Administrative Control Officer (UP Legal Collections) at University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

The incumbent will be responsible for the following, but not limited to:

• Consult with debtors regarding outstanding accounts in order to reach payment arrangements;
• Collect allocated outstanding fees (i.e., combined tuition, distance education, and student loan accounts) according to current case law and legislation, as well as economic circumstances;
• Reconciliate student accounts after handover;
• Negotiate acceptable payment arrangements in line with UP policy;
• Attend to disputes raised concerning incorrect fees levied and refer to student accounts for investigation. Overseeing adjustments on completion of investigations;
• Liaise with other tertiary institutions or prospective employers regarding outstanding fees and availability of academic records;
• Control and process additional expenses that occurred upon settlement of outstanding amounts (e.g., interest calculations, legal costs, etc.);
• Evaluate required collection processes in line with current case law;
• Oversee and plan the workflow of legal processes in conjunction with relevant personnel members;
• Oversee and prepare documentation as prescribed in line with current legislation and case law in conjunction with relevant personnel members;
• Assess and prepare instructions for tracing agents to establish addresses of debtors, in order to serve documents or pleadings;
• Oversee and plan instructions to respective sheriffs to serve or pend pleadings, as required;
• Revise pleadings issued by the court, return of service (indicating how the sheriff dealt with the particular document), accounts from sheriffs, attorneys, tracers, etc;
• Revise outstanding balances after issuing of pleadings before proceeding with further legal action;
• Oversee and delegate the preparation and administration of journals;
• Prepare interest calculations and settlement figures;
• Recover fees upon settlement of written-off amounts;
• Control and oversee regular payments to debt collection service providers and ensure that the relevant student accounts are debited.

  MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB) or relevant degree.
• 3 years in practice experience with a Bachelor's degree OR 5 years with a Diploma: 

Legal Collections;  

• Experience in legal processes pertaining to legal debt collection aligned with current case law;
• Financial administration experience.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND BEHAVIOURAL

ATTRIBUTES):               

• Sound knowledge of legal processes pertaining to legal debt collection;
• Sound knowledge of the National Credit Act, Law of Contracts, Magistrate’s Court Act, and case law;
• Sound knowledge of financial administration;
• Knowledge of Civil Court Procedure;
• Computer literacy (Microsoft Office – Word/Excel), Outlook/Gmail;
• PeopleSoft;
• Writing Skills;
• Typing Skills;
• Accounting Skills; 
• Planning and organising;
• Communication skills;
• Attention to detail; 
• Management skills;
• Ability to build and maintain ongoing, collaborative working relationships with co-workers to achieve the goals of the work unit;
• Ability to explore alternatives and positions to reach outcomes that gain the support and acceptance of all parties;
• Ability to deal with others in difficult and complex situations to achieve resolutions or adherence to laws and/or regulations;
• Ability to firmly adhere to codes of conduct and ethical principles;
• Ability to allocate decision-making authority and/or task responsibility to others to maximize the organizations and individuals’ effectiveness;
• Ability to identify problems, determine possible solutions, and actively work to resolve the issues.

ADDED ADVANTAGES AND PREFERENCES:

• 2 years’ experience in the following: 
• Experience in the administration of tuition accounts at a tertiary institution.

CLOSING DATE: 20 February 2026.