Customer Service Specialist

About Abound
We're on a mission to make affordable loans available to more people. Using the power of Open Banking, we have built state-of-the-art technology that allows us to look beyond traditional credit scores and offer fairer credit to people ignored by traditional lenders.

We have two parts of our business. On the consumer side, we have Abound. Abound has proven that our approach works at scale, with over £800 million lent to-date. While other lenders only look at your credit score, we use Open Banking to look at the full picture – what you earn, how you spend, and what's left at the end.

On the B2B side, we have Render. Render is our award-winning software-as-a-service platform that allows Abound to make better, less risky lending decisions. And less risky decisions mean we can offer customers better rates than they can usually find elsewhere. We're taking Render global so that more companies, from high-street banks to other fintechs, can offer affordable credit to their customers.

What You'll Be Doing
The operations team support our customers throughout the entire customer journey, assisting with queries as they apply for a loan all the way to arranging a suitable repayment plan should they fall into financial difficulty. As a Customer Service Specialist you'll be expected to offer exceptional service at all times and provide tailored support to our customers, if and when they need it.

At Abound we put our customers at the heart of what we do so it's important that you do too. We're looking for individuals who consistently go the extra mile, exhibit strong work ethic, and treat colleagues and customers respectfully. You'll work from our Central Milton Keynes office 3 days a week with the ability to work from home for the remaining two.

Who You Are

• Extensive customer service experience within financial services (preferably personal loans but any lending experience would be considered).
• In depth knowledge and awareness of the financial services industry and regulations. E.g. FCA Guidelines, experience of KYC/TCF principles.
• The ability to handle and resolve complex customer queries and complaints efficiently and independently.
• Strong attention to detail with a high regard for accuracy.
• Ability to work confidently individually or as part of a team, you'll be self-motivated, being able to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses, being committed to your own personal development and actively seeking opportunities to maximise contribution.
• A proactive mindset, with the ability to identify problems that may arise and suggest solutions.
• Excellent communication skills whilst liaising with colleagues and other areas of the business.
• Exceptional customer service skills being able to listen, communicate effectively and manage expectations. You'll be expected to take ownership and accountability of your work on a daily basis.
• Communicate with customers through multiple channels at one time.
• Be results driven and have the ability to work well under pressure.
• You should possess the ability to be flexible, being able to adapt quickly to changing requirements and business demands.
• The ability to work with other members of the team to eliminate process waste which does not add value to the borrower or the business and provide clear and concise rationale for the changes.
• The desire to progress and development their skill set. Joining a FinTech startup is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your expertise. The success of the business relies directly on your actions.
• Experience working with vulnerable customers, complaints and financial difficulty.

What Skills You'll Need

• Minimum 2 years customer service experience in financial services.
• Experience of handling customer queries and providing an exceptional level of service.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability handle difficult conversations if required.
• Innovative and creating thinking, you'll be expected to solve problems and think analytically.
• Strong self-management skills – use your own initiative, be flexible and open to any changes whilst working in a fast paced environment.
• Contribute regularly to improve processes and ensure they remain up to date.
• Good standard of education including excellent computer literacy skills.
• Experience logging, investigating and resolving complaints.
• You may be expected to support other areas if the business if required, this is a good opportunity to expand your knowledge in the consumer lending sector.
• Multi-channel experience is preferred, telephony and email communication experience is essential.

What We Offer

• Everyone owns a piece of the company - equity
• Hybrid with 3 days a week in the office
• 25 days' holiday a year, plus 8 bank holidays
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• One month paid sabbatical after 4 years
• Employee loan
• Free gym membership
• Team wellness budget to be active together - set up a yoga class, a tennis lesson or go bouldering