Manager: Finance - Student Loans

Job Advert Summary

Eduvos is looking to hire the services of a Manager : Finance - Student Loans  on a full time basis. The successful incumbent may be based at any Eduvos campus. 

Purpose of the role

To lead and manage the Student Loans function. To expand access to education by developing and managing partnerships with banks, specialist student loan providers and alternative lending partners. Lead partner sourcing, negotiations and onboarding; improve the journey from loan enquiry and application to approval, disbursement and student-account allocation; and manage partner service delivery, financial controls and performance. 

Position Type
Permanent

Location
National

• Loan partnership development and opportunity pipeline: identify, assess and engage banks and alternative student lenders to expand viable student loan options.
• Commercial negotiations and partner onboarding: negotiate service levels, product eligibility, payment arrangements and responsibilities within delegated authority; coordinate internal review and implementation.
• Student access and loan conversion: coordinate clear product information, appropriate referrals and application support to help students access partner loans without promising approval.
• End-to-end partner-loan operations: oversee referrals, application documentation, status tracking, approved-loan follow-up, disbursements and allocation to student accounts.
• Loan-related financial control: reconcile partner disbursements and student-account allocations; resolve short payments, reversals, refunds and aged exceptions in accordance with agreements.
• Partner relationship and performance management: lead structured partner reviews, resolve escalations and agree improvements to products and service delivery.
• Portfolio insight and risk oversight: analyse partner-loan access, disbursement volumes, conversion, product suitability and partner concentration; recommend actions to improve access and manage contractual exposure.
• Translate student-loan access objectives into a partner-development pipeline and operational plan covering lender engagement, product launches, application peaks, disbursement schedules and service ownership.
• Monitor applications, partner decisions, outstanding disbursements, reconciliations and student queries; intervene on stalled cases and missed partner commitments. Coordinate borrower repayment queries with lenders; manage collections only where contractually assigned.
• Report monthly on the loan-partner pipeline, active products, applications, approvals, disbursements, enrolled students funded through partner loans, turnaround times and reconciliation exceptions. Compare partner/product performance and explain conversion losses and access barriers.
• Coordinate end-to-end execution with Sales, Marketing, Credit Control, Student Affairs and other functions.
• Resolve complex student, funder and internal escalations; identify recurring root causes and make decisions or escalate within the DOA.
• Manage workload, priorities, cover and capacity within the Student Loans function so that service and control requirements can scale with loan volumes.
• Maintain and improve partner-loan processes, SOPs, controls, data quality and automation from referral through disbursement and reconciliation. Onboard each loan partner with tested workflows, clear responsibilities, escalation routes and staff guidance.
• Maintain controls over partner agreements, delegated approvals, consent and secure information sharing, financial reconciliations and audit trails. Review monthly aged items and partner balances. Document which party owns credit decisions, servicing, borrower collections and any institutional exposure; refer legal and compliance matters to the appropriate specialists.
• Develop a student-loan partnership strategy that supports Eduvos access and enrolment objectives. Identify gaps in available loan products, diversify lending relationships and recommend new partnerships based on student needs, product terms, service performance and institutional risk.
• Select and onboard employees into the Student Loans function when vacancies arise, ensuring role and capability fit.
• Set clear role expectations, objectives and service standards for the Student Loans Administrator/Finance Loans Officer; review performance, provide feedback and address performance gaps.
• Build team and stakeholder capability in partner loan products, eligibility, application documentation, status tracking, disbursement and reconciliation processes. Train staff to explain terms accurately, avoid approval guarantees and refer credit decisions to lenders.
• Create a collaborative, accountable and service-oriented team climate and manage employee issues or conflict where required.
• Lead adoption of new loan partnerships, products, processes and systems across the function and affected stakeholders, with clear readiness checks and post-launch issue resolution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Commerce, Business Management, Accounting or a related field
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous

Experience

• Demonstrated experience in lending, loan operations or managing third-party loan partnerships, with accountability for service delivery and financial controls.
• Proven experience identifying, engaging and developing relationships with banks, loan providers or other lending partners to expand access to loan products.
• Experience negotiating partnership terms and service levels within delegated authority, coordinating contract review and onboarding new lending partners.\
• Hands-on oversight of the loan journey: referrals, application documentation, lender decision follow-up, disbursement tracking and account allocation.
• Experience reconciling lender payments, resolving short payments, refunds and aged exceptions, and producing partner/loan performance reports.
• Experience analysing approval and disbursement conversion, turnaround times and partner performance, and implementing improvements.
• Experience managing staff and cross-functional stakeholders. Student lending or higher-education finance experience is advantageous; bursary administration alone does not meet the core lending-experience requirement."

Functional competencies

• Loan-partnership development, commercial negotiation and relationship management.
• Understanding of loan eligibility, pricing, interest, fees, repayment structures and lender credit-assessment processes; ability to explain partner-approved information without making credit decisions.
• End-to-end partner-loan administration, disbursement reconciliation, student-account allocation and exception management.
• Partner scorecards, pipeline analysis, conversion measurement and financial reporting; advanced Excel, with BI/workflow automation advantageous.
• Contract and service-level management, delegated authority, secure handling of student information and escalation of legal/compliance matters.
• Student-focused communication, stakeholder training and cross-functional delivery.
• Ability to distinguish lender-owned credit and collections responsibilities from Eduvos obligations and manage any contractually assigned exposure.

Behavioural competencies

• Manage Others (1st line management)
• Adapting practical approaches; Making decisions; Directing people; Resolving conflict; Team working; Meeting timescales; Managing tasks; Taking action
• Examining information; Interpreting data; Developing expertise; Interacting with people; Convincing people; Articulating information; Empowering individuals; Showing compusure; Embracing change; Understanding people; Following procedures; Upholding standards "