Collections Specialist I/II

Position/Status

COLLECTIONS SPECIALIST I/II - RFT

Who Can Apply

MEA Employees & the General Public

Posting Date

January 29, 2024

Closing Date

Open Until Filled

Department

Collections

Hourly

$25.36 Min DOE Grade 5

$28.95 Min DOE Grade 6

Union Representation

N/A

Hours of Work

8AM-5PM

Work Location

Palmer, AK

PURPOSE

This position is responsible for providing a wide variety of member service and office support functions aimed at courteously and effectively helping the Association and its members resolve their payment and collection issues.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION

The Collection Specialist I performs the below functions at an entry-learning capacity.

The Collection Specialist II performs the below functions with certainty with very little supervision.

The Collection Specialist III performs the below functions more than proficiently, exercises independent judgment and may act in a lead capacity.

1. Respond to any member inquiries regarding past due, delinquent, and collection accounts.

2. Reviews delinquent account records to determine which member accounts must be contacted for collection of past due accounts.

3.  Responsible for member marketing of the Association and knowledge of all products and services offered to a degree that will enable answering questions or referring members for specific product or service.

4.  Process payments and prepare cash control sheet.

5. Prepares disconnects and door tags for non-pays and routes to Member Account Dispatcher.

6. Assists with landlord agreements to ensure it is current.

7. Maintains computer collection notes on active and inactive accounts.  Sends and receives updated information to and from District Offices and Member Billing & Account Services.

8. Establishes and maintains collection records and forms.

9. Maintain and report information to collection agencies, as necessary.

10.  Advocate for the Associations members by understanding their concerns.  Determine a resolution by balancing the concerns of the members and the needs of the Association.

11.  Answer outage inquiries from members.

12. Maintains deferred payment arrangements with Association members on active and inactive accounts including daily follow-up and resolution.

13. Work with a diverse group of members from varying backgrounds to offer payment arrangements and information on outside agencies that provide monetary assistance.

14. Establishes and maintains various types of automated files as required.  Operates a wide variety of office machines such as computer terminal, telecommunication, payment kiosk and facsimile machines with a high degree of accuracy.

15. Assists with the quarterly write off process.

16. Assists with sending uncollectible accounts to Cornerstone Credit Service.

17. Accesses online bank to pull returned payments, reverse payments from accounts and mark the accounts appropriately.

18.  Assists with collecting information for estate accounts.

19. Promotes a safety culture in which safety is a value.  This culture is based on joint and individual engagement, ownership, and accountability regarding job safety and responsibility to perform work safely and adhere to safe work practices.

20. Performs the essential functions of the position in a safe and efficient manner.

The above items are not intended to be all inclusive of the essential functions or requirements of this type of work as they are subject to change based on operating necessity.  The employee will also perform other related business duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor and other management personnel.

ESSENTIAL POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Collection Specialist I Requirements

·Qualified candidates are required:

- To have a high school diploma or equivalent.

-  To have at least two (2) years of collection or member service experience.

·Preference may be given to those candidates with:

- Continuing education credits in business administration, basic accounting, data processing, or related courses.

Collection Specialist II Requirements 

·  Qualified candidates are required:

-  To have a high school diploma or equivalent.

-  To have at least four (4) years progressively responsible experience in collection or member services at the Association or other utility company.

-  To be proficient in all functions of a Collection Specialist I with very little supervision.

·  Preference may be given to those candidates with:

-Continuing education credits in business administration, basic accounting, data processing, or related courses.

Collection Specialist III Requirements 

·  Qualified candidates are required:

- To have a high school diploma or equivalent.

-To have at least six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in collection or member services at the Association.

-  To master all capacities of a Collection Specialist at the Association.

· Preference may be given to those candidates with:

- Continuing education credits in business administration, basic accounting, data processing, or related courses.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

· Support a culture of safety excellence through active involvement in safety improvement and promote a sense of shared responsibility for safety.

·  Advance knowledge and understanding of Association policies, procedures and Association Tariff to ensure collection efforts are in compliance with policy and tariff.

·  Knowledge of applicable state and federal collection and bankruptcy laws.

· Working knowledge of personal computers in a windows environment, including the use of Word, Excel, and e-mail as well as any relevant office related equipment and/or software.

·  Skill in effective and professional verbal, telephonic and written communication.

·  Skill in composing routine correspondence.

· Skill in math: basic statistics and percentages, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

·  Ability to think clearly and identify and solve problems in a thorough, logical manner.

· Ability to manage work efficiently.

·  Ability to work well with people of varying backgrounds.

·  Moderate to advance skill in customer service, communication, negotiation, and motivation.

·Ability to make well-reasoned decisions.

· Ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people.

·Ability to facilitate cooperation between work groups and work functionally across all levels of the organization.

·  Ability to self-motivate improvement based on successes and failures.

·Ability to analyze processes for efficiency and make recommendations for improvements.

·  Embrace and embody the Associations Core Values through decisions, actions, attitude, and behavior to directly contribute to the success of the organization.

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 position; this list is not inclusive of all the physical demands that may be required.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

·  While performing the duties of this position, the employee will be required to:

-  Use a computer to input data, compose documents, and prepare spreadsheets.

-  Communicate through speech and hear conversations with others by telephone and in person.

- Visual acuity to discern writing on paper to include reading technical material, reading language to allow filing of documents into the appropriate location, communication with others electronically, and review of documents via paper and computer format.

-Periodically lift and move materials weighing up to fifteen (15) pounds.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

· The work environment conditions described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

·  This position primarily works in an office setting.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

 This position is classified as a nonexempt, nonrepresented position, and is eligible for overtime compensation based on both Federal and State of Alaska laws. All Association employees are expected to work widely varying amounts of either (1) unscheduled overtime such as during power restoration activities; or, (2) scheduled overtime required to accomplish special projects.