Collection Specialist- Covington - Covington, LA

SUMMARY OF POSITION:
The Collection Specialist is responsible for preventing accounts from becoming delinquent by monitoring customer accounts and performing in house collection efforts.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
* Initiates telephone and/or email contact with internal & external customers with amounts past due, determining reason and arranging for collection or adjustment to correct errors in accounts. Accept incoming phone calls to handle billing issues and/or process payments and issue credits.
* Goal is make at least 30 to 40 calls a day in order to keep accounts on track and follow up with promise to pay calls
* Follow up on calls and email, fax or mail copies of invoices as required
* Make outgoing collection calls to customers that are at risk of having their services interrupted due to non-payment
* Perform credit evaluations for new or renewal business to determine credit worthiness
* Process credit card payments on accounts and resolve questions and issues on accounts
* Assist the sales department in account set up by setting credit limits and terms
* Run daily reports -- credit hold report, credit balance report and aging reports
* Verify that all customers that have made payments to bring the accounts current and are placed back on schedule for service in an accounts has been on credit hold.
* Run collection manager and highlight all customers that need to be contacted for payment before billing cycle processes.
* Complete the weekly top 30 aging account report to the company CFO and others required
* Run Aging reports and update notes in system regarding status of payment on accounts.
* Coordinate with offsite collections specialist on collection strategies and problem accounts. Upload account information to outside collection's company as required
* Provide back up for customer service, Accounts Receivable Clerk as necessary

OTHER JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
* Employees in this job classification must attend and participate in corporation sponsored training courses as assigned.
* Employees in this job classification are responsible for keeping up to date on current technology, as job appropriate.
* Any additional job duties that may be assigned by the Supervisor.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Normal setting for this job is: office setting.

QUALIFICATIONS:
* Associates Degree or its equivalent and a minimum of 2 years of experience in the credit and collections field.
* Basic financial skills including knowledge of commonly used collections practices and procedures.
* Proficient in working on a PC, and competent in the use of Microsoft Office. Must be proficient in Excel, Outlook and Word.
* Ability to interact and communicate effectively, orally and in writing.
* Knowledge of Fair Credit Reporting Act
* Excellent organizational skills
* Waste Industry experience preferred

Special Considerations/Physical Work Requirements:Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
* Required to use motor coordination with finger dexterity (such as keyboarding, machine operation, driving, etc.)- most of the work day;
* Required to exert physical effort in tasks that involve the ability to exert light physical effort in sedentary to light work, but which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight handling objects less than 25 pounds- rarely;