About Educate Excellence
Educate Excellence is a fast-growing, community-driven tuition centre based in Norbury, South London. We specialise in Maths, English, and Science for students aged 5–16, with a strong track record in 11+ and GCSE success.
Over the past 5 years, we have supported over 2,000 students and built a reputation for delivering high-quality teaching in small groups (typically 3–5 students). Our mission is to develop confident, capable learners who enjoy education and achieve their full potential.
We are currently looking for an experienced Credit Control & Debt Recovery Officer to take responsibility for our credit control and outstanding customer accounts.
This is not simply an invoicing, bookkeeping or general finance administration role.
We need someone who knows how to get outstanding money paid.
The Role
The successful candidate will work three days per week, 11:00am–7:00pm, from our Norbury premises.
You will take ownership of our outstanding customer accounts and be responsible for proactively recovering overdue balances.
We are particularly interested in someone who has previous experience dealing with difficult debt, persistent non-payers, payment arrangements and external debt recovery agencies.
You must be confident picking up the telephone and having conversations about money.
You should also be someone who can think independently. If a customer is not responding to the usual approach, we want someone who asks:
“What can I appropriately do differently to get this account resolved?”
rather than simply continuing to send the same reminder.
Key ResponsibilitiesCredit Control & Collections
You will:
· Take ownership of the company’s outstanding customer balances.
· Review the debtor ledger and identify accounts requiring action.
· Proactively chase overdue payments.
· Contact customers by telephone, email and other authorised communication methods.
· Prioritise high-value, high-risk and long-standing debts.
· Monitor 30, 60 and 90+ day overdue accounts.
· Secure clear commitments and dates for payment.
· Follow up promises to pay.
· Immediately address missed payment commitments.
· Maintain accurate notes and records of every significant interaction.
· Reconcile accounts and investigate discrepancies where necessary.
· Identify patterns or recurring problems contributing to non-payment.
Debt Recovery
A key part of this position is dealing with accounts where normal payment reminders have been unsuccessful.
You will:
· Actively pursue historic and difficult debts.
· Manage persistent non-payers through a structured escalation process.
· Investigate disputed balances.
· Separate genuine disputes from payment delays.
· Negotiate appropriate solutions where possible.
· Prepare appropriate accounts for external recovery.
· Liaise with debt collection agencies.
· Provide supporting account documentation for recovery cases.
· Monitor cases after referral.
· Maintain a clear audit trail of all recovery action.
· Recommend further action to management where appropriate.
Payment Plans & Negotiation
You will have the confidence to discuss individual circumstances with customers and find appropriate solutions while protecting the interests of the business.
This may include:
· Agreeing appropriate payment arrangements within company guidelines.
· Establishing clear payment dates.
· Structuring manageable repayment plans.
· Following up missed instalments.
· Renegotiating arrangements where appropriate.
· Recognising when informal arrangements are no longer effective.
· Escalating persistent non-payment.
· Identifying creative but commercially sensible ways of resolving outstanding accounts.
Any significant settlement, write-off or unusual financial arrangement would require management authorisation.
Dealing With Difficult Customers
We need someone who is comfortable having conversations that are sometimes challenging.
You must be able to:
· Ask confidently for outstanding money.
· Remain calm when customers become frustrated or defensive.
· Deal professionally with complaints and disputed invoices.
· Challenge inconsistencies appropriately.
· Be persistent without being aggressive.
· Set clear expectations and deadlines.
· Maintain professional boundaries.
· Recognise when management intervention is necessary.
You should be firm, fair and professional.
Self-Management Is Essential
This position requires someone who can work independently.
You will not be given a daily list of customers to contact.
You will be expected to review the outstanding accounts yourself and determine what needs to happen next.
This includes:
· Managing your own follow-up diary.
· Prioritising your workload.
· Identifying problematic accounts.
· Tracking promises to pay.
· Following through on outstanding actions.
· Escalating accounts at the appropriate point.
· Keeping management informed of significant risks.
· Suggesting improvements to our credit-control processes.
We need someone who takes responsibility for the outcome, rather than simply completing individual administrative tasks.
Working in a Small Business
Educate Excellence is a small business, so this role will suit someone who enjoys working in an environment where communication is direct and people work closely together.
There is not a large corporate finance department around you.
You therefore need to be:
· Comfortable working independently.
· Happy taking ownership of problems.
· Willing to communicate directly with management.
· Adaptable when priorities change.
· Practical and solution-focused.
· Comfortable working as part of a small team.
Working Around Children
Children and young people are regularly present on our premises.
Although this is a finance and credit-control position and you will not be employed to teach children, you will be working within an educational environment.
All staff are therefore expected to:
· Behave professionally and appropriately around children at all times.
· Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
· Follow the organisation’s safeguarding procedures.
· Maintain strict confidentiality regarding children and families.
· Use appropriate language and professional conduct while on site.
· Be mindful that sensitive financial conversations should be conducted appropriately and discreetly.
· Follow all organisational policies relating to safeguarding and working within an educational environment.
Appointment will be subject to the organisation’s appropriate safer-recruitment and pre-employment requirements for the role.
Reporting & Accountability
You will provide management with a clear overview of:
· Total outstanding debt.
· Total overdue debt.
· 30/60/90+ day debt.
· Amount recovered during the week/month.
· Promises to pay.
· Broken payment arrangements.
· Accounts currently in dispute.
· High-risk accounts.
· Historic debt.
· Accounts referred externally.
· Progress of debt-recovery cases.
We are interested in results, not simply activity.
Sending 50 reminder emails is not considered successful credit control if the outstanding debt remains unchanged.
Essential Experience
Applicants must have previous professional experience in customer service, credit control, collections or debt recovery.
We are particularly looking for candidates who can demonstrate experience of:
· Personally managing overdue customer accounts.
· Recovering outstanding money.
· Telephone-based collections.
· Managing an aged debtor ledger.
· Dealing with persistent non-payers.
· Handling difficult customer conversations.
· Negotiating payment arrangements.
· Following up broken promises to pay.
· Managing competing collection priorities.
· Maintaining accurate financial records.
· Working independently without constant supervision.
Applicants should also be comfortable using spreadsheets, customer-management systems and financial/accounting software.
Highly Desirable Experience
Experience in any of the following would be particularly valuable:
· Working with external debt collection agencies.
· Formal debt-recovery processes.
· Recovering historic or difficult debt.
· Consumer credit control.
· High-volume customer accounts.
· Small-business finance.
· Education, childcare, tuition or another customer-facing service.
· Improving credit-control procedures.
· Developing successful collection strategies.
The Person We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who is:
Persistent – being ignored does not mean you stop following up.
Confident – you are comfortable asking people for money that is owed.
Resourceful – if the first approach does not work, you think about the appropriate next approach.
Organised – you know exactly which accounts need attention.
Resilient – difficult conversations do not put you off doing your job.
Professional – you can be firm without being rude or confrontational.
Commercially aware – you understand that cash collection is essential to a small business.
Self-managing – you do not need somebody standing over you telling you which account to chase next.
Accountable – you take responsibility for your area.
Approachable – you understand that you are working with families within a children’s education business and communicate accordingly.
Working Pattern
3 days per week
11:00am–7:00pm
Based on-site in Norbury, South London
This is an on-site position.
Applicants must be able to reliably work the full 11:00am–7:00pm shift on their agreed working days.
The specific three days will be agreed according to the needs of the business.
What Success Looks Like
A successful Credit Control & Debt Recovery Officer will ensure that:
· Overdue debt is actively reducing.
· Customers are contacted promptly.
· Old debts do not simply sit on the ledger.
· Payment promises are followed up.
· Failed arrangements are addressed.
· Difficult accounts are escalated.
· Appropriate cases are referred for external recovery.
· Management knows exactly how much is outstanding and why.
· Customer disputes are investigated rather than left unresolved.
· Credit-control processes become stronger and more efficient.
· The business receives money it is legitimately owed.
Application
Please submit your CV outlining your previous credit control, collections and/or debt recovery experience.
Candidates invited to interview should be prepared to provide specific examples of occasions when they have:
· Recovered a difficult or long-standing debt.
· Dealt with a customer who repeatedly refused or failed to pay.
· Negotiated a successful payment arrangement.
· Managed an aged-debt ledger independently.
· Worked with a debt collection agency.
· Improved an existing credit-control process.
· Used their own initiative to recover money when standard collection methods were unsuccessful.
Practical credit-control scenarios will form part of the interview process.
Pay: £15.50 per hour
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
