Collections Specialist - Assistant Vice President
About The Position
The Collections Specialist is responsible for managing assigned delinquent and distressed equipment-finance accounts through resolution, including cure, workout, repossession, legal action, bankruptcy, deficiency recovery, or another approved path. The role protects SMFL’s financial and collateral interests through timely customer outreach, accurate system documentation, disciplined escalation, and reliable management reporting. The position works with customers, obligors, guarantors, and internal stakeholders to assess delinquency causes, secure and monitor payment commitments, resolve account issues, coordinate recovery activity, and maintain accurate collection records. It also supports reporting, controls, audits, and process improvements. SMBC uses a hybrid workforce model, with employees working from home and an SMBC office; employees must live within reasonable commuting distance of their office. The specific hybrid schedule is discussed during the interview process.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, or a related field preferred, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Working knowledge of collection practices, bankruptcy and litigation coordination, collateral recovery, deficiency balances, and account reconciliation.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
- Strong analytical, documentation, negotiation, organization, and written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple deadlines, exercise sound judgment, protect confidential information, and work effectively across functions.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in commercial collections, equipment finance, leasing, asset management, workout, repossession, legal recovery, or credit administration.
- Experience with collection or lease-management systems such as Aspire.
- Power BI experience.
Responsibilities
- Review daily past-due reports and prioritize accounts based on delinquency, exposure, broken promises, insurance, collateral, and other risk indicators.
- Contact customers, obligors, and guarantors to determine the cause of delinquency, obtain and monitor payment commitments, and escalate repeated broken promises.
- Maintain complete and timely collection notes, status codes, next actions, supporting evidence, and follow-up dates in Aspire and approved trackers.
- Prepare demand and default notices with required management and Legal review, and retain approval and delivery evidence.
- Manage or support Watch List, 90+ DPD, Incident Report, non-accrual, workout, repossession, legal, bankruptcy, and deficiency-recovery activities.
- Coordinate approved repossession assignments, monitor agents and collateral status, and escalate inactive or high-risk assignments.
- Reconcile collection records across Aspire, past-due reports, Watch List, IR, repossession, legal, bankruptcy, and deficiency trackers.
- Investigate payment, billing, payoff, insurance, and collateral issues with Accounting, Operations, Legal, Credit, and other stakeholders.
- Prepare weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and quarterly collection reports and KPI results, explain variances, and implement corrective actions.
- Support process improvements, reporting automation, data-quality controls, audits, and additional collection or asset-management assignments.
- Escalate broken promises by the next business day and 90+ accounts without an approved resolution path within 10 business days.
- Immediately escalate bankruptcy notices, uninsured or unlocated collateral, material balance discrepancies, and potential policy or authority exceptions.
- Ensure second-level management review of material 30+ DPD, Watch List, 90+, IR, non-accrual, repossession, deficiency, legal, bankruptcy, notices, manual adjustments, and KPI results.
- Preserve dated evidence of preparation, review, approval, delivery, exceptions, corrective actions, owners, and due dates.
- Apply approved policy minimums; enhanced AMD contact expectations may be used based on risk but do not replace formal policy or delegated authority.
Benefits
- Competitive portfolio of employee benefits.
- Potential eligibility for an annual discretionary incentive award.
- Hybrid workforce model offering the opportunity to work from home and from an SMBC office.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
