Oversee end-to-end administration across applications, renewals, contracts, payments, recoveries, reporting and stakeholder communication (both internally and externally)
Monitoring and reconciling bursary payments, accruals, recoveries and outstanding balances
Managing the bursary budget through tracking spend against budget and flagging risks/ overspend early
Producing regular spend reports to management on a monthly basis
Liaising closely with internal stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely processing of payments
Ensuring compliance with the bursary process; firm policies and governance requirements
Maintaining complete and accurate records for audit trail purposes
Identifying process breakdowns, control weaknesses or non-compliance and escalating where necessary
Supporting statutory and internal reporting requirements accurately and on time
Collaboration with the national recruitment teams; finance; shared services; university stakeholders and bursary recipients
Collaborating with the National Bursary and Recruiting Manager as well as the Senior Manager to keep the bursary policy as up to date as possible (this includes updating the screening criteria and eligibility criteria on an annual basis)
Managing high volumes of queries professionally and efficiently
Escalating complex or sensitive matters appropriately
Stakeholder management to ensure all deadlines are met and required documentation has been provided
Maintening bursary pipeline- this includes but is not limited to; Ensuring all documents required for a bursary recipient is uploaded onto both the bursary application system as well as the Graduate Recruiting shared drive; obtaining proof of registration at the beginning of the year for the bursary recipient; mid-year grade capture for all bursary recipients; suspension of bursaries in line with policy and processing cancellations of bursaries in line with policy
Overseeing the bursary team (ie, bursary administrator and bursary intern)
Using social media and the firm’s website to communicate with potential bursary applicants and developing marketing campaigns to assist in attracting new bursary applicants.
Provide support for the recruiters and administrators with initiatives at the university campuses, career fairs and other special projects that may arise.
Job Skills/Competencies Required
Core Competencies
Exceptional administrative and organisational skills
Strong attention to detail and accuracy
Financial acumen and confidence working with reconciliations, payment data, and reports
Strong follow-up discipline and ability to manage large volumes of work
Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines under pressure
Strong written and verbal communication skills
High level of ownership, accountability, and professionalism
Systems-savvy and comfortable using recruitment, document management, and finance-related systems
Process-improvement mindset
Strong Excel proficiency
Team management and collaboration skills
Stakeholder engagement skills
Able to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple deadlines, high query volumes and strict turnaround times
Minimum Requirements
Minimum3- 5 years’ experience in a similar role
Experience in bursary administration is required, particularly managing large bursaries and volume students
Good verbal and written communication skills
Experience within a high-paced professional services industry will be advantageous
