you'll also gain access to an extensive benefits package.

We care about our people and take your well‑being seriously, which is why we offer a range of supportive tools for health and wellbeing, financial guidance, and legal advice. Our Employee Assistance Programme, 24/7 Wellness and Lifestyle App plus a dedicated team of Mental Health First Aiders are there to support you through life’s challenges. We also offer up to 8 counselling sessions, which can be in‑person or remote, providing you with the support and flexibility to suit your own personal needs.

You can reach any fitness goals with our free onsite gym at head office along with a range of other gym membership discounts available.

To offer financial support, we not only provide life assurance coverage, company sick pay, and a company pension scheme, we offer a range of added benefits such as free office parking, eye care vouchers, a cycle‑to‑work scheme, and exclusive discounts through our staff benefits hub.

We really pride ourselves in offering a healthy work‑life balance and believe it is important to have time away to recharge which is why we provide 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, flexible working options, and enhanced family leave policies.

We are a company that appreciates you and invests in your success and even have a Colleague Recognition Scheme to celebrate your achievements. We’re dedicated to your growth, offering support in career development and training. We value your referrals, and through our Refer a Friend scheme, you can earn up to £1,000 in bonus rewards!

Role overview

The Team Leader is responsible for the performance of any credit controllers and senior within their line management and is responsible for their team’s contribution towards the departmental objectives in Credit Control. You will drive individual team performance with consideration for engagement, performance, professionalism, productivity, team development and living the JLA values.

You will carry out 121s with your team and use coaching techniques to encourage development and ensure you respond to any wellness/engagement issues alongside any additional support needed. You will review workload and create an agreed plan centred around team and individual targets and any areas for development.

You will play a key role in leading buzz sessions with the team, using this opportunity to engage with and update the team on key messages.

Key tasks

• Ensure the aged debt profile is as low as possible and plans are in place to reduce where applicable.
• Forecast for upcoming payments in line with objectives
• Create a weekly plan to ensure department targets can be met, this plan will be shared and agreed with the Credit Control Manager
• Report on and discuss team performance with the Credit Control Manager
• Schedule daily buzz sessions with the team and regular buzz sessions across JLA
• Influence other teams in the cash to order process by collaborating with other stakeholders across JLA
• Schedule meetings with colleagues in other teams to share best practice and give feedback on team performance
• Ensure setup of new direct debits and reinstatement of cancelled Direct Debits
• Ensure unallocated cash is managed and allocated to customer accounts
• Ensure all escalations are picked up and contact made with the customer where these cannot be resolved by the Credit Controller or Senior
• Ensure the query process is being used correctly and regularly reviewed with a plan to keep outstanding queries to a minimum
• Carry out monthly 121’s in line with department objectives
• Ensure all ledgers have a Credit Controller assigned
• Ensure the credit policy is followed for credit approval
• Ensure the team are using automated chasing methods to collect payment where applicable (I.e.: Due reminders, dunning letters)
• Ensure data integrity risks are minimised across the team (customer data, GDPR risks etc.)
• Supporting the implementation of new systems
• Ensure the legal referral process is followed and legal referral is avoided through proactive management of customer accounts
• Ensure customer communication reflects JLA values of commitment and care
• Ensure customer responses are done so in a timely manner and address any requests and issues.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement, by looking for opportunity and working cross department to implement change.
• Collaborate with other teams to reduce the volume of credit requests through internal errors.
• Managing team email volume, admin and any telephony/customer communication methods.

People Management

• Set a culture of effective people management
• Set clear objectives and targets for your team members providing regular feedback on performance.
• Manage performance across the team to ensure the achievement of targets in line with targets
• Manage any employee relations issues in line with the policies set out by the business
• Coach and develop the team to ensure they perform at a high level, ensuring colleagues maintain appropriate knowledge of the business products
• Address any training and development needs and ensure teams have a personal development plan.

Managing Risk

• Awareness of your operational and regulation risks which may impact on your role
• Responsibility for reporting to your line manager any risk which may impact the business

Criteria

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated history of meeting targets consistently
• Ability to demonstrate effective debt management to timely resolution

Experience

• Experience of supervising and coaching team members. Experience of highlighting and processing Defaults where necessary
• Experience of updating and maintaining clear customer activity notes in a finance system
• Good knowledge of MS Excel
• Experience of working in a busy office environment and to tight deadlines
• Minimum 1 years' experience in a similar role
• 3+ years’ experience of managing high value customers
• 3+ years’ experience of managing low value, high volume accounts
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, with the ability to use Lookup & Pivots to execute reconciliation tasks
• Experience of change management / process improvements

Desired Characteristics

• Able to work well under pressure and prioritise own workload
• Capability to be both personable and firm with clients, to resolve any issues and collect any money owed
• Excellent attention to detail and high degree of accuracy is imperative
• Able to cope with multiple priorities and changing environment
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills
• Positive and flexible approach to your work
• Strategic thinking, with the ability to approach stakeholders with new ideas