Hardship Officer

ABOUT ORDE FINANCIAL

ORDE is a nonbank lender of 200+ employees built exclusively for brokers, combining human and credit expertise with innovative technology to help brokers build stronger futures for their clients. We reflect the reality of today’s borrowers, from SMEs with complex needs to near-prime clients seeking clearer paths forward.

Since 2020, ORDE has funded more than $10b in loans and supported over 16,000 borrowers – all through brokers. We offer Residential, Commercial, SMSF and Construction loans and other specialised solutions, with fast decisions, deep credit insight and a streamlined digital experience.

We are passionate (and a bit obsessed…) about being disruptive and pushing hard to improve the experience and results for mortgage brokers. Our purpose “Built for Brokers” is clear and simple and define our entire strategy (delivering better experiences, more value and opportunity, anticipating more needs and communicating more solutions, for brokers and their customers).

ABOUT THE ROLE

In this role, you will support customers experiencing financial difficulty by managing fair and timely hardship assessments and helping them work through practical, suitable options. You will handle longer-term and more complex hardship matters in line with ORDE’s hardship framework, NCC requirements and internal policies.

The role requires strong customer care, sound judgement and clear documentation. You will need to communicate with empathy, particularly when supporting vulnerable customers, while balancing customer circumstances with policy, regulatory obligations and appropriate risk management.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Manage hardship applications and customer requests for assistance from initial contact through to assessment, outcome and ongoing review.
• Conduct customer conversations with empathy and care, including where customers are experiencing vulnerability, financial stress, illness, family violence, unemployment or other difficult circumstances.
• Collect, review and verify financial information to understand the customer’s circumstances and support fair, appropriate hardship assessments.
• Assess hardship options and recommend suitable solutions in line with ORDE’s hardship framework, NCC obligations, approval authorities and internal policies.
• Maintain clear file notes, correspondence, supporting documents and system updates so customer circumstances, decisions and outcomes are easy to follow.
• Monitor approved hardship arrangements, follow up customer commitments and identify when further review, support or escalation is required.
• Escalate complex matters, vulnerable customer concerns, complaint risks or potential regulatory issues to the Team Leader or Senior Manager.
• Work with Early Arrears, Late Stage, Complaints, Credit, Legal and Compliance teams where customer circumstances require broader support or input.
• Identify trends, systemic issues and process improvement opportunities, and support the Team Leader with reporting, coaching themes, training material and consistency initiatives.

Why would we choose you?

• Experience in hardship, collections, customer assist or a similar customer support role within financial services.
• Sound understanding of hardship principles and how they apply to customers experiencing financial difficulty.
• Working knowledge of NCC requirements, financial difficulty obligations and the importance of fair, consistent and well-documented decision making.
• Experience dealing with vulnerable customers and the confidence to manage sensitive conversations with care, professionalism and emotional resilience.
• Strong communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance customer circumstances with policy, risk and commercial considerations.
• Good attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple matters, meet service levels and maintain accurate records.

What success looks like in this role?

• Quality and consistency of hardship assessments, recommendations and customer outcomes.
• Appropriate identification, handling and escalation of vulnerable customer matters.
• Accuracy of file notes, supporting documents, correspondence and system updates.
• Hardship arrangement performance, including customer engagement, promises kept and sustainable outcomes.
• Compliance with ORDE’s hardship framework, NCC requirements, approval authorities and internal procedures.
• Identification and escalation of hardship trends, systemic issues and continuous improvement opportunities.
• Support provided to the Team Leader in delivering training, coaching themes, process updates and consistency initiatives.
• Contribution to greater consistency in customer outcomes across Early Arrears and Late Stage.
• Contribution to hardship reporting, process improvements and a strong customer care culture.
• Completion of required system, hardship, vulnerability and compliance training.
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Why would you choose us?

• We are a fast-growing successful company.
• We think it’s exciting to be part of a team which is building something which will make a difference.
• We are focused, disruptive, think outside of the box and will encourage you to try new things.
• We really care about our people and want them to have the best experience of their career.
• We guarantee fun, a challenge, learning and growth!
• We embrace being challenged through diversity of thoughts.
• We have a highly collaborative culture and provide an inclusive, enjoyable office experience for all staff.
• We are Melbourne based and think being in the office all together is important and we think working from home is too: three days in the office (Mon-Tues-Thurs), two days at home.
• We remunerate well and reward high performance.