Head of Collections and Vulnerability
Role OVO-View
Team: Customer Ops & Balances
Salary banding: £75,000 - £95,000
Experience: Experienced
Working pattern:Full-Time
Reporting to: Director of Customer Balances & Vulnerability
Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
This role in 3 words: Optimize, Enhance, Lead
Top 3 qualities for this role: Leadership, Communication, Problem-Solving Mindset
Where you’ll work:
At OVO, we understand that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why we created the OVO Way of Flexibility.
All our roles are hub based (Bristol, Glasgow or London), providing a dedicated space for collaboration, connection and teamwork. You’ll also have the flexibility to work from home.
Everyone belongs at OVO
At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.
Teamworking for the planet
Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen.
We're working to build and optimise credit risk and collections capability at OVO, with a particular emphasis on reducing the bad debt charge and delivering good customer outcomes.
This role in a nutshell:
The successful candidate will be working within the Payments, Vulnerability & Collections team, supporting the wider COO function and Strategic teams to deliver transformational change. As Head of Collections & Vulnerability you will own the collections strategy and risk-segmented pathways, ensuring performance aligns with business goals, regulatory requirements, and customer fairness principles. You will lead efforts to reduce bad debt, improve customer engagement, and support vulnerable customers, while driving transformational change across collections and affordability.
You will be responsible for:
- Developing and executing collections strategies using data insights, segmentation, and risk models.
- Owning policies for affordability, arrears management, and customer contact, ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Enhancing collections performance while ensuring customers in financial difficulty receive fair and appropriate support.
- Managing Warm Home Discount (WHD) execution, community engagement, and third-party relationships to improve vulnerable customer and affordability outcomes.
- Driving digital and self-service innovation, ensuring the right tools and technology are in place for agents and customers.
- Collaborating across Risk, Legal, Compliance, and Operational teams to align collections with broader strategic objectives.
- Leading, motivating, and developing a high-performing team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and customer-first thinking.
Key Responsibilities:
Collections Strategy & Performance
- Design and execute a data-driven collections strategy, ensuring the right risk segmentation and customer engagement approaches.
- Use predictive analytics, AI, and digital tools to improve contact strategies, reduce roll rates, and enhance recovery performance.
- Implement systems and processes to track and improve collections KPIs while ensuring compliance with Ofgem and FCA guidelines.
- Align collections activities with business objectives, risk appetite, and affordability policies.
- Monitor industry trends and incorporate best practices to continuously enhance collections performance.
- Ensure collections agents have the right technology and support to engage effectively with customers.
Vulnerability & Affordability
- Own the vulnerability strategy, ensuring effective support for customers in financial difficulty and vulnerable situations.
- Manage schemes including Breathing Space, Debt Respite, hardship grants, and Warm Home Discount (WHD) execution.
- Work closely with community partners, charities, and government programs to enhance affordability initiatives.
- Ensure policies and processes are fully compliant with regulatory standards and deliver fair customer outcomes.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team, fostering a culture of customer focus, compliance, and continuous improvement.
- Work closely with senior stakeholders across risk, legal, compliance, finance, and operations to align strategies.
- Influence policy changes, regulatory responses, and risk management decisions at an executive level.
You’ll be successful in this role if you have…
- Proven experience in credit risk and collections strategy development within utilities or financial services.
- Strong understanding of Ofgem, FCA, and debt management regulations.
- Experience in energy sector collections and/or vulnerability strategy.
- Track record of delivering transformational change in collections and affordability processes.
- Proven ability to align collections strategy with business objectives and risk frameworks.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at a senior level.
- Experience in budget forecasting and management.
- A passion for creating positive customer outcomes, especially for vulnerable customers.
Let’s talk about what’s in it for you
We’ll pay you between £75,000 and £95,000, depending on your specific skills and experience. If your expectations are a little different, have a chat with us!
We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us, and you, flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.
You’ll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal.
We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVO…and there’s flex pay. It’s an extra 9% of your salary on top of your core pay to use as you like. You can take it as cash, add to your pension, or choose to spend it on a huge range of flex benefits. Here’s a taster of what’s on offer:
For starters, you’ll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays). For your healthWith benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and moreFor your wellbeingWith gym membership, gadget, travel and cyber insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, DNA testing, dental insurance, and more For your lifestyle With extra holiday buying, discount dining, culture cards, tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donationsFor your home Get up to £300 off any OVO Energy plan (when you pay by Direct Debit), plus personal carbon offsetting and great discounts on smart thermostats and EV chargersFor your commute Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing, plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies? Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.
For your Belonging
To find better ways to support our people, we need to listen to each other’s experiences and find ways to build a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. As part of this, we have 8 Belonging Networks at OVO. Led by our people, for our people - so when you join OVO, you can play a part - big or small - with any of the Networks. It's up to you.
Oh, and one last thing...
We’d be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes yet we also believe it’s just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what we’re looking for but not every single thing, go ahead and hit apply. We’d still love to hear from you! If you have any additional requirements, there’s a space to let us know on the application form; we want to make the process as easy and comfortable for you as possible..