Collections Manager

M-KOPA; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company in Johannesburg is looking for a Collections Manager to drive a customer-centric recovery approach. The ideal candidate will have 4-6 years of collections experience, lead multi-channel teams, and possess strong analytical and communication skills. This role focuses on innovative strategies to optimize recovery while maintaining customer dignity and compliance with regulations.

Benefits

Comprehensive compensation package

Family-friendly policies

Diverse development programs

Qualifications

• 4-6 years of tactical collections experience in fintech, microfinance, telecoms, or consumer lending.
• Proven leadership of multi-channel collections teams (15+ people).
• Deep market knowledge of South African repayment behaviors.

Responsibilities

• Architect multi-channel collections strategies.
• Drive data-driven decision making through KPI optimization.
• Build and develop high-performing teams across multiple collection channels.

Skills

Analytical Thinking

Emotional Intelligence

Resilience Under Pressure

Communication Excellence

Bias Toward Action

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Credit Management, or related field

Tools

CRM systems

collections tools

dialer systems

advanced Excel

Job description

Turn Recovery Into Relationships. Transform Challenges Into Success.

Collections Manager | M-KOPA South Africa

Where Empathy Meets Excellence

What if collections wasn't about pressure, but about partnership? What if every difficult conversation became an opportunity to restore financial dignity while driving business results? At M-KOPA, we've reimagined collections as a force for customer empowerment—and we need a leader who can make that vision reality.

This isn't traditional collections. This is collections with purpose.

The Challenge That Defines Leaders

You'll inherit teams across multiple channels—call centres, chat agents, field teams—all working to recover outstanding payments while preserving customer relationships. Your mission? To orchestrate a collections ecosystem that achieves exceptional recovery rates while treating every customer with dignity and respect.

The complexity is real: different risk profiles, multiple product types (asset finance vs. cash loans), varying repayment behaviours across South Africa's diverse economic landscape. The opportunity? To build a world-class collections operation that others benchmark against.

Your Arena of Impact

Strategic Operations Excellence

• Architect multi-channel collections strategies that optimize recovery across call centers, digital platforms, and field operations

• Design sophisticated segmentation workflows that match collection approaches to customer risk profiles and behavioral patterns

• Lead weekly planning and resource allocation to maximize team productivity and customer outcomes

Performance & Intelligence

• Drive data-driven decision making through KPI optimization (repayment rates, promise-to-pay conversion, contactability)

• Conduct deep-dive analytics to identify trends, bottlenecks, and breakthrough opportunities

• Transform insights into actionable strategies that improve both recovery rates and customer experience

Team Leadership & Development

• Build and develop high-performing teams across multiple collection channels (15+ direct and indirect reports)

• Create coaching frameworks that develop team leaders into accountability champions

• Foster a culture where empathy and effectiveness aren't opposing forces—they're multiplying ones

Customer-Centric Recovery

• Implement engagement strategies that preserve customer dignity while driving repayment outcomes

• Design flexible repayment solutions and restructuring offers that work for both customer and business

• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Customer Care and Credit teams to resolve complex cases

Compliance & Risk Leadership

• Ensure all operations exceed regulatory requirements (National Credit Act compliance)

• Build robust internal controls that prevent agent fraud and ensure ethical collection practices

• Champion transparent, compliant processes that protect both customers and company reputation

The Leader We're Seeking

Your Foundation:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Credit Management, or related field

• 4-6 years of tactical collections experience (fintech, microfinance, telecoms, or consumer lending)

• Proven leadership of multi-channel collections teams (15+ people)

• Deep market knowledge of South African repayment behaviors and informal economy dynamics

Your Expertise:

• Technology Fluency: CRM systems, collections tools, dialer systems, advanced Excel

• Digital Payments Knowledge: Mobile money and digital payment systems experience

• Regulatory Mastery: Strong understanding of local collections laws and compliance requirements

• Process Excellence: Experience with performance management, training, and operational optimization

Key Factors:

• Analytical Thinking: You see patterns others miss and turn data into strategy

• Emotional Intelligence: You balance firmness with empathy in every interaction

• Resilience Under Pressure: You thrive when stakes are high and challenges are complex

• Communication Excellence: You influence, inspire, and align teams toward common goals

• Bias Toward Action: You don't just identify problems—you solve them

Your Values:

• Customer-First Mindset: You believe every customer deserves dignity, regardless of payment status

• Ethical Leadership: Your integrity is non-negotiable, even when results are at stake

• Continuous Improvement: You're never satisfied with "good enough"

• Collaborative Spirit: You know the best outcomes come from cross-functional excellence

Why M-KOPA Redefines Collections

Purpose-Driven Impact Your work directly enables financial inclusion—every successful recovery helps us serve more underserved customers.

Innovation at the Forefront Access cutting-edge collections technology, analytics tools, and methodologies that set industry standards.

Accelerated Career Growth Lead collections for one of Africa's fastest-growing fintechs, with expansion opportunities across the continent.

Transformational Leadership Shape the future of ethical collections practices in emerging markets.

Supportive Ecosystem Work alongside world-class Risk, Credit, Customer Experience, and Technology teams.

Competitive Recognition Comprehensive compensation package that rewards both performance and principles.

Ready to Redefine Collections?

If you're currently managing collections but want to lead transformation... If you're hitting targets but dreaming of changing the industry... If you're successful in traditional collections but ready for purpose-driven excellence...

This is your moment to make collections meaningful.

Why M-KOPA?

At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility.

Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com.

Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 5 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

Important Notice

M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

M-KOPAexplicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships.

M-KOPA does not collect/chargeany money as a pre-employment or post-employment requirement. This meansthat we never ask for ‘recruitment fees’, ‘processing fees’, ‘interview fees’, or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews at any time during the hiring process.

Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date.