Parent Fee Support, Manager at Nova Pioneer

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Parent Fees 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

You will be responsible for :

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 

Debt Collection Agencies and Credit Bureaus

• Oversee processes related to bad debt recovery, including coordination with external debt collection agencies where required.
• Engage, manage and monitor performance of debt collection agencies and related processes
• Engage, manage and monitor performance of credit bureaus used for enrolment related credit checks

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
Family Engagement

• Model and promote a positive, empathetic, and professional approach when engaging with families regarding financial matters.
• Ensure the team maintains agreed service level standards for responding to family queries across communication channels.
• Encourage a supportive yet structured approach to collections that promotes a healthy payment culture within the school community
• 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

School Leaders and School Teams

• Provide school leaders with regular updates on campus-specific fee collection performance.
• Highlight areas of financial risk and collaborate with school leaders to implement appropriate solutions.
• Partner with school teams to implement collection initiatives that balance accountability with positive community engagement.
• Provide school leaders with timeous and accurate information regarding the debtors book for their school
• Calculate and provide  financial termination listings / gating listings and support enforcement of these by school based teams

Finance Team

• Work closely with the finance team to ensure family billing is accurate, timely, and clearly communicated.
• Share feedback from families to support improvements in billing clarity and processes.
• Collaborate on adjustments to family accounts, including approvals for statements and invoice updates.
• Provide insights to support improvements in billing processes and operational efficiency.

Admissions Team

• Support affordability assessments for prospective families where applicable.
• Review and approve exceptions related to school fees, including prorated fees for mid-year enrollments and other special cases.
• Partner with admissions and school leadership to ensure financial clearance processes for new families are smooth and timely during onboarding

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

Team Leadership and Development

• Provide clarity, support and accountability for the Global Parent Fees Support team.
• Conduct weekly one-on-one meetings and regular feedback sessions with team members.
• Set team performance goals and track progress against operational objectives.
• Train, coach, and develop team members to build the capabilities required to deliver excellent service and operational performance
• Develop and implement policies and procedures that support effective team performance and operational compliance   

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Kenya

• 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

CORE EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
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)

Skills

• Proficient on the use of Excel for financial analysis, modelling and reporting

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.

Experience: Advantageous but not essential

• International team management experience
• Primary and secondary or tertiary private education sector experience    
• Remote team management experience

ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS 

• You are excited about our organisational culture and in particular, you are fired up to challenge yourself by embracing mutual vulnerability and a firehose of feedback
• Ability to treat all confidential information with the utmost professionalism