Credit & Hardship Specialist

Energy Locals
Melbourne VIC
Customer Operations

Help customers through some of their most difficult circumstances while delivering strong, sustainable credit and collections outcomes.

We’re looking for an experienced Credit & Hardship Specialist to join our Customer Operations team in Melbourne.

This is a role for someone who understands that good credit management and good customer outcomes are not competing priorities.

You’ll work directly with customers experiencing financial hardship or vulnerability, helping them find sustainable ways to manage their energy costs while ensuring Energy Locals meets its regulatory obligations and maintains strong credit and collections outcomes.

Reporting to the Credit & Collections Manager, you’ll take ownership of customers participating in our hardship program and support customers experiencing a range of vulnerable circumstances, including financial hardship, family violence, life support requirements and concession eligibility.

You’ll manage these customers throughout their support journey, from initial assessment and establishing sustainable payment arrangements through to ongoing reviews, additional assistance and, where appropriate, successful graduation from the hardship program.

There is a significant case management and administrative component to this role. Accurate records, follow-ups, system controls, customer communications and regulatory requirements matter just as much as the conversation you have with the customer.

You’ll also play an important role in the broader Credit & Collections team, acting as an escalation point for complex or sensitive matters and supporting the team and its priorities when required.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Managing hardship customers from entry through to exit from our hardship program

• Working with customers to establish realistic and sustainable payment arrangements

• Proactively reviewing customer circumstances and identifying when further support or intervention may be required

• Supporting customers experiencing financial hardship, family violence and other vulnerable circumstances

• Ensuring hardship, collections, disconnection, life support and other relevant regulatory requirements are followed

• Maintaining accurate case notes, system information, customer flags, communications and supporting documentation

• Managing complex and sensitive credit and hardship matters through to resolution

• Balancing appropriate customer support with effective credit and collections outcomes

• Building relationships with financial counselling services, government agencies and other external support organisations

• Acting as an escalation point and subject-matter expert for Customer Hardship matters

• Providing operational guidance and support to other team members

• Identifying opportunities to improve, simplify and automate Credit & Hardship processes

• Strengthening operational controls and helping us continuously improve the way we support customers

You understand financial hardship and vulnerable customer management and are comfortable taking genuine ownership of a customer case rather than simply processing the next interaction.

You’ll bring a combination of empathy, commercial judgement and attention to detail. You can have difficult conversations respectfully, make sound decisions and understand when a customer needs additional assistance.

You’re also someone who notices when a process isn’t working and wants to fix it.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience in credit, collections, hardship, vulnerable customer support or a similar environment

• Understands the principles of financial hardship management and sustainable payment arrangements

• Can handle difficult and emotionally sensitive conversations with empathy and professionalism

• Is highly organised and comfortable managing a portfolio of customer cases and follow-up actions

• Has excellent attention to detail and understands the importance of accurate records and regulatory compliance

• Is commercially minded and comfortable balancing customer circumstances with appropriate credit outcomes

• Can confidently manage escalated or complex customer matters

• Has strong relationship-building skills and can work effectively with internal and external stakeholders

• Takes initiative and looks for ways to improve processes rather than simply working around them

• Is comfortable providing guidance to others and stepping up to support a small team when required

Experience within an electricity retailer, energy business or another highly regulated essential-services environment will be highly regarded.

We’re a growing Australian energy business with a practical approach to doing things better.

Our Customer Operations team works in a fast-paced and collaborative environment where people are encouraged to take ownership, challenge inefficient processes and make improvements that have a real impact.

Our values are straightforward:

• Customer obsessed

• Hungry for growth

• Commercially grounded

• Put teamwork first

• Communicate with clarity

For this role in particular, those values mean treating customers with respect while being prepared to make clear decisions, take ownership of outcomes and continuously improve how we work.

If you have experience supporting customers through financial difficulty and want a role where you can combine customer advocacy, credit management, case ownership and process improvement, we’d like to hear from you.

Apply now with your resume and a brief cover letter and tell us why this opportunity interests you.