The Accounts receivable/ Parent Fee Support (PFS) Manager is responsible for overseeing the effective – collection, and support processes related to the debtors book across the organisation in both South Africa and Kenya.
The
role ensures that collection targets are met while maintaining a positive and
supportive experience for families. This position works closely with school
leadership, finance, admissions, and other internal stakeholders to strengthen
billing accuracy, improve payment culture, mitigate credit risk, and maintain
high levels of parent satisfaction.
The
role also provides leadership to the Parent Fees Support team across both
regions, ensuring strong operational performance, service excellence, and
continuous improvement of processes and systems
Duties and Responsibilities
School
Fee Collections Management
- Lead and oversee the collection of billed school fees, including
outstanding balances, ensuring collection targets are consistently met or
exceeded.
- Manage the collections process within agreed timelines by
coordinating, directing, and prioritising the activities of team members.
- Monitor collection performance and develop corrective strategies
when collections fall behind targets.
- Identify risk areas early and implement proactive interventions to
mitigate potential delinquency
- Subject matter expert for legal issues regarding debt collection
operations and management and related engagement with external legal
experts and school associations (ISASA) on these matters
Parent
Satisfaction and Service Excellence
- Ensure effective and respectful communication with families on all
matters related to school fees.
- Maintain agreed service standards for response times and quality of
communication.
- Oversee the management of parent queries, including the maintenance
of accurate records of interactions, complaints, and resolutions.
- Act as the escalation point for complex parent cases requiring
intervention.
- Collaborate with internal teams to resolve parent concerns promptly.
- Monitor parent satisfaction feedback and implement improvements
where service gaps are identified.
Call
centre / customer contact centre operations
- Manage call centre and email operations (Zendesk) for the Nova
Pioneer customer contact centre that managers fee related queries
- Escalation for parent related fee disputes and queries.
- Set performance benchmarks and drive performance for customer
contact centre productivity, customer satisfaction levels, response times
and resolution times
- Stakeholder Management and Deliverables
Reporting
and Performance Monitoring
- Produce regular analytical reports on collections performance at
both organisational and parent-account levels.
- Provide school leadership teams with monthly updates on collections
performance and areas requiring support or intervention.
- Monitor and drive key service indicators such as response times,
parent satisfaction scores, and communication volumes.
- Maintain accurate records across databases, dashboards, and
reporting systems used by the team.
- Implement and enhance information systems and related processes to
improve performance reporting and identify action areas to improve
collection performance and service levels
Business
Controls and Process Governance
- Recommend and implement internal controls to ensure the accuracy and
efficiency of billing and collections processes.
- Approve operational processes such as refunds, prorated school fees,
and exceptional family requests.
Management
of the Nova Pioneer Foundation (Bursary Programme)
- Develop bursary frameworks, including eligibility criteria, award
rubrics, and programme terms and conditions.
- Oversee documentation review and evaluation for bursary
applications.
- Award bursaries to qualifying families and ensure proper contracting
and documentation.
- Liaise with the finance team to ensure bursaries are correctly
applied to family accounts.
- Maintain accurate records of bursary awards and programme activity.
- Produce reports on committed funds, make recommendations for annual
budget based on expected requirements and monitor the foundation’s budget
utilisation.
- Reply to stakeholder requests pertaining to the Foundation
Qualifications &
Experience
- A Bachelor’s Degree (in Business preferred)
- CPA (K) or Finalist or its equivalent (ACCA, CA etc) South Africa
- Minimum: BComm with majors in management accounting and / or
accounting
Experience
- A minimum of 3 years experience managing a debt collection team with
>1000 retail customers
- A minimum of 3 years’ experience managing a customer-facing call
centre / customer contact centre team, with the ability to provide clear
direction, accountability, and support to drive strong team performance)
Competencies
- Demonstrated ability to motivate and sustain team morale,
particularly during high-pressure periods such as peak operational cycles
such as the start of term.
- Strong ability to manage complex or difficult customer interactions,
navigating sensitive situations and achieving constructive, mutually
beneficial solutions.
- Experience working in fast-paced or entrepreneurial environments
that require high levels of autonomy, ownership, and initiative.
- Results-driven and goal-oriented, with a proactive approach to work
and a strong sense of accountability for outcomes.
- Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the
ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously while consistently
meeting deadlines and performance targets.
How to Apply
