📍 Location: 2 Long Street, Spear Building, Cape Town, 8001
👥 Reports to: Head of Collections
About the role
We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Collections Team Manager to lead a high-performing collections team within a fast-paced microlending environment. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in a target-driven environment, is passionate about developing people, and takes ownership of team results. The successful candidate will drive collections performance, coach agents, maintain operational discipline, and ensure alignment with overall business and collections objectives.
Key responsibilities
- Lead and manage a team of 15–25 Collections Agents, fostering accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement;
- Drive daily, weekly, and monthly collections performance against agreed targets and KPIs;
- Implement and optimize collections strategies across various DPD (Days Past Due) buckets;
- Monitor and manage key metrics: collections achievement, RPC/contact rates, PTP conversion, PTP kept rates, yield & recoveries, productivity, and quality scores;
- Identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans;
- Conduct one-on-one meetings, coaching sessions, performance reviews, and development discussions;
- Manage underperformance through structured coaching, Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), and formal disciplinary processes when required;
- Ensure compliance with collections policies, operational procedures, regulatory requirements, and quality standards;
- Manage attendance, adherence, conduct, discipline, and productivity;
- Analyze performance data and provide actionable recommendations to senior management;
- Work closely with leadership to align collections operations with business targets and portfolio strategy;
- Support dialler and campaign optimization, including segmentation, prioritization, and resource allocation;
- Maintain strong floor management and team engagement throughout operational hours;
- Take ownership of team results and proactively adjust strategy, coaching, and resource allocation when needed.
What success looks like
The successful Team Manager consistently achieves collections targets while maintaining high standards across people management, compliance, quality assurance, productivity, and customer engagement. This role requires more than simply managing numbers — a successful manager understands the portfolio, knows their agents’ strengths and weaknesses, identifies risks early, and takes decisive action to improve results.
Non-negotiable requirements
- Matric / Grade 12 (mandatory);
- Minimum 2 years’ experience managing a team in a call centre/contact centre environment;
- Direct people management experience (not Senior Agent, 2IC, Acting Team Leader, or support-only roles);
- Proven collections/debt recovery experience;
- Experience managing agents against collections KPIs and targets;
- Hands-on performance management experience: coaching, 1:1s, corrective action, disciplinary processes;
- Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills;
- Experience in a high-volume, target-driven call centre environment;
- Strong leadership presence and accountability;
- Preferred: microlending or financial services collections experience.
Automatic screen-out criteria
Candidates will not be shortlisted if they have: no Matric qualification; less than 2 years’ call-centre team management experience; no collections experience; or experience limited to Senior Agent / 2IC responsibilities without independently managing a team.
Must-have experience
- 2+ years managing a Collections Team in a contact centre environment;
- Experience leading approximately 15–25 Collections Agents;
- Debt collection and recovery experience, ideally within microlending, unsecured lending, or financial services;
- Experience managing multiple DPD buckets — early-stage and late-stage collections;
- Proven ability to drive monthly collections targets;
- Experience managing key collections KPIs: PTP conversion, PTP kept rate, RPC/contact rate, collections value, recovery/yield rate, productivity;
- Hands-on experience with coaching, performance reviews, PIPs, and underperformance management;
- Attendance and disciplinary management experience;
- Strong reporting and analytical skills;
- Experience with dialler-based collections campaigns — campaign performance, lead allocation, contact strategies;
- Knowledge of collections compliance and quality standards;
- Ability to perform in a high-pressure, target-driven environment;
- Experience presenting performance results, risks, and action plans to senior management.
Strong preference
Candidates with direct experience in microlending collections, payday loan collections, high-volume debt recovery portfolios, or DPD-based collection strategies.
Interview process
- Interview with Head of Collections;
- Final interview with COO or Head of Function;
- Reference checks.