What does a senior collection specialist do?
Senior collection specialists lead others by distributing and balancing workload, providing on-the-job training, and demonstrating proper work methods to employees. The specialists determine the most effective and economical means of collecting for each account, compose correspondence requiring knowledge procedure and practices in the collection, and apply standard due diligence practice to collect monies owed. They should have work leadership, know how to gather data, and analyze financial information for decision-making purposes. Also, they apply payments received to proper accounts and make necessary adjustments or corrections.
Senior collection specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior collection specialist resumes:
- Manage re-billings for third party accounts including: commercial carriers, manage care, PPO, POS and HMO organizations.
- Work comp, MV cases, Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurances.
- Follow Medicare guidelines, posses knowledge of ICD and CPT coding, medical and reimbursement terminology, third party billing
- Cross train fellow agents in store support and online product matrix, and train incoming agents in software and FDCPA guidelines.
- Participate in the Medicaid conversion project.
- Verify correct consumer provide disclosure to ensure compliance with FDCPA regulations.
- Supervise staff of collections representatives responsible for reducing bad debt while also upholding company policies, and following strict legal regulations.
- Prepare SBA require purchase/demand packets and wrap-up reports ensuring awareness of government compliance processes and expectations.
Senior collection specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Senior Collection Specialists are proficient in Portfolio, Customer Service, and Past Due Accounts. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Negotiating skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Collection Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Portfolio, 9%
Performed late-stage collection activities on large portfolio of non-conforming sub-prime mortgages.
- Customer Service, 8%
Trained Senior Management within eBay and PayPal on software application navigation and account management in collection and customer service practices.
- Past Due Accounts, 8%
Provided knowledgeable credit and collections experience and performed Account Management monitoring of past due accounts.
- Delinquent Accounts, 6%
Processed litigation delinquent accounts by administrating bank levies, wage garnishments and executing a judgment on charged-off accounts.
- Customer Accounts, 6%
Identify and request adjustments to customer accounts as necessary while following departmental procedure and state workman compensation guidelines.
- Payment Arrangements, 5%
Provide assistance to customers by negotiating payment arrangements resolving their accounts benefiting both the customer and the company.
Common skills that a senior collection specialist uses to do their job include "portfolio," "customer service," and "past due accounts." You can find details on the most important senior collection specialist responsibilities below.
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior collection specialist to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what senior collection specialists do because "collectors must pay attention to what debtors say when trying to negotiate a repayment plan." Additionally, a senior collection specialist resume shows how senior collection specialists use listening skills: "listened in on and observed agent's calls to provide constructive feedback to enhance performance and increase account resolution. "
Negotiating skills. Many senior collection specialist duties rely on negotiating skills. "the main aspects of a collector’s job are reconciling the differences between two parties (the debtor and the creditor) and offering a solution that is acceptable to both parties.," so a senior collection specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior collection specialist responsibilities rely on negotiating skills: "initiated strategies for collection processes and procedures by negotiating and creating repayment schedules based on customers' financial situations. "
Speaking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior collection specialists is speaking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior collection specialist duties, as "collectors must be able to speak to debtors to explain their options and ensure that they fully understand what is being said." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "handled an average of 500 inbound and outbound calls per day, for both english and spanish speaking markets. "
The three companies that hire the most senior collection specialists are:
- Bank of America6 senior collection specialists jobs
- CMA CGM3 senior collection specialists jobs
- Cargomatic3 senior collection specialists jobs
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Compare different senior collection specialists
Senior collection specialist vs. Account representative
Account representatives are employees who manage client accounts and act as the main contact of the clients they are handling. They maintain existing accounts by updating client details regularly. They also check up on clients to see if they are still satisfied with the products or services of the company. They also create new accounts by welcoming new clients and assisting them in their needs. Account representatives manage client inquiries and process client requests. They also address complaints and ensure that any challenges are mitigated and that clients remain with the company.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior collection specialists and account representative. For instance, senior collection specialist responsibilities require skills such as "portfolio," "excellent negotiation," "compassion," and "strong analytical." Whereas a account representative is skilled in "patients," "patient accounts," "data entry," and "customer satisfaction." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Account representatives tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $38,433. In contrast, senior collection specialists make the biggest average salary, $46,971, in the health care industry.The education levels that account representatives earn slightly differ from senior collection specialists. In particular, account representatives are 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior collection specialist. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior collection specialist vs. Collector
Collectors are responsible for monitoring and providing immediate actions for client accounts with overdue payments. Collectors must be able to contact clients through phone or e-mail. A collector's duty also includes negotiating on payment procedures and offering repayment plans and alternative payment solutions to free the debt. Collectors need to document any agreements made to the client, updating and verifying contact information, resolving account discrepancies and client complaints, and report escalated concerns to the management.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior collection specialist resumes. While senior collection specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "portfolio," "excellent negotiation," "compassion," and "strong analytical," collectors use skills like "patients," "excellent interpersonal," "outbound collection calls," and "computer system."
Collectors may earn a lower salary than senior collection specialists, but collectors earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $35,207. On the other hand, senior collection specialists receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $46,971.collectors earn similar levels of education than senior collection specialists in general. They're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior collection specialist vs. Debt collector
Debt collectors are also known as collection agencies and are responsible for recovering past due debts. Most of them are hired by companies to collect debt either for a fee or a percentage of the total amount recovered. Also, some debt collectors buy delinquent debts at a discount and seek to collect the debt's full amount. They have many strategies to collect debts, including calling debtor's phones, sending letters, and even visiting them at their home. However, if debtors fail to pay their due, debt collectors can either update the debtor's credit report or sue them over debt. Once sued and debtors ignore court hearings and lose by default, results could either be garnishment on debtor'debtors' wages or levies on their bank.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior collection specialists are more likely to have skills like "portfolio," "excellent negotiation," "compassion," and "strong analytical." But a debt collector is more likely to have skills like "debt collection," "hipaa," "patient accounts," and "computer system."
Debt collectors earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $34,803. Senior collection specialists earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $46,971.debt collectors typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior collection specialists. Specifically, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior collection specialist vs. Medical collector
A medical collector deals with collection of bills related to medical services. They handle healthcare-related debt, collect patient insurance information, and develop repayment plans to accommodate debtors that are unable to settle their accounts. Qualifications for this position include knowledge of accounting and training in insurance, business or finance.
Types of senior collection specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
