Student loan recovery strategist

I.    Background Information

Job Title:   Student loan recovery strategist

Department: Education Portfolio Management Department

Reports to: Head Education Portfolio Management

Contract terms: 1-year renewable consultancy contract 

II.    Purpose of the Job

To support the department of Education portfolio management especially in recovery of student loans and ensure that a high quality, business focused, efficient and cost-effective bespoke service which maximizes amounts recovered for Education Portfolio fund, delivering against the government mandate while providing an excellent service and actively building client relationships and business development opportunities for the loans Recovery team as well as the BRD.

III.    Overall objective

The overall objective of this post is to establish effective and efficient policies and strategies for management of students loans to ensure that clear recoverable loans are identified and implement a recovery action plan to achieve timely and maximum recoveries at a minimal cost within appropriate turn-around time to achieve the targets set by the Memorandum of Understanding between the Bank and the Ministry of Education. To advise on the strategy to identify the recoverable loans and awareness strategies to maximize the recovery.

The role holder will be responsible for handling a portfolio of various loan facilities issued to students with the objective of putting in place and adopting appropriate strategies within policy guidelines and regulation to increase recoveries significantly and minimize credit losses. He will also advise on the policies to be put in place to facilitate the maximum recovery so that the fund growth is self-sustainable in the future.

IV.    Main Responsibilities of the Job

a)      Based on the Law governing student loans and bursaries, to review and establish policies for the management of student loans

b)     To prepare a comprehensive procedures manual articulating proper student loan disbursement and recovery processes and procedures.

c)      To conduct deep analysis of all data on students’ loans including the legacy data from REB and establish the list of loans that are likely to be recovered and those that are difficult to recover

d)     Thoroughly assess student loans beneficiaries that have completed their studies to determine those who have paid, ongoing and paying regularly and loan defaulters.

e)      To identify the recoverable students’ loans from the existing and future list

f)       To establish and implement strategies especially for recovery of study loans from loan beneficiaries without any identifying element like national identification number or names of parents

g)      Design effective public awareness campaign strategies and tools in ensuring that Public and private institutions employing student loan beneficiaries comply with the law governing student loans and bursaries.

h)     Maintain loans ageing analysis, schedule, and follow up with the recovery team to track and monitor on recoverability of outstanding loan balance.

i)        Design effective public awareness campaign strategies and tools to ensure that individual loan beneficiaries voluntarily repay their study loan.

j)         Periodically prepare circulars for management approval and disseminate them to potential public and private employers of students’ loan scheme beneficiaries.

k)      To support recovery team on regular basis to analyse and update employers and employees accounts in EFMIS and produce monthly comparison reports.

l)        To maintain, prepare and analyse monthly collections reports, updates and advise on improvement of recovery mechanisms and tools being used.

m)   Maintain a consistent reduction of non-performing debts through intensive recoveries and come up with viable initiatives to continuously trace all loan beneficiaries.

n)     Undertake regular and frequent calls, inspections, and follow-ups with the public and private employers of beneficiaries of students’ loan scheme to implement remedial strategies and actions for loan recovery.

o)     Regularly reconcile students whose disbursements have stopped and those who have been captured in the recovery module as graduated students

p)     On annual basis to review and update students’ loan management policies and procedures and ensuring their compliance

q)     To conduct annual evaluation for students’ loan scheme and advise the BRD management on its sustainability and self-financing

r)       Any other duties assignment by immediate supervisor as well as management

 V.    Performance indicators

a)      Policies, processes, and procedures with clear strategies for students’ loan recovery approved

b)     List of student loans that are likely to be recovered and those that are difficult to recover

c)      Effective public awareness campaign strategies and tools established and approved

d)     Evaluation report on students’ loan scheme sustainability and self-financing

e)      Monthly collections reports, updates and reports on improvement of recovery mechanisms and tools produced.

f)       Quarterly assessment reports for student loans beneficiaries with those who have completed paying the loan, those who are still paying and loan defaulters.

g)      Annual reconciliation reports for students’ loan beneficiaries who have graduated both for students in Rwanda as well as abroad students with those who have been captured in the recovery module

VI.    Working relationships

Disbursement Manager and Recovery Manager

Education Portfolio Management Partners

VII.    Professional, academic qualifications and experience

The interested candidates should have the following noticeable profile:

a)      Master’s degree or bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance/Business Administration or any other related field from a recognized university

b)     A minimum experience of 7 years preferably in tax audit, inspection, and recovery

c)      Experience in statutory fund recovery, audit, and enforcement of statutory deductions (e.g taxes, pension and medical contribution) will be an added advantage

d)     Sound knowledge of banking or funds management are added advantages

VIII.   Core competencies

a)      Good experience in policy and procedure manual designing, analysis, capacity building and knowledge management

b)     Good communication and interpersonal skills, since a debt collector is expected to communicate efficiently with customers or clients, as customers can be hostile or rude when dealing with a collection agency.

c)      Good negotiation skills which enable a debt collector to work cooperatively with customers and resolve their debts by applying the necessary method.

d)     Excellent persuasion skills, since the job of a debt collector involve convincing debtors that they need to pay their outstanding debts on time.

e)      Problem-solving skills, as he/she needs days to develop payment plans and handle customers whose debts are difficult to resolve.

f)       Good customer service, since the job is primarily a customer-facing role

g)      Ability to work with the team, result oriented and adaptable to any working environment

h)     Possessing data manipulation and analytical skills since the job requires to deal with various data with deeper analysis

i)        Be flexible to carry out any other reasonable task as requested by the management

Application Guidelines:

Interested candidate should apply online (https://www.brd.rw/careers/) and upload application documents including Curriculum Vitae, copies of degree certificates and professional certificates, motivation letter, names of three previous supervisors (as one document) as well as their emails and telephone.

Only online applications shall be considered.

Email only for inquiries (not application): recruitment@brd.rw

Address all applications to the Head, Human Capital and Corporate Services of the Development Bank of Rwanda.

Deadline for application: Friday, March 05, 2021.

The employment package is highly competitive/attractive.

Only Candidates with the right qualifications and relevant experience shall be shortlisted and contacted for interviews.