With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.
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Job Summary
The primary objective is to manage and execute all legal processes related to debt recovery in a structured, ethical, and compliant manner. This includes: –
• Initiate and oversee legal recovery processes from delinquency to write off portfolio.
• Identify retail accounts that require legal intervention.
• Initiate appropriate legal action (e.g., legal notices, filing suits, enforcement of judgments)
• Coordinating with Internal and external legal partners to discuss specific problems and recommending solutions or strategies.
• Tracking Legal cases MI, maintain legal documentation for each case and frequently share to the management for advice and decision making.
• Ensuring timely and cost-effective recovery while preserving the company’s reputation and adhering to regulatory requirements.
• Recommend suitable legal recovery actions based on case analysis.mbers.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:
Recoveries and Service 70%
Outputs:
- The Legal Recovery Manager is responsible for recovering bad debts through legal action, payment plans, coordinating with external counsel, and meeting an initial annual recovery target of 1 billion, subject to increase based on performance.
- Lead detailed negotiations with customers, sometimes in conjunction with Relationship Managers, regarding the agreement to, and implementation of, strategy, e.g., Settlement proposals, etc.
- Lead proactive formulation and implementation of strategies on managed exits/recoveries.
- Maintain strong customer relationships by professionally delivering even difficult messages, ensuring customer satisfaction and positively representing the Absa brand
- Manage politically sensitive customers and recover debts from them in a professional manner which leaves a good impression of them about the bank.
- Ensure appropriate recovery is achieved and generally provide pragmatic and effective legal support to general management and business functions.
- Manage the achievement of service levels and quality.
- Monitor the relationships with the bank’s service providers, especially with regards to fees charged by lawyers and service level agreements with them.
- Ensure that all classified legal files are properly maintained and have up to date file notes.
- Ensure data integrity is maintained.
- Prepare summons instructions to external lawyers and manage recovery of debts through the courts, including disposals of debtors’ assets.
- Manage relationships with external service providers such as liquidators, executors, sheriffs, messengers of court, accountants, receivers, judicial managers, valuators etc who provide services to matters in Retail Recoveries.
Business and Risk Management 20%
- Ensure all legal recovery actions comply with internal policies, regulatory guidelines, and data privacy laws.
- Assess legal risks and recommend appropriate recovery strategies.
- Prepare periodic reports on recovery performance, legal costs, and case progress
- Monitor and manage legal expenses to stay within approved budgets.
- Develop network of contacts internally and with local external professionals to maximize effectiveness in assisting customers.
- Promote the Collections and Recovery team to internal audiences (including relationship and credit teams and group companies) and professionals.
- Stay updated on changes in debt recovery laws and industry best practices.
Account Management and Negotiation 10%
Outputs:
- Contact customers via official mobile phone, email and written communication for repayment arrangements.
- Negotiate settlements, repayment plans and restructuring options.
- Maintain accurate records of all recovery efforts and customer interactions.
- Use management information to monitor and provide feedback to ensure targets are met.
- Identify risk skills gaps and communicate and meet identified training needs by effective coaching and counselling.
- Provide assistance and advice to team members in formulating strategies regarding the more complicated accounts in their own portfolios
Risk and Control Objective:
- Manage risk and control effectively by applying applicable risk frameworks and embedding a positive risk culture
- Understanding of own role in the end-to-end processes in which you play a part, including applicable risks and controls.
- Adhere to Absa’s policies and procedures applicable to own role, demonstrating sound judgment and responsible risk management.
- Report all risk events / incidents / issues using the defined process for your business area and help to understand why these happened and how to prevent them in future.
- Proactively look for ways to improve the control environment by considering what could go wrong in the processes you operate and how errors could be prevented.
- Identify risk skills gaps and communicate and meet identified training needs by effective coaching and counselling.
- Continuous and proactive engagement with regulatory bodies, unions where applicable
- All mandatory training completed to deadline All mandatory training completed to deadline
Technical Skills/Competencies
- Legal recovery strategies applicable to in country
- An understanding of credit skills
- Good negotiation and influencing skills
- Good relationship management skills
- Strong analytical and numerical skills
- Strong communication and report writing skills
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other spread sheet/database applications
- Strong planning, coordination, and time management skills
Knowledge & Experience
relating to specialist knowledge and expertise required to undertake the role. May include knowledge of the Bank’s products, services and policies)
Essential
- Knowledge of the scope and activity of Recoveries as well as the practical application of recovery techniques in such situations like Impairment & Forbearance policies
- Experience of working under pressure and with very little supervision
- Good understanding of Risk Management policies and procedures
Experience & Qualifications
Essential
- Sound knowledge of insolvency legislation and procedures in several jurisdictions
- Good knowledge of law, banking and finance.
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B.) is mandatory; a master’s degree or Postgraduate Diploma in Law/Finance is a plus.
- Experience: 2–5 years of experience in legal recovery, preferably in retail banking or microfinance
- An advocate
- The individual must be a self-starter and be able to diagnose and solve problems. The role will require working under very minimal supervision and the use of a great deal of initiative.
- The role holder must be aware of the various options available to the bank in the process of recovering debts. Previous knowledge of debt recovery will be a distinct advantage
Absa Behaviors and Purpose
Absa’s Values and Behaviors represent the set of standards which governs the actions of all of us who work for the bank and against which the performance of every one of us in Absa are being assessed and rewarded:
- Trust
- Resourceful
- Stewardship
- Inclusive
- Courage
Education
Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)
How to Apply:
Job type Full-time Job, To submit your application, please follow the link provided below.
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