Nova Pioneer

Accounts Receivable /Parent Fee Support, Manager

Nova Pioneer  •  Johannesburg, ZA (Hybrid)  •  8 days ago
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Job Description

Nova Pioneer is looking for an outstanding Accounts Receivable/ Parent Fee Support, Manager to lead the Parent Fee Support function and serve as a thought partner and key member of the Nova Pioneer leadership team.
This role is a hybrid position, where the successful candidate will work remotely as well as in our school campuses from time to time.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Accounts receivable/ Parent Fee 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
HOW TO APPLY
Does working at Nova Pioneer excite you? If so, then apply now!
To apply, please complete the form on the right-hand side of this page. We cannot process applications that are emailed to us.
Please note: You are encouraged to attach your resume in PDF format to protect formatting.
All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the next steps. There are a series of stages in the Nova Pioneer interview process and candidates will be moved forward in the process depending on their success in the previous stage. The process is as follows:
  • Phone interview a short conversation to understand your skills and experience a little better.
  • Practical demonstration of what you can do: you will complete a written task or a demonstration related to the role you are applying for. Teachers participate in a half-day selection day at one of our campuses as well as deliver a lesson to a class.
  • In-person/virtual interviews at this point you will visit one of our schools to meet the team and participate in a series of in-person or virtual interviews.
  • Final interview you’ll have a final conversation with the hiring manager before decisions are made.

WORKING AT NOVA PIONEER
Nova Pioneer is a place where our people experience tremendous growth, fast! We invest heavily in the growth of our people because it leads to greater mastery in both us and our students. “Novaneers” work harder and work longer hours than most schools but as a result, the growth they experience is extraordinary. We offer consistent and ongoing personal development and provide clear career pathways that ensure that our people are always achieving their personal and professional best. Nova Pioneer has a highly energetic, entrepreneurial environment where our people get to bring their creative and innovative ideas to life. We look for people who are flexible and who are able to adapt and respond quickly to adversity with a positive, can-do attitude (there are no problems, only solutions!). We welcome challenges and roll with the punches because it makes us, and our students, better. There is no problem too big for us! We bring infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything we do because joy fuels our work and learning. Read more about our culture principles here.

Nova Pioneer will never request an application fee from candidates. If you are contacted with a request to pay a fee from someone claiming to be a Nova Pioneer Talent or Recruitment representative, please do not pay them and report it to us immediately on talent.ke@novapioneer.com or talent.sa@novapioneer.com
Nova Pioneer

About Nova Pioneer

SCHOOLS FOR INNOVATORS & LEADERS

Nova Pioneer Education Group is a Pan-African independent school network offering preschool through secondary education for students from ages 3 through 19. We prepare the next generation of leaders and innovators through world-class teaching methods with an emphasis on 21st century skills.

We launched our first school in South Africa in 2014, with the aim of incorporating the best education models in the world, while keeping it as affordable as possible. We’ve since expanded within South Africa, and to Kenya as well – with our first Kenyan school launching in 2015. In all of our schools, we bring in and train top educators to deliver educational excellence in an environment that nurtures our students to uncover their potential and blaze trails in the world beyond our school walls.

We are developing generations of innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century.

(This page was previously named Nova Academies. Our schools across Africa are now operating under one brand. Pioneer Academies (South Africa) and Nova Academies (Kenya) are now officially Nova Pioneer, Schools for Innovators & Leaders).

Industry
Government & Public Safety
Company Size
501-1,000 employees
Headquarters
Johannesburg, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya
Year Founded
2014
Website
novapioneer.com
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