Job
Description
JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: Collection Manager Team Handling Department: Collections & Recovery Location: Gurgaon Reports To: Head of Collections Experience: 6–10 years in collections with legal exposure Qualification: Graduate in any discipline; LLB mandatory or preferred Job Purpose: The Collections Manager - Legal & Team Lead will be responsible for overseeing and managing the end-to-end legal collections process for a designated portfolio, leading a team of collections professionals, and ensuring adherence to all legal and regulatory guidelines. This role is critical in maximizing recoveries, minimizing delinquencies, and mitigating legal risks through effective strategy implementation, team management, and legal expertise. Key Responsibilities: 1. Team Leadership & Management: Create, train, mentor, and motivate a team of collections executives/officers, providing clear objectives and performance targets. Conduct regular performance reviews, identify training needs, and foster a high-performance culture within the team. Provide guidance and support to the team on complex collection cases, legal procedures, and negotiation strategies. Monitor team productivity, ensure adherence to processes, and implement measures to improve efficiency and success rates. 2. Legal Collections Strategy & Execution: Develop, implement, and refine legal collections strategies for various loan products (e.g., retail loans, business loans, secured/unsecured loans) to maximize recovery rates and minimize losses. Oversee and manage all legal actions related to debt recovery, including but not limited to: Negotiable Instruments Act (NI Act), particularly Section 138 (Cheque Bounce cases): Initiation, tracking, and follow-up of criminal proceedings. SARFAESI Act (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act): Handling secured asset repossessions, auctions, and legal compliances. Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and Civil Suits: Filing and managing cases for larger defaults. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC): Understanding and navigating the insolvency process for corporate and individual debtors. Arbitration & Conciliation Act: Managing arbitration proceedings for recovery. Lok Adalat and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms: Driving amicable settlements. Coordinate with empaneled law firms, external legal counsels, and recovery agencies, ensuring timely and effective action on legal cases. Review and analyze legal documents, court orders, and settlement agreements. Prepare legal notices, affidavits, plaints, written statements, and other legal documents as required. 3. Portfolio Management & Performance: Own the legal collections portfolio, tracking key metrics such as recovery rates, cost of recovery, and portfolio quality (NPA reduction). Analyze collection data, identify trends, and develop actionable insights to improve legal recovery strategies. Implement robust internal controls and monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance and mitigate operational risks. Prepare and present regular reports on legal collections status, performance, and key challenges to senior management. 4. Legal Compliance & Risk Mitigation: Ensure all collection activities, processes, and legal actions strictly comply with relevant Indian laws, including banking laws, consumer protection acts, RBI guidelines, and internal policies. Stay updated on legal changes, amendments, and court pronouncements affecting debt recovery and collections. Liaise with the internal legal and compliance departments to integrate policy changes and ensure legal soundness of all collection practices. Proactively identify potential legal risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. Conduct due diligence on cases escalated for legal action to ensure legal viability and minimize litigation risk. 5. Stakeholder Management: Collaborate effectively with internal departments such as Credit, Risk, Operations, Sales, and Compliance to streamline collection efforts and resolve complex cases. Maintain professional relationships with external stakeholders including law enforcement agencies, court officials, and debt recovery tribunals. Engage in negotiations with delinquent customers, providing legal perspectives to reach amicable settlements when appropriate. Qualifications: Mandatory: Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a recognized university. Preferred: Post-graduate qualification in Law (LLM). Minimum 7-12 years of experience in collections, with a strong focus on legal recovery, in a bank, NBFC, or ARC. At least 3-5 years of experience in a team-leading or managerial role within collections. In-depth knowledge of Indian debt recovery laws and regulations, including NI Act, SARFAESI Act, DRT Act, IBC, Civil Procedure Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and relevant consumer protection laws. Proven track record of achieving legal recovery targets and managing a large portfolio. Excellent leadership, team management, and interpersonal skills. Strong negotiation, communication (verbal and written), and presentation skills. Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret legal documents and financial data. High ethical standards and ability to handle sensitive information with discretion. Proficiency in MS Office Suite and collections management software. Role & responsibilities Preferred candidate profile
