Group Manager: Credit and Collections at iMasFinance

• iMasFinance Cooperative Limited is a financial services (financing and insurance) provider seeking a dynamic and experienced Group Manager: Credit and Collections to join our team in Centurion. The position reports to the Group CEO and is responsible to lead and oversee the debt collections, arrears management, back-office support and operations and credit granting functions. The incumbent will be responsible to drive business growth, maintain loan quality and manage iMasFinance’s risk exposure and credit policy. The ideal candidate will be a registered Chartered Accountant (SA) with experience in credit management in a financial services/financing environment and, preferably, with knowledge of arrears management / debt collection.

Responsibilities:

The Group Manager: Credit and Collections is responsible for:

Credit Granting:

• Lead and oversee the end-to-end credit granting process by assessing member creditworthiness, monitoring performance through key metrics, managing relationships with credit bureaus and internally, regularly reviewing credit policy and delegation of authority, and ensuring consistent application of credit standards to balance growth with bad-debt risk.

Operational Strategy:

• Develop and execute an integrated operational strategy for credit, collections, arrears management, and member support, aligned with business objectives. Improve efficiency and service delivery by streamlining processes, leveraging technology, and using KPIs and data insights to drive continuous operational improvement.

Governance, Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure strong governance, regulatory (NCR) compliance, and risk management by implementing effective controls, maintaining compliant policies and procedures, strengthening fraud prevention, and to minimise financial and regulatory risk.

Commercial Credit

• Manage diversified commercial credit operations and ensure regulatory compliance. Conduct financial analysis to identify risks and implement effective mitigation actions. Review and recommend commercial finance applications by assessing credit risk, portfolio quality, and profitability.

Debt Collection and Arrears Management

• Develop and execute effective debt collection and arrears management strategies by controlling bad debt levels, automating collection processes, managing external collection partners, optimising collection channels, and providing strategic insights on collection trends and credit appetite to management and the Credit Committee.

Recoveries (Off Balance Sheet, Post Write-offs)

• Coordinate and manage complex recovery initiatives for non-performing and written-off loans by overseeing recovery plans, monitoring portfolio performance, conducting collateral site visits, and ensuring effective internal controls. Drive recovery performance through accurate reporting, staff and agent capability building, management of outsourced recovery partners against KPIs and SLAs, and continuous improvement of recovery processes to strengthen credit risk outcomes.

Member (Customer) Management & Support

• Ensure effective member management and support by maintaining accurate loan accounts and reporting, operating a centralised back-office contact centre to enhance service efficiency, enforcing compliance with policies and procedures, managing internal and external stakeholder relationships, and maintaining robust incident reporting processes.

Financial Management:

• Lead financial management for the Credit and Collections function by coordinating budgeting and forecasting, controlling expenditure, authorising payments, managing variances, implementing budget control systems, driving cost efficiency, addressing negative trends, and supporting ad-hoc strategic projects.

Stakeholder Relations

• Strengthen stakeholder relationships by collaborating with finance teams to monitor costs and performance, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and acting as a key liaison between employer partners, internal teams, and external industry stakeholders to resolve collections-related matters.

People Management:

• Lead and manage team performance to achieve departmental objectives through effective leadership, planning, and control. Drive people development via performance management, succession planning, coaching, and skills development, while managing EE targets and fostering a positive, engaged organisational culture within the Collections Department.

Qualifications:

• CA(SA) (Essential / Minimum)
• MBA in Business Administration (Recommended / Desirable
• Professional Status
• Professional Status: SAICA (Essential)

Experience:

• 3-5 years in Banking or financial services industry (Post articles) in the Management of debt collection / credit / arrears management function (Essential/ Minimum) and 6 - 8 years Banking operations, risk management, compliance, and regulatory frameworks experience in the financial services industry (Post article) on Senior Management level (Essential / Minimum).

Knowledge and Skills:

• Corporate credit, collection agencies, legal and compliance procedures, credit risk and account management
• Knowledge of IFRS
• Up to date knowledge of regulatory landscape within the financial sector
• Interpersonal skills
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the full credit lifecycle
• Loan Application or other enterprise software
• CRM applications and software
• Corporate credit, collection agencies, legal and compliance procedures, credit risk and account management
• Strong knowledge of industry, corporate governance, financial services
• Leadership, strategic thinking, and cross-boundary skills are essential.
• Valid Driver's License Code 8 (Essential)
• Computer Literacy-MS Office (Essential)