Finance Operations Manager
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Finance Operations Manager - Incentive Arrears (Debt Recovery Manager) £42 - 50k
This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving recovery performance and income maximisation across multiple Local Authority contracts. Leading the Incentives function, you will take ownership of financial performance against contractual targets, ensuring delivery of accurate, insight-led reporting and driving operational activity that improves collection outcomes.You will work cross-functionally with Recovery and Revenues & Benefits teams to align operational delivery, challenge performance, and provide clear, evidence-based insight to support client engagement.
Key tasks and responsibilities you will be accountable for:
- Delivery of monthly and annual incentive performance across all contracts
- Accuracy, integrity and timeliness of all incentive reporting
- Driving improvements in arrears recovery performance
- Reducing reporting risk and improving process efficiency
- Building a high-performing, accountable team culture
- Lead, manage and motivate the Incentives team to deliver against contractual and financial targets
- Own the production, validation and continuous improvement of mid-month and end-of-month incentive reporting across all contracts.
- Monitor and drive performance across CTAX and NNDR arrears, identifying risks and implementing corrective actions
- Oversee and validate incentive calculations, ensuring transparency and auditability
- Work closely with operational teams (Recovery / R&B) to align activity and maximise collection outcomes
- Manage team performance through regular 1:1s, reviews and coaching
- Support recruitment, onboarding and development of team members
- Handle escalations, client queries and complaints relating to incentive activity
- Ensure all processes are documented, standardised and not reliant on single individuals
- Identify and implement improvements to reporting, automation and data processes
- Support client meetings, providing insight and performance narratives where required
- Introduce automation or process improvements to reduce manual reporting dependency
- Provide insight-led analysis to inform operational strategy and client discussions
- Contribute to the growth of the contract portfolio by identifying and supporting opportunities to expand services within existing and new clients
Essential Skills and Attributes:
- Proven experience in a leadership role within debt recovery / revenues / local government services
- Strong understanding of Council Tax and NNDR recovery processes
- Experience managing and delivering against performance targets and KPIs
- Advanced analytical skills with the ability to interpret and explain data clearly
- Experience producing or overseeing complex operational reporting
- Strong stakeholder management skills (internal and client-facing)
- Ability to identify process improvements and drive operational efficiency
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities
- Demonstrated ability to drive performance improvement in a target-driven environment
- Experience working with complex datasets and translating into actionable insight
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of financial performance drivers
- Strong coaching, mentoring and team development capability
- High attention to detail, particularly in relation to financial and performance data
- Competent across Excel and operational systems (e.g. revenues systems, reporting tools)
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your Council Tax and NNDR recovery experience prominently as these are specifically mentioned as essential requirements
📊 Quantify your debt recovery achievements: 'Led team that improved collection rates by 15% across £2.3M portfolio'
🎯 Emphasise your Local Authority contract experience and performance target delivery in your opening statement
📈 Showcase specific examples of process improvements and automation you've implemented to reduce manual reporting
🤝 Detail your stakeholder management experience with both internal teams and client-facing responsibilities
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Led 8-person incentives team to achieve 94% collection rate across £3.2M Council Tax arrears portfolio, exceeding contractual targets by 12%
- •Implemented automated reporting system for NNDR recovery that reduced manual processing time by 35% and improved data accuracy
- •Managed stakeholder relationships across 6 Local Authority contracts, delivering monthly performance reports and driving £180k additional revenue through process optimisation
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Letter preview — tailored to Reed
Dear Hiring Manager,
Reed's Finance Operations Manager role combines my expertise in Council Tax and NNDR recovery with team leadership in Local Authority services. My proven track record in driving collection performance and managing incentive reporting aligns perfectly with your requirements for performance target delivery and stakeholder management.
My background in debt recovery management has equipped me with advanced analytical skills and experience in producing complex operational reporting. I have successfully led teams to exceed contractual targets while implementing process improvements that reduce manual dependency and improve efficiency.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach improving Council Tax collection rates that are underperforming against targets?
- ›What methods would you use to validate incentive calculations and ensure auditability?
- ›How do you prioritise NNDR recovery cases to maximise collection outcomes?
- ›What reporting automation tools have you used to reduce manual dependency?
- ›How would you align Recovery and Revenues & Benefits teams to improve operational delivery?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to turn around an underperforming team to meet contractual targets
- ›Describe a situation where you identified and implemented a process improvement that significantly impacted performance
- ›Give an example of how you handled a difficult client escalation regarding incentive performance
- ›Tell me about a time you had to manage multiple competing priorities while maintaining reporting accuracy
- ›Describe how you've built accountability within a team culture
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to turn around an underperforming team to meet contractual targets
Describe a situation where you identified and implemented a process improvement that significantly impacted performance