Collector 1

Job Summary  

The Collector 1 contributes to a high-performing Collections team by helping members resolve past-due consumer, commercial, or real estate loans. Using supportive, constructive, and empathetic communication across multiple channels, this role seeks to understand each member’s circumstances and collaborates with the member to identify practical paths toward resolution. The Collector 1 independently researches account details, prioritizes follow-up activities, validates financial responsibility, locates current contact information, and completes documentation required to advance delinquency resolution. The role adapts its approach as new information emerges, balances individual member needs with those of the broader UFCU membership, and delivers compliant outcomes in accordance with UFCU policies, procedures, and applicable laws and regulations. 

The Collector 1 reports to Assistant Manager – Collections. 

About UFCU  

Our Credit Union was founded in 1936 and has grown to serve members throughout Texas and beyond. At UFCU, we are more than just a financial institution, and our people are more than just employees. We are dedicated to our purpose of empowering our Members to achieve financial success and build brighter futures.  In pursuit of our aspiration that UFCU is loved by millions of Members and built to thrive for generations, we are guided by our values: 

Purposefully Member-Obsessed 

We are driven by a profound sense of empathy to deeply understand our Members’ needs and preferences, what brighter futures means to them, and the obstacles in their way. We act in our Members’ best interests, forever seeking to empower their financial success. 

Possibilities Reimagined 

We are inspired to courageously experiment, learn, and iterate in pursuit of positive impact for our Members, UFCU, and coworkers. We challenge assumptions, embrace diverse perspectives, and make use of data and insights. 

Performance Excellence Rooted in Unwavering Integrity 

We do the right thing, always. We champion teamwork, accountability, continuous improvement, and celebrate successful outcomes of others, fostering an inclusive environment of excellence and collaboration. 

Essential Functions 

Member Communications 

• Validates identity of members and third parties. 
• Interacts with members and third parties through a variety of communication channels (telephone calls, email, text, chat, and letters) to develop contact with members responsible for past due loan balances. 
• Develops professional, courteous, and empathetic relationships with members to facilitate effective oral and written member communications consistent with UFCU Core Competencies. 
• Informs members of past due loan status, develops dialogue with members to discover credible reasons for delinquency, the member’s capacity and willingness to resolve the past due loan status, and provides a call to action by the member to resolve the loan delinquency. 
• Collaborates with members to identify and prioritize viable options for resolving past-due loan status. Confirms the member’s understanding and commitment, completes the activities needed to implement the agreed resolution, and follows up promptly to evaluate progress and adapt next steps as circumstances change. 
• Provides member service to resolve any barriers preventing members from making timely loan payments.  
• Service tasks include validating: debt responsibility, loan balances, loan terms, and other items; providing copies of loan documents to members; setting up/editing/terminating automated payments; advising members about UFCU’s practices that may be of immediate interest or concern for a given member; producing and publishing loss mitigation program documentation.  
• Produces written communications, delivered through multiple channels in response to member requests or to initiate member communication.  
• Provides accurate and timely information to members regarding UFCU services, including restrictions on services as appropriate. 

Systems, Policies, and Procedures Utilization 

• Develops proficiency in use of the various system tools available to Collectors including in collections management, billing, telephone, member relationship management, and UFCU’s intranet (UFCU Connect).  
• Proficiency is demonstrated by consistently, appropriately and accurately finding data, entering data, extracting data, using appropriate information or system functionality for a given need and providing accurate values to be communicated to a member or used in the normal course of past due loan resolution. 
• Utilizes Collections systems in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and UFCU policies and procedures, including documentation of collection activities in a manner that fairly represents those activities. 
• Becomes familiar with systems and processes used by non-collections functions within UFCU in the servicing of loans. 
• Develops proficient understanding and skillful use of and compliance with UFCU’s Policies and Procedures in the service of past due loan resolution. 
• Identifies and shares opportunities to improve systems, processes, and procedures. Collaborates with partners to test, evaluate, refine, document, and publish improvements based on member impact, operational results, and feedback. 
• Participates in cross-functional projects to develop, implement, upgrade, and replace UFCU systems by contributing requirements, providing user feedback, supporting incremental releases, and helping teams evaluate outcomes. 

Other 

• Adheres to all company policies, procedures, and business ethics codes. 
• Completes required regulatory training as assigned. 
• Maintains strict adherence to and compliance with all laws, rules, regulations, and internal controls specific to the role, including but not limited to Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and Fair Lending regulations. 

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities  

Knowledge 

• Basic, operational understanding of financial institutions, including differentiation between banks and credit unions. 
• Basic knowledge of UFCU products and services. 
• Basic understanding of financial terms including principal, collateral, interest, finance charge, late fees, payment schedules, payment due dates, loan maturity, delinquency, and default. 
• Basic understanding of bankruptcy. 
• Proficient understanding with compliance requirements of debt collection laws. 
• Basic understanding of technologies commonly used in debt collection: telephone systems, computer-based software applications, payments platforms, email, text, chat, and popular social media platforms. 
• Basic understanding of call center operations. 
• Proficiency with customer service principles: 
• Active listening 
• Acknowledging customer needs 
• Expressing empathy 
• Finding mutually beneficial solutions 
• Prompt responsiveness 
• Professional courtesy 
• Basic knowledge of MS Office tools including Outlook, Excel, and Word. 

Skills 

• Excellent oral and written communication skills. 
• Strong critical thinking skills. 
• Proficiency with arithmetic operations; calculates principal and interest payments given loan terms. 
• Telephone skills to include: 
• Determination of appropriate communication style 
• Projection of professionalism, courtesy, and empathy 
• Asks probing questions to locate responsible members and discover responsible members’ reasons for delinquency; employment; and sources of funds 
• Actively listens; does not talk over other parties 
• Confirms understanding 
• Directs collections activities by keeping member dialogue constructive and focused on acknowledging the debt, providing reason(s) for delinquency, identifying sources of funds for payment arrangements, overcoming objections, asking for payment and confirming arrangements.  
• Negotiation skills to include: 
• Overcomes gatekeepers 
• Clearly conveys member obligation under loan agreement and gets members’ acknowledgement of that obligation 
• Identifies and overcomes objections 
• Solves problems 
• Proposes mutually beneficial solutions 
• Calls members to action 
• Gains acknowledgement of commitments made by member 

Abilities 

• Strong ability to balance the needs of individual members with those of the entire membership. 
• Knowing when to say yes, and when to say no to a member. 
• Adapts effectively in a dynamic, high-volume environment by reassessing priorities as member needs, workload, and new information change while maintaining quality, compliance, and timely follow-through. 
• Demonstrates consistent attendance - punctual and adheres to schedule. 
• Talks and types simultaneously. 
• Thinks quickly. 
• Locates possible points of member contact using generally accepted tools. 
• Stays self-motivated. 
• Treats each member with highest standards of professionalism, courtesy, and empathy. 

Core Competencies 

• Demonstrating Member Obsession 
• Puts themselves in the Member’s shoes 
• Looks for friction points 
• Makes it personalized and easy 
• Demonstrating Performance Excellence 
• Sets standards for elevating excellence 
• Ensures elevated quality 
• Takes responsibility  
• Uses data, feedback, and lessons learned to identify improvement opportunities, test practical changes, and incorporate successful approaches into ongoing work. 
• Demonstrating Innovation 
• Challenges assumptions and current practices by using member feedback, operational data, and lessons learned to identify better approaches. 
• Approaches change with curiosity and a learning mindset, seeks feedback, and adjusts methods based on results. 

Experience 

Minimum Requirements  

• High School Diploma or Equivalent. 
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience collecting secured or unsecured consumer loans. 
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience with personal computer and word processing/spreadsheet software (MS Office Suite). 
• Must be bondable.  

Preferred Requirements 

• Two or four-year degree from an accredited college or university. 
• Two (2) years’ experience collecting auto and or real estate collateralized consumer loans. 
• Six (6) months of banking and/or financial institution experience. 
• Experience with loan modifications. 
• Bilingual in English and Spanish. 

Physical Demands 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.  

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.  
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.  
• Employee will make extensive use of the telephone and virtual communications requiring the ability to effectively and accurately explain complex information.  

Work Environment 

The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.   

• Collectors are expected to work 50% of hours onsite at UFCU Plaza in Austin, Texas and 50% of hours remotely. 
• Collectors are expected to work 5 – 6 days per week. 
• Collectors work some weekend days, some evening hours (until 9 pm), and occasionally overtime.  
• Collectors occasionally experience stressful interactions with UFCU members. 
• Frequent computer use at a workstation up to two hours at a time. 
• Background noise level when working in UFCU Plaza is occasionally high and may require Collectors to adjust volume when speaking with members.  

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