Executive Head: Recoveries | South Africa | Permanent

SUMMARY:
-

POSITION INFO:
Lead the strategy, technology and commercial performance of a modern recoveries function. This is an executive opportunity for a senior collections leader who combines deep operational expertise with advanced analytics, digital engagement and commercial accountability. The Executive Head: Recoveries will take ownership of the organisation’s collections, tracing and recoveries strategy, with a clear mandate to maximise sustainable cash recoveries, portfolio performance, revenue and profitability. The role spans internal and outsourced operations and requires a leader who can translate customer and portfolio data into practical strategies that improve recovery outcomes while maintaining responsible customer treatment. You will lead the evolution of a high-performing, digitally enabled recoveries capability, using segmentation, predictive modelling, campaign optimisation, automation and payment technology to improve performance and cost efficiency. The role also carries significant responsibility for client relationships, vendor performance, governance, regulatory compliance, risk management and people leadership. Our client is a technology-enabled financial services business operating in a data-driven environment where recoveries, analytics, digital engagement and payment optimisation are central to portfolio performance. The culture is commercially focused, performance-oriented and committed to using technology and data to improve both customer outcomes and business results. What You'll Do Develop and execute the collections, tracing and recoveries strategy in line with organisational and client objectives Own recovery, revenue, profitability, portfolio-health and cost-efficiency targets Lead internal and outsourced collections, tracing and recovery operations Establish operational standards, service levels, performance targets and corrective-action processes Monitor recovery rates, cure rates, roll rates, liquidation rates, right-party contact, promise-to-pay conversion and cost-to-collect Manage operational budgets and identify opportunities to improve margins and reduce operating costs Use portfolio analytics, customer segmentation, predictive modelling and champion-challenger testing to improve performance Lead executive and client reporting, including forecasts, recommendations and early-warning indicators Design and optimise omnichannel recovery campaigns across SMS, WhatsApp, email, AVM, chatbots, diallers and self-service platforms Optimise dialler rules, contact strategies, payment journeys, DebiCheck, NAEDO and strike-date strategies Partner with Product, Technology and Data teams to automate and scale recovery solutions Manage collection agencies, tracing providers, technology partners and other vendors through contracts, SLAs and performance scorecards Act as the executive escalation point for material client and portfolio matters Support client retention and identify opportunities for portfolio growth Ensure compliance with applicable legislation, regulatory requirements, payment rules, contractual obligations and internal policies Maintain strong controls around customer information, collection practices, payment mandates, complaints and outsourced providers Monitor fraud, operational, legal, reputational and customer-conduct risks Build a high-performing, accountable and customer-focused recoveries team Develop specialist capability, leadership pipelines and critical-skill retention What You Bring A Bachelor’s degree at NQF Level 7 in Commerce, Finance, Business Management, Credit Management or a related discipline A relevant credit management, collections or financial services qualification At least 10 years’ relevant experience across collections, recoveries, credit risk, debt management or portfolio management At least 5–7 years’ senior leadership experience with accountability for large-scale internal and\/or outsourced recovery operations A demonstrable track record of developing and executing collections or recovery strategies that improved recovery rates, portfolio quality, profitability or cost-to-collect Experience managing complex client portfolios and senior commercial stakeholder relationships Strong experience in digital-first collections using SMS, WhatsApp, email, chatbots, AVM and self-service payment solutions Strong campaign management, segmentation, dialler strategy and CRM-enabled collections experience Practical knowledge of DebiCheck, debit-order management, payment-channel optimisation and strike-date optimisation Advanced portfolio analytics, customer segmentation, predictive modelling, champion-challenger testing and BI dashboard capability Experience managing budgets, revenue, profitability, vendor contracts and operational performance Sound knowledge of regulatory and legislative requirements relating to collections, debt recovery, customer data, payment processing and outsourced service providers What Success Looks Like Sustainable improvement in recovery, revenue and profitability performance Improved portfolio health and cost-to-collect efficiency Consistently strong operational performance across internal and outsourced recovery channels Data-led strategies that demonstrably improve customer contact, payment conversion and recovery outcomes Scalable digital and automated recovery journeys Strong client retention, stakeholder confidence and vendor performance Effective governance, regulatory compliance and responsible customer treatment A capable, accountable and future-focused recoveries leadership team Continuous improvement through analytics, innovation, automation and structured strategy testing