Active Collections Specialist

Welcome to the intersection of energy and home services. At Direct Energy, an NRG company, we’re all about propelling the next generation of leaders forward. We are driven by our passion to create a smarter, cleaner and more connected future. We deliver innovative solutions that make our customers’ lives easier—helping them power, protect, and intelligently manage their homes and businesses. To do this, we need creative and talented people to join our company.

We offer a dynamic work environment and a unified and inclusive culture. Our company programs are designed to help employees develop the skills they need for success now and in the future. In everything we do, we aim to champion our employees and bring value to our customers, investors and society.

More information is available at www.directenergy.com. Connect with NRG and Direct Energy on Facebook, LinkedIn, and follow us on Twitter.

Job Summary

The Active Collections Specialist is responsible for supporting collections quality assurance, vendor oversight, performance analytics, compliance monitoring, and process improvement activities across active collections operations. This role plays a key part in evaluating collection activity, identifying operational risks and performance gaps, producing actionable reporting, and supporting continuous improvement across internal teams and external vendor partners.

The Specialist supports consistent and effective collections execution by maintaining reporting, monitoring adherence to policies and regulatory requirements, supporting documentation and testing activities, and contributing to special projects, UAT, and business priorities that strengthen operational performance and control effectiveness.

Essential Duties:

Quality Assurance & Complilance Montioring

• Audit collection activities to evaluate adherence to approved strategies, procedures, policies, and regulatory requirements
• Monitor quality scores, customer treatment standards, contact practices, and compliance performance across active collections activities
• Identify quality trends, control gaps, and operational risks that may impact compliance, customer experience, or collection effectiveness
• Document findings, support remediation tracking, and recommend corrective actions to improve quality and consistency
• Escalate compliance, customer experience, or operational concerns to the appropriate internal partners

Vendor Onboarding and Offboarding

• Coordinate vendor onboarding and offboarding activities, including readiness checklists, training, system access, security requirements, documentation, and internal approvals.

Invoice and Expense Coordination

• Support vendor invoice validation by confirming charges align with approved rates, services, staffing, and contractual terms, and coordinate resolution of discrepancies.

Vendor Oversight & Performance Evaluation

• Evaluate external vendor performance against service expectations, collection strategies, and operational requirements
• Monitor vendor performance results, issue trends, quality outcomes, and adherence to approved workflows
• Support vendor accountability by identifying gaps, documenting findings, and recommending corrective actions
• Partner with vendor management and internal stakeholders to support performance reviews, issue resolution, and follow-up activities
• Contribute insights to support vendor governance routines, performance discussions, and operational improvement plans

Performance Analytics & Reporting

• Analyze key performance indicators including recovery performance, contact rates, promise-to-pay outcomes, roll rates, quality scores, and productivity trends
• Maintain recurring reports, scorecards, dashboards, and performance summaries to support operational decision-making
• Identify trends, variances, root causes, and performance gaps impacting active collections results
• Develop actionable insights and recommendations to improve collection performance, customer engagement, and operational controls
• Support leadership, vendor, and business review discussions with clear reporting, analysis, and performance commentary

Operational Support, Documentation & Testing

• Maintain process documentation, job aids, reporting procedures, and evidence required to support operational controls and audit readiness
• Assist with user acceptance testing, system enhancements, reporting changes, and implementation validation related to collections activities
• Support the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures, control documentation, and issue logs
• Coordinate with internal teams to confirm process changes are documented, tested, and communicated effectively
• Contribute to special projects, business priorities, and operational initiatives that support active collections performance

Continuous Improvement & Risk Identification

• Identify opportunities to improve collection effectiveness, reporting quality, vendor execution, customer outcomes, and operational efficiency
• Recommend corrective actions and process improvements based on quality reviews, KPI analysis, risk trends, and business feedback
• Support continuous improvement activities that strengthen controls, reduce manual effort, and improve consistency across collections operations

Minimum Requirements:

• High school diploma or equivalent
• 2–5 years experience in collections operations, quality assurance, performance analytics, vendor oversight, compliance monitoring, or related business operations
• Strong analytical, reporting, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to evaluate collection activities, identify trends, document findings, and recommend corrective actions
• Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate reporting, documentation, and issue tracking
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively with internal stakeholders and external vendor partners

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with collections or contact center vendors
• Experience in a regulated environment, such as utility, energy, financial services, telecommunications, or similar industries
• Experience with SAP CCS/FICA, TCN, Excel, dashboards, reporting tools, or similar operational platforms
• Omnichannel collections or digital engagement experience
• Knowledge of active collections strategies, customer contact methods, promise-to-pay processes, and recovery performance measures
• Experience supporting user acceptance testing, process documentation, audits, quality reviews, or special projects

Key Skills & Competencies:

• Quality assurance and compliance monitoring
• Vendor oversight and performance follow-up
• Performance analytics, KPI reporting, and trend analysis
• Risk awareness and operational control mindset
• Strong attention to detail and documentation discipline
• Clear communication and stakeholder coordination
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet business deadlines
• Continuous improvement and problem-solving mindset

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol-free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability. Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills.

EEO is the Law Poster (The poster can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf)

Official description on file with Talent.

We support the use of AI tools to help you prepare for your interview (e.g., practicing responses, researching the role, or refining your resume). However, during interviews and assessments, we expect responses to reflect your own thinking, experience, and communication. Use of AI to generate or read answers in real time, complete assessments, or misrepresent your qualifications is not permitted and may impact your candidacy.