Barclays to fill hundreds of new jobs in U.S., including in Hamilton

Barclays plans to fill 1,000 new jobs as it grows its credit card services in the United States, and many of those jobs could land in Hamilton.

The new jobs are needed because Barclays is taking over serving Gap’s credit cards this summer, said Jayne Backhouse, the Nevada/Ohio site lead and care operations managing director for Barclays Bank US. This is the latest period of growth for the U.K.-based financial services company, which was growing and hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic as many companies furloughed and laid off employees.

Barclays is a 331-year-old banking and financial services institution and one of the largest banks in the United Kingdom. It also has a presence in more than 40 countries. In the United States, Barclays is predominately a credit card business. Hamilton, Henderson, Nev. and Wilmington, Del., are Barclays’ three main contact centers for servicing customers.

“It’s amazing news for Barclays, it’s amazing news for Hamilton, Henderson, and Wilmington, as well,” Backhouse said.

Exactly how many new Barclays jobs will be at the Hamilton contact center at 101 Knightsbridge Dr. is not known.

There are more than a dozen classifications among those 1,000 jobs, but Backhouse said about 600 customer-facing colleagues will be recruited, “of which Hamilton is a hugely important part of our colleague footprint.”

“For all the jobs where people will wear a headset and talk to customers, the most important jobs we have in our business, when we go out and advertise, we advertise for these three sites,” Backhouse said. “I want good, quality people who can talk to customers.”

Since Barclays is taking over Gap credit card services this summer, Backhouse said it will be looking to fill those jobs as soon as it can. But there will be jobs to be filled in the second half of the year.

And all jobs will start out at $20.50 per hour, but new hires could be earning more depending on experience. Barclays increased its minimum wage by nearly 21% this year.

“By investing in our people, we are investing in our ability to continue providing the best services to clients and customers,” said Richard Haworth, CEO for Barclays’ Americas business. “This new minimum rate demonstrates our continued commitment to maintaining our position as a market-leading employer in the US.”

Barclays has a “robust” benefits package for even the most junior roles, which includes a 401(k), full medical, dental and vision and 17 vacation and personal days per year for new employees.

There is also a student loan support program, which started this week, said DeAndre Esteen, Barclays Bank US vice president/Contact Center Site Coordinator.

“Eligible colleagues can sign up to receive $100 per month for their student loan repayments,” he said. “This is to make sure we can continue to be an employer of choice in communities that we operate.”

Esteen emphasized this program isn’t Barclays paying student loans for its employees, but rather it “is to offer more support, especially as we think about folks going through possible financial struggles.”

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