Collections Manager at Prodigy Finance

Job description

Why this is an amazing opportunity

This role is perfect for an experienced, confident and results driven individual who thrives in a complex environment and who wants to supercharge their career by experiencing first-hand what it is like to be part of an energetic, extremely fast growing company.

We are a non-hierarchical, non-corporate team; this means that you are going to get exposure to all aspects of our business immediately. You’ll gain as much accountability as you can handle and have an influence on building the company.

The sense of impact and reward will be huge. You will help to build a platform that helps to make a very real difference in the world. The platform is complex - it has to be, because we make it possible for students from more than 100 countries to obtain the finance to fulfil their dream of studying at the world’s top universities and schools. Be a part of delivering socially responsible financial services to the masses.

Our team is very international and very sociable; you will interact with everyone in the business around the world on a regular basis. Being an organisation that’s passionate about education; we place a high value on learning and personal growth, so you’ll have time to learn new skills in work time and at the company’s expense.

Why join Prodigy Finance

• Be a part of a pioneering global growth company.
• Experience the excitement and learn from being part of an incredibly fast-growing young company. No kidding – exponential growth. Happening right now!
• Be pivotal in scaling the business by identifying smart solutions and partners with tech at the heart of it.
• Enjoy the agility and flexibility offered by a startup culture. A sociable, relaxed and friendly work environment (with a serious coffee culture where you can wear shorts to work).
• We will help you make your mark. Make a real impact on the business and experience a steep learning curve with huge opportunities to grow and develop.
• Gain an inside perspective on the functioning of a venture-backed FinTech startup, backed by one of the top European VCs, learn day-to-day management and build functional expertise.
• Build a platform that helps to make a very real difference in the world.
• Receive a competitive salary and share options in the company. Since you will be playing a key role in making us successful, it is only right that you share in the rewards of our success.

What you will do in the role

• Due to our continued growth and success we are looking for an experienced manager to look after our growing collections team. This person will be fully accountable for setting Prodigy Finances global collections strategy and policy, managing both hard and soft collections (1 to 180 days in arrears) while delivering amazing customer service and experience, which means never having to compromise on our core brand values and customer experience.
• The ideal candidate would be pragmatic and results focused, knowing how to work with a highly educated, mobile and rapidly growing customer base, originating from over 118 countries.
• The role requires strong communication and handovers between the Loan Originations team, in house Legal, the School Relationship Managers who service the top MBA Universities around the world as well as external lawyers and/or debt recovery agencies as and when appropriate. The ability to work closely with Legal on enforcement processes would be highly advantageous, requiring interpretation of developing cases in multiple jurisdictions.
• Importantly, this individual should treat debtors and third parties in line with our values of respect, and courtesy; and equally importantly in line with FCA guidelines of CONC, TCF and other codes of conduct and ethics (e.g. CSA). Prodigy Finance’s operations team is located in Cape Town, South Africa; with the role reporting to Head of Operations.

Specific responsibilities are to:

• Set and implement best practice regarding collections policies and activities
• Be responsible for management and development of a growing collections team, ensuring a happy and successful working environment
• Collect delinquent accounts through correspondence and personal contact with debtors; set up repayment schedules
• Use skip-tracing techniques, including communications with various agencies and the public, to obtain information to locate debtors
• Interview and correspond with debtors to elicit payments and explain company policies and legal requirements
• Prepare accounts for legal enforcement, including developing case summaries, obtaining evidence and consulting with attorneys, claims adjust and outside agencies
• Maintain records of data and information on cases
• Performs related duties and responsibilities as assigned
• Ensure FCA and Codes of Conduct compliance
• Develop and maintain operational dashboards
• Assess business case for outsourcing of some or all of our collection operations on a temporary (overflow) or permanent basis

What you need to be great at

• People management and day to day motivation and effective leadership of front line staff
• Team player with the ability to establish positive working relationships across various functions. You understand that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
• Passionate about customer experience, you strive for operational excellence and are able to apply best practices within a financial services environment with a compliance mindset
• Driven, energetic and ambitious and not afraid to get your hands dirty. You have strong attention to detail, and the ability to switch between the big picture and day to day operations
• Target focused with strong control over SLA and metrics management
• Biased to action; create ideas, think outside the box, be a problem solver and solution finder, be proactive, use initiative to develop and improve
• Able to diagnose issues, find the necessary data, analyse the alternatives, and engage in a methodical problem solving process
• Aligns and prioritises actions and resources in advance to achieve the best possible outcomes
• Start-up DNA; resilient, 80/20, carpe diem, gets things done, adaptable to change, huge capacity for hard work in a relentlessly fast paced environment
• Extensive private sector collections experience, preferably blue chip
• Knowledge of general principles and techniques of collection work; legal requirements for collection of delinquent accounts; modern office practices and procedures
• Ability to conduct informational interviews; write and speak clearly and effectively; research legal, financial and other records; use skip tracing techniques; deal tactfully with clients; compose clear, concise reports and correspondence; establish and maintain accurate records and accounts

Who we are looking for; track record must haves

• Strong quantitative skills
• Experience working within a compliance regulated environment
• Ability to work with legal team & tracing agents internationally
• Strong customer service experience
• Master of Microsoft Office, Workflow, SLAs and process maps

Experience that would be nice to have (but we’ll trade off if everything else fits)

• Experience/familiarity with UK legislation would be highly advantageous
• Start-up experience. Sometimes the earth moves beneath your feet at Prodigy Finance so you've got to be comfortable with ambiguity, able to wear lots of hats, and adapt easily as you set up processes and frameworks for us to grow into. If you haven’t worked in a start-up before, you need to show us that you have a real desire and potential to be successful in a young, high-growth, non-corporate company.