JOB DESCRIPTION. Fees Manager Student Finance Financial Services JOB TITLE: DEPARTMENT: DIVISION: PRIME FUNCTION

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1 G07/576 UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO Te Whare Wananga o Otago JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE: DEPARTMENT: DIVISION: Fees Manager Student Finance Financial Services PRIME FUNCTION To manage the Fees Office and control and co-ordinate the charging and collection of fees from students in accordance with University policy and procedures and government legislation. MAIN OBJECTIVES To ensure domestic students are charged the correct fees. To ensure international students are charged the correct fees. To monitor the collection of fees and referrals to Collection Agencies in terms of University policy and procedures. To check Fees Office material including manuals, fees publications and enrolment information, etc. To establish payment plans for overdue fees. To act for Student Finance Accountant, when required. To provide an efficient and effective service to customers. To undertake office administration duties. Administer international student loans. KEY TASKS Manage the Fees Office. Allocate workloads and ensure work is completed and is in accordance with regulations/guidelines. To deal with everyday staff relations and report any more complex issues to the Student Finance Accountant. Act as a point of reference and deal with queries/problems from customers/staff. Supervise Fees Office staff. Modify and implement audit procedures, as appropriate. Verify and process fee refunds in accordance with University policy and procedures. Recommend special circumstance medical refunds. Allocate breaks. Liaise with debt collection agencies, as appropriate. Refer debtors to agencies when policy/procedures require this to be done. Handle all enquiries from agencies and monitor and reply to reports. Process monthly accounts from agencies.

2 Oversee the charging and collection of domestic fees. Monitor that procedures are in place that ensure that student accounts reflect the correct charges for their course and that appropriate authority is held for adjustments made (e.g. student assistance grants, scholarships, exemptions etc). Monitor debt collection rates and ensure policies and procedures in this area are being followed. Monitor refunds and ensure policy and procedures in this area are being followed. Oversee the charging and collection of International fees. Ensure correct fees are charged, including full cost USD paying students and NZD paying international students both on campus and distance. Ensure third parties are invoiced appropriately. Liaise with International section regarding individual international student fees. Manage Federal Stafford Loans and Private Loan applications Check publications and material. Write and proof read enrolment, course approval and fees publications and material. Update fees manual and ensure it remains a living document. Act for Student Finance Accountant, when required. Undertake reconciliation functions. Supervise the Student Finance section. Oversee training of staff. Identify training needs of Fees Office staff. Organise and running of training sessions. Ensure staff are following procedures and retrain, where necessary. Process and approve Late Payment fee exemptions. Consider appeals from students regarding exemption of late payment fees. Ensure guidelines are established and updated for consideration of late payment fee appeals. Arrange and approve payment plans for fee payments. Handle all enquiries and requests for delayed payment of fees. Approve payment plans within established framework. Refer proposals outside the framework to the Student Finance Accountant or the Director Financial Services Division for approval. Recommendations are to be attached. Deal with questions and queries regarding fees and respond as appropriate. Responsible for accounts for students who are on exchange programmes. Liaise with Research, Enterprise and International Office regarding approved exchange programmes and students etc. Ensure exchange students are invoiced appropriately. Monitor exchange programmes. Report quarterly on individual exchange programmes. Perform audit duties. Ensure spot checks of at least one policy/procedure for compliance is undertaken every two months. Regularly check that Fees Office staff are following established policies and procedures. Check manual over-rides in accordance with current guidelines.

3 Responsible for office correspondence. Communicate with students and others, as required. Answer Fees Office correspondence. Recommend changes to the fees computer system if appropriate. Arrange (specify) changes to system when maintenance is required. Specify changes to systems, as required. Budget preparation and monitoring. Prepare annual budget submission. Ensure Fees Office operates within the approved budget. Office administration. Check inward accounts for payment to ensure correctness. Management of records and correspondences. Ensure records are kept for annual leave, sick leave, overtime hours and staff training for Fees Office staff. Organise payment of Fees Office casual staff salaries - including ensuring timesheets are accurately completed. Other duties, as required. RELATIONSHIPS Directly responsible to: Supervision of: Functional relationships with: Student Finance Accountant. Fees Officer Studylink permanent, full-time. Fees Officer permanent, full-time. Customer Services Officer permanent, full-time. Assistant Fees Officer permanent, full-time. - Assist in staff recruitment Yes - Personally addresses staff performance issues? Yes - Does staff performance development reviews? Yes - Allocates tasks to staff? Yes Student Finance Accountant. Other Student Finance staff. Student Administration staff. Cashiers Office staff. Other Financial Services Division staff. Human Resources Division staff. All University Divisions and Departments. Research, Enterprise and International staff. Various external organisations. BUDGETARY RESPONSIBILITY Preparation of Fees Office budget. Approve account payments (within approved budget levels). To monitor the Fees Office activity centre budget to ensure it runs within the approved budget.

4 EXPECTED OUTCOMES All students liable to pay fees are charged correctly. Ensure all fees charged are collected. Ensure the Fees Office operates effectively and efficiently. PERSON SPECIFICATION Experience Significant experience in dealing with debtors and creditors. Experience with computerised debtor systems. Experience with personal computers and spreadsheets (preferably Word and Excel). Management and supervisory experience. Qualities Analytical skills. Clear lateral thinker who can work with accuracy. Ability to work and organise workloads. Ability to work with and relate to senior management. Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines. Ability to plan and organise workloads. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Skill in understanding and implementing policy/regulations. A team person with an innovative approach to solving problems. A knowledge of the University s qualification structure. Ability to deal appropriately with students who are under stress. Ability to relate well to students, parents and professionals. Skill in maintaining proper filing systems for records, information and correspondence. Ability to work unsupervised. Ability to work extra hours at various times of the year. SALARY RANGE AND LEVEL This position is evaluated at Level 6, on the University of Otago General Staff salary scale, the full salary range for this level being $46,325 to $56,199 per annum. The University operates an eight level salary structure applicable to most General Staff, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 8 being the highest. INITIAL SALARY ON APPOINTMENT The expectation is that initial appointment will normally be made within the range $46,325 to $51,262 per annum. ANNUAL SALARY REVIEW Placement of staff within salary ranges is reviewed annually. The general staff annual salary review is carried out between August and December of each year, with any resulting increases taking effect

5 from 1 February of the following year. Staff must have been employed on or before 1 August in the year of the review to be eligible for advancement the following February. CONTACT PERSON For further information, please contact Jacqui Bradshaw, Fees Manager, Student Finance, Tel , jacqui.bradshaw@otago.ac.nz Should the University wish to offer you the position, a formal, written letter of offer will follow any verbal discussions that might be held with you. It is recommended that you do not resign from your current employment until you have received our written offer. The contents of this formal letter of offer and its attachments will constitute the entire agreement between the employee and the employer, and will supersede all previous representations, negotiations, commitments and communications, either written or oral between the parties. Any agreements will only be binding on the employer where they have been formally offered by the Human Resources Division and accepted by the employee. While this position is open to applications from outside of Dunedin, New Zealand, unless otherwise stated relocation assistance will not be available should the successful applicant currently reside elsewhere in the country or world. University of Otago PO Box 56 Dunedin NEW ZEALAND Tel Fax job.applications@otago.ac.nz