Billing and Collections Specialist

Description:

Position Title:

Billing and Collection Specialist

Supervisor’s Title:

Controller

Department:

Finance

Approval by & Date:

Chief Human Resources & Training Officer | 2025

Position Summary:

The Billing and Collection Specialist will report to the Controller, provide general administrative support, and perform billing and collection-related duties for affiliate program and learning center sites and participants.

Essential Functions of the Job:

• Maintains files and related filing system in an accurate and timely manner;
• Works with Central Registration to process client registrations into the childcare billing system for Early Learning Centers (ELCs) and School Age (SA) programs;
• Ensures the integrity of data for billing, programs, and grant-required information;
• Provides general customer assistance to efficiently and accurately assist callers with billing issues;
• Remains current on program offerings;
• Prepares and maintains regular program tuition postings, processes payments, and prepares and reviews regular account reports;
• Travels to designated site locations as needed to collect payments;
• Performs monthly billing reconciliations;
• Prepares various reports, such as school readiness for site managers, as requested;
• Regularly reviews third-party payer (DCF, Care4Kids) accounts and documentation and follows up with accurate invoicing, ensuring payments are kept current;
• Works with families, site managers, and site supervisors to create payment plans when necessary;
• Follows up with accounts to ensure balances are collected on time;
• Completes paperwork for delinquent payments, initiating collection paperwork when necessary;
• Confirm the accuracy of childcare attendance lists for staff and children in the database;
• Provides annual tax information for program clients;
• Participates in training and other personal development activities to enhance knowledge and understanding of role;
• Builds customer relations with families, site managers, and site staff; and
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Controller or CFO.

Education:

• High school graduate or GED required. Associate’s degree preferred.

Experience:

• Three (3) years’ experience required in billing, collections, or customer relations.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and billing/collection procedures.

Schedule:

• This is a non-exempt, hourly position. Standard hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 5:30 pm. The work schedule and hours will be defined by the Department Head or direct supervisor. Due to the nature of the work, some weekend and evening hours may be required.

Key Competencies:

• Seeks to cultivate and develop professional working relationships with key stakeholders, i.e., staff, volunteers, interns, board members, etc.;
• Demonstrated skill in understanding others;
• Engages in (or commits to) personal and professional development;
• Demonstrates a willingness to examine one’s assumptions and attitudes;
• Maintains productive work relationships while considering multiple perspectives;
• Demonstrates awareness of one’s and others’ life experiences and their relevance in the workplace; and
• Experience resolving conflicts effectively.

Skills:

• Collaboration: Enlists active participation of others to solve problems;
• Confidentiality: Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive and proprietary business information;
• Customer Focus: Builds effective relationships with customers, identifies customer expectations, tries to see issues from their point of view; offers practical solutions to concerns;
• Emotional Intelligence: Recognizes and values different ideas of others; Empathetically and respectfully accepts these differences and works cooperatively and sincerely to optimize contributions of all individuals;
• Ethics & Integrity: Makes decisions and conducts oneself consistently with the organization's mission. Respects all individuals in the work environment;
• Mission-driven: Understands programs and services offered by YWCA Hartford Region;
• Personal Accountability: Accepts responsibility for own actions, including failure; Embraces experiences as learning opportunities and not chances to blame;
• Quality Assurance: Demonstrated ability to produce accurate and timely processing of detailed accounting transactions;
• Technical Skills: Possesses the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform required job elements to established standards;
• Time Management: Allocates time efficiently to the most important issues and knows what not to spend time on; completes work promptly; Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple and changing work assignments and priorities; and
• Work Relationships: Builds productive relationships in the workplace to achieve goals.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT

YWCA Hartford Region (YWCA), in recognition of its values and responsibility to its employees and the communities in which it operates, is committed to equality of opportunity. To this end, YWCA’s policy is to comply with the laws, regulations, and orders that provide for and impose obligations on employers with respect to the management of their equal employment opportunity programs.

Accordingly, YWCA does not discriminate or permit discrimination against any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. YWCA Hartford Region, Inc. takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants with job-related qualifications are employed and that employees are treated when employed without regard to their race, color, religious creed, age, marital status, national origin, military status, veteran status, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, intellectual disability, mental disability or physical disability, including, but not limited to blindness, unless such disability prevents performance of the work involved.

Requirements:

Education:

High school graduate or GED required. Associate’s degree preferred.

Experience:

Three (3) years’ experience required in billing, collections, or customer relations.

Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and billing/collection procedures.

Schedule:

This is a non-exempt, hourly position. Standard hours of operations are Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 5:30 pm. The work schedule and hours will be defined by the Department Head or direct supervisor. Due to the nature of the work, some weekend and evening hours may be required.

Key Competencies:

Seeks to cultivate and develop professional working relationships with key stakeholders, i.e., staff, volunteers, interns, board members, etc.;

Demonstrated skill in understanding others;

Engages in (or commits to) personal and professional development;

Demonstrates a willingness to examine one’s assumptions and attitudes;

Maintains productive work relationships while considering multiple perspectives;

Demonstrates awareness of one’s and others’ life experiences and their relevance in the workplace; and

Experience resolving conflicts effectively.

Skills:

Collaboration: Enlists active participation of others to solve problems;

Confidentiality: Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive and proprietary business information;

Customer Focus: Builds effective relationships with customers, identifies customer expectations, tries to see issues from their point of view; offers practical solutions to concerns;

Emotional Intelligence: Recognizes and values different ideas of others; Empathetically and respectfully accepts these differences and works cooperatively and sincerely to optimize contributions of all individuals;

Ethics & Integrity: Makes decisions and conducts oneself consistent with the organization's mission. Respects all individuals in the work environment;

Mission-driven: Understands programs and services offered by YWCA Hartford Region;

Personal Accountability: Accepts responsibility for own actions, including failure; Embraces experiences as learning opportunities and not chances to blame;

Quality Assurance: Demonstrated ability to produce accurate and timely processing of detailed accounting transactions;

Technical Skills: Possesses the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform required job elements to established standards;

Time Management: Allocates time efficiently to the most important issues and knows what not to spend time on; completes work in a timely manner; Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple and changing work assignments and priorities; and

Work Relationships: Builds productive relationships in the workplace to achieve goals.