Specialist – Legal Finance at MTN

Mission/Core purpose of the Job

The core purpose of the Specialist: Legal Collections is to co-ordinate and perform the legal and pre-legal debt collection function for all customer segments and business units so as to maximize the collection of arrears amounts and minimize bad debt write offs. The role is required to:
Execute later-stage collections strategies, policies, procedures and campaigns in conjunction with external debt collection partners (EDC’s and legal attorneys);
Speed up the reaction times on failed collections and implement appropriate recovery and activation strategies including external debt collections, trace and legal actions;
Ensure that all uncollectable debt is appropriately motivated and timeously written off after all efforts to collect outstanding amounts has failed;
Monitor, engage and manage all external collections partners or External Debt Collectors (EDC’s) in line with signed Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) to ensure efficient activations of nonperforming accounts;
Interpret collection information and take appropriate remedial actions based on the interpretation of such information.

Context (Global influences, environmental/industry demands, organisational mission etc.)

Organisational Mission

MTN is evolving from a mobile communications provider to a digital platform operator where innovation, operational and commercial excellence is critical for success. To excel today and sustain future growth, MTN must develop the required capabilities internally to provide the market and customers with EPIC experiences, products and services which fulfil the belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life.

Global Influences / Environmental & Industry Demands

Highly dynamic and fluctuating Telecommunications industry
Highly competitive market with new and established competitors
Fast moving industry
Legislative changes
Legal parameters set by the insurance industry
Rapid pace of digitalization
Prevailing economic pressures affecting staff and customers
Fluid complexities of customer expectations and demands
Prevailing economic pressures affecting staff and customers
Fluid complexities of customer expectations and demands

Key Performance Areas: Core, essential responsibilities outputs of the position (KPA’s)

Credit Management

Manage the credit management function and overseeing the credit control and collections activities as it relates to matters in legal.
Adhere to the customer call cycle.
Ensure the accurate and timely processing of payments of accounts receivable to positively impact cash flow.
Coordinate and monitor outsourced legal collection process. Manage performance of external EDC’s in line with contractual or set KPI targets.
Assess collection rate against provision for doubtful debts and execute on any required improvements to the system.
Provide reports on external agents for tracking and collections.
Resolve Audit findings.
Implement/fine-tune methods, processes/systems to enhance effectiveness/meet organisational goals.
Consider the impact of solutions on other areas of the business, as well as the interdependency of units.
Ensure internal SLAs are adhered to, taking corrective action where necessary.
Manage SLAs, and take corrective action as required.
Resolve issues/ queries and liaise with relevant areas within MTN to escalate issues/ queries.
Liaise with customers regarding escalated account queries.
Implement controls to reduce the risk of fraud and error.
Liaise with attorneys with reference to accounts handed over for collection.
Set targets for collections and achieve these targets.
Compile and analyse monthly management reports and use information from these to improve on management processes.
Maintain bad debt provisions write-offs within targets set by management.
Monitor age analysis of debtor’s book regularly and reduce overdue amounts.
Review and align existing and new PPP’s in the light of business changes,
Ensure settlement agreements, payment arrangements are appropriately approved in line with agreed DoA and process.
Manage claim process for all customers in Liquidation, business rescue, debt review and sequestration.
Assist in execution of Debt book sales to external parties.
Manage litigation matters in conjunction with MTN Legal team Attend to settlement negotiations from customers and attorneys.
Load and process financial entries.
Hand over relevant bad debt accounts to third parties for collections, to ensure bad debt minimized.
Allocate payments from third party collectors to customer accounts.
Prepare and process monthly write-offs.
Manage active accounts in legal department.
Prepare and submit claims on deceased estates.
Attend to liquidations, sequestrations and administrations.
Prepare invoices for third parties.

Customer Relationship Management

Liaise with customers to ensure client expectations and service levels are being adhered to.
Ensure that client queries are resolved within agreed SLA’s.
Attend client meetings to speedily resolve outstanding queries, so that the client can pay within stipulated time line.
Provide accurate advice and education to customers to ensure adherence to quality standards.
Deliver first time right service excellence and by displaying the MTN brand values to customer during all customer interactions.
Manage query resolution, escalation and feedback to customer.
Create and distribute general correspondence to customers on customer impacting situations.
Liaise with Sales and have regular contact with clients via difference communication media.

Budget Management

Input into forecasting, planning, developing and reviewing the budget for the Legal Collections area.
Manage and optimize the budget, ensuring all expenditure is in line with the agreed budgets.
Monitor costs and determine initiatives to optimize resources. Ensure cost effectiveness by maximizing cost/benefit ratios.
Identify areas where money is lost and seek ways to reduce expenditure.
Base annual budgets on the identification of trends and patterns within the current operations and extrapolate these over the next planning cycle, taking any known changes in new products or services into consideration.

Business Analysis

Perform Business Analysis in line with MTN SA Business Analysis methodology and guidelines.
Identify ways to fine tune policies, processes and systems in line with changing work practices.
Determine, document, and review requirements for projects within the scope of the value stream or impacting processes and systems.
Design, analyze and document workflow and make appropriate recommendations that will positively impact operational effectiveness
Identify Business Improvement and Optimization opportunities that will result in improvement of process performance.
Ensure that benchmarking is conducted with other companies and organizations within and outside the industry.
Construct business cases for initiations proposed by the business. Research and consider best practice, local conditions, trends, as well as competitor activity.
Identify and implement innovative ways to use minimum resources to achieve maximum outputs.

Quality and Compliance

Execute in line with Quality assurance & Quality control requirements for Legal Collections.
Ensure verification processes and procedures are adhered to for purposes of reduction/elimination of fraud.
Ensure resolution of queries end to end.
Give input into processes and procedures where quality of work may be improved.
Adhere to quality and operating standards and primary controls, policies and procedures.
Ensure customer satisfaction as per the CSI deliverables, query resolution and customer requests.
Maintain accurate and up to date client details and account records

Reporting

Reporting function (daily, weekly & monthly).
Compile monthly management reports.
Monthly reporting of the Key Performance Indicators.
To report on a weekly/monthly basis as appropriate e.g. Age debt analysis, cash collections forecasts, Bad debt, Book Reviews, Provisions for Bad debt etc, EDC KPI’s.

Supervisory / Leadership/Managerial Complexity: Refers to the responsibilities for directing, guiding, motivating and influencing others.

Recruit, develop and retain people with the required skills, qualifications and potential
Define service provider KPAs and KPIs and ongoing performance management
Contribute toward a customer centric culture
Build talent by identifying and developing new leaders for the respective environment
Employee relations and collaborative teamwork
Manage Employment Equity and diversity
Coaching and guidance of subordinates or fellow staff members on legal related matters
Build professionalism, loyalty and commitment to the organization
Communicate actively and effectively resolving any potential conflicts that may arise
Build and enforce a customer centric approach
Self-insight and flexibility to adapt to different situations
Living the MTN Brand – influence employees’ behaviour

Required Skills & Capabilities e.g. teaching, report writing or specific skills/abilities such as computing or the ability to work without supervision

Broad based knowledge of legal collections across different customer categories
Knowledge of the regulatory and legislative requirements
Computer literacy i.e. MS Office Excel Intermediary
Strong interpersonal skills including good written and oral communication
Good analytical, problem solving and conflict management skills
Strong analytical ability
Good understanding of Credit management practices and processes (Reconciliations and debt collection)
Good understanding of Risk Management
Thorough knowledge and understanding of principles, practices and techniques of accounting and formulas
Management of External debt Collectors and Attorneys on litigation matters

Key Deliverables

Effective Management of SLA’s
Bad Debt to Billing ratio achieved
Collection’s ratios attained
Queries are resolved with the agreed TAT
Completion of departmental projects within agreed time frames
Customer satisfaction
Continuous improvement of Collections criteria and systems
Achievement of departmental performance targets
Alignment with Corporate Credit & Risk strategy
Efficient and effective operational processes and procedures
Optimal staffing to deliver on departmental KPAs
Effective management of relationships with internal and external business partners

Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies)

Education:

A National Diploma or 3 year degree in Legal field or Finance or related

Experience:

Minimum 5 years credit control and legal collection experience in a consumer/corporate/enterprise environment with high focus on service delivery
Minimum 3 years Legal collections experience

Behaviours and competencies (Qualified candidates for this position will therefore need to demonstrate the following):

Head – Big Picture Focus (20)

Conceptual Thinker – Executes tactical plans to achieve strategic requirements
Problem Solver – Has the mental agility to identify and solve relevant business challenges
Improvement Driver – Executes and identifies opportunities for commercial innovation and continuous improvement

Heart – Emotionally Intelligent (30)

Culture and Change Champion – Role models practices by living the MTN values and vital behaviours for others to follow
Inspiring People Leader – Is self-aware and supports team capability development through opportunity creation for realising potential
Relationship Builder – Builds professional networks across teams through collaboration and co-operation

Hands – Results Focused (40)

Results Achiever – Produces sustainable business results
Operationally Astute – sets priorities, plans, organises and co-ordinates the work of others

Authorities

As per MTN Delegation of Authority (DoA)

Collaboration (Formal and Informal Relationships)

Responsibility towards:

Key customers: MTN SA BU /Internal departments especially Sales Teams across all business sectors, External clients.
Key suppliers: Management of External Debt Collectors performance in line with SLA and contracts, External legal Partners, Credit Bureau, Technology and IS departments, Attorneys and legal advisors.