Pre-legal Collections Supervisor

Overall Purpose of the Job:

The Pre-Legal Collections Supervisor is responsible for planning, leading, organizing and coordinating the Collections Controllers in their daily operations of various credit control activities including, but not limited to, collections/investigations and customer queries. The Supervisor is also responsible for building positive relationships with internal stakeholders as well as external customers, to recover payments timeously and to reduce bad debt.

Educational Requirements:

• Grade 12
• Credit Management 1 – 3 or Equivalent
• Excel - advanced skills

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years experience as a Team Lead / Supervisor: Pre-legal Collections.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in Collections Controller: Pre-legal Duties:

Duties:

1. Accounts Receivable: Pre-legal Collections Operations:

• Plan, organise, coordinate, and direct the efforts of the AR Pre-legal Controllers in the daily operations of various credit control activities including, but not limited to customer queries and /AR reconciliations, including phone calls.
• Set work priorities; create work schedules and assist with Debtors Trackers.
• Manage team performance by allocating priorities and workloads to enable controllers to achieve and exceed individual and team goals and objectives.
• Develop positive, high performing and collaborative teams to ensure that services and requirements are being met or exceeded.
• Review and challenge current processes to identify opportunities to simplify operations and therefore enhance the current credit control framework.

2. System development and administration support:

• Ensure prompt action is taken for non-payment or continued late payment.
• Attend collections meetings to ensure that SOPs are being followed and adhered to.
• Quality Control check on Calls.
• Initiate the hand over to 3rd parties on non-paying accounts.
• Attend to legal queries escalated from the various 3rd parties/Attorneys
• Ensure that monthly SMS and Email campaigns are timeously deployed.
• Participate in ad-hoc system development and projects.

3. Stakeholder / Customer Engagement:

• Build sustainable relationships and trust with all stakeholders through open and interactive communication.
• Handle account payer's complaints, timeously and effectively providing appropriate solutions and alternatives.
• Communicate with internal departments as required to maintain an accurate position on student's accounts.
• Ensure all queries are resolved in line with the collections SOP.

4. Team Leadership:

• Schedule and co-ordinate the activities of team members and ensure the optimal allocation of responsibilities amongst team resources.
• Monitor and check the quality and accuracy of team members work outputs ensuring that departmental goals are cascaded down to direct report.
• Assist in building the capabilities, tools, and skills within the team, driving high levels of individual accountability, engagement, empowerment, and development. This includes responsibility for providing support for controllers to be successful in their roles.
• Manage the talent and career paths of individuals within the team, including conducting performance and development reviews and succession planning with all direct reports.
• Compile and manage leave schedules for the team ensuring adequate resource allocation and cover.
• Initiate and participate in recruitment activities.
• Motivate and make recommendations for rewarding employees.
• Monitor and drive team wellness.
• Conduct stay interviews.
• Monitor and report on exits from the team. Identify initiatives to address reasons for leaving.
• Manage queries which have been escalated and ensure these are resolved as efficiently and effectively as possible.
• Guide the actions of team members and provide on the job training as necessary.
• Provide training for new joiners in the team.

Competencies:

Skills:

• Communication skills.
• Interpersonal skills.
• Planning and co ordination.
• Information management.
• Collaboration skills.
• Problem-solving skills.
• Leadership skills.

Behavioural Attributes:

• Solution Orientated.
• Committed to Teamwork.
• Integrity.
• Sense of Urgency.
• Stress Tolerance/ Resilience.
• Attention to detail.
• Able to handle ambiguity.