Our Introduction:

Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (“MOHELA”) is a nationally-recognized leader in student loan servicing and higher education financing. Established in 1981, our success for more than 40 years is due to the tremendous efforts of our outstanding staff. MOHELA is currently searching for an outstanding individual for the position of Scholarship Program Manager for its Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation (“MSLF”), preferably in Missouri

MOHELA offers excellent benefits, including:

• Medical Dental and Vision coverage month ater hire
• 401K with dollar for dollar match up to 8% of salary after 6 monhs
• Tuition reimbursement up to $12,000 per year after 3 months
• Dependent child tuition reimbursement after 3 months
• Up to $3600 in private student loan repayment reimbursment

About the Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation: The Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation (MSLF) was created in 2010 and is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation. MSLF was formed by the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (“MOHELA”) to help make higher education more accessible and affordable for Missouri students and families. By providing scholarships and low-cost student loans, MSLF supports persistence to graduation from institutions of higher education by Missouri citizens.

MSLF Mission: Provide innovative products and services to help Missouri students, particularly those with insufficient financial resources, to prepare for, enter into and successfully complete higher education at Missouri institutions.

General Statement of Duties:

Responsible for managing existing and developing new student financial assistance programs. The Program Manager is responsible for planning, development, administration, daily operations, evaluation and reporting of the MSLF’s programs (selection, awards and repayment), and reporting progress to the Foundation’s Executive Director and Board of Directors.

The Program Manager has responsibility for and shares accountability for achieving benchmarks set by MSLF regarding annual number of program applicants and awardees and college enrollment, persistence, and completion rates. The Program Manager will be an efficient, experienced professional with proven track record of supporting students and systems to increase college access and completion. Responsible for working directly with Missouri students and families to access resources to obtain higher education goals. Serves as a liaison with Missouri high schools and higher education institutions. Frequent travel and presentations to student and family groups, high schools, colleges, and regional, state-wide, and national conferences.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Program support and development - Serve as the staff lead to manage a scholarship promise program to support financial planning and college savings as well as managing the Foundation’s programs focused on college affordability and completion. Use data, research and past experience to inform recommendation to the Foundation to address common barriers of college access and success from a financial perspective. Work with leadership within MOHELA and MSLF to develop policies to guide Foundation’s programs. Manage the day-to-day operations of the Foundation programs to meet program goals and student needs, including approval/denial of requests made to the Foundation. Assist in the preparation of all programs’ materials including applications, regulatory disclosures, and other documents. Develop and implement communications strategy to distribute application materials and information to schools and students. Provide support to MOHELA staff in reviewing applications for MOFELP loans and assist with the origination, disbursement and servicing of loans.

2. Assessment – Inform assessment of the effectiveness of Foundation programs and processes related to college savings and preparation through collection and analysis of date. Produce regular reports to suggest calibration to 1) keep pace with program scaling, 2) prepare for future growth opportunities, and 3) ensure that supports provided can be linked to demonstrable results and program goals.

3. Program Compliance - Ensure that the Foundation and its Board remains in compliance with policies and procedures adopted by the Foundation, and other applicable laws and regulations in regards to the Foundation’s programs.

4. Board Meetings – Assists Foundation’s Executive Director in preparing for regular (semi-annual) and special meetings of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, including presentations on programs of the Foundation.

5. Presentation/representation – represent the Foundation to the public, particularly high schools and higher education institutions. Help raise awareness of the Foundation programs and mission to students, schools and other organizations. Serve as the Foundation school liaison and develop working relationships and communicate regularly with financial aid administrators, university leadership, school counselors and access and success nonprofit leaders. Assist with planning and delivery of all required college savings and preparation program orientations and college planning education/workshops. Assist with community outreach to prospective College Savings Account applicants, in coordination with the overall outreach strategic plan. Provide the college savings and preparation program-specific content for cohort newsletters, overall program communication, and trainings. Attend meetings and events as needed, serving as a representative of MSLF to external stakeholders.

6. College Access and Success - Assist with efforts to educate and assist Missouri students on the role of financial planning and assistance in access to college as well as success to completion of a degree, particularly Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion. Work with external stakeholders to ensure collaboration, address gaps or challenges, and ensure aligned and accurate communication to students.

7. Knowledge - Continue to acquire professional knowledge of financial aid and higher education issues, for general information and for specific relevance to Foundation concerns:

• Maintains working knowledge of financial aid processes and formulae to appropriately analyze applications
• Serves as a resource for community inquiries regarding financial aid and access to higher education
• Continually acquires and analyzes current information about higher education and financial trends to maximize the Foundation’s ability to enhance programs to meet changing needs
• Educates staff team, Board, and community partners about relevant financial aid and higher education developments

8. Team Work/Collaboration - Work effectively with entire staff to accomplish organizational goals; take actions that respect the needs and contributions of others; contribute to and accept the consensus; exchange information freely; volunteer ideas and help; build on others ideas; support group decision. Serve as an effective team member by supporting programs, including: high-level communication, inquiry response, ongoing college planning and advisement support, administrative tracking, and verifying of meeting eligibility requirements – to drive progress toward MSLF’s achieving its benchmarks, outcomes, and goals related to college enrollment and persistence and completion.

9. Developing Organizational Talent - Develop skills and competencies by planning effective development activities related to current and future jobs. Identify developmental needs and opportunities. State developmental goals. Identify training opportunities. Stress tasks to meet developmental goals. Create opportunities to apply new skills. Minimize barriers to development. Establish performance and productivity standards. Set specific objectives. Measure and coach performances. Recognize accomplishments. Manage all kinds and classes of people equitably; deal effectively with all races, nationalities, cultures, etc. Hire variety and diversity. Demonstrate respect for others despite differences. Assess departmental staffing, equipment and supply needs as necessary for budgeting.

10. Analysis/Problem Identification - Secure relevant information and identify key issues and relationships from a base of information. Relate and compare data from different sources and identify cause-effect relationships. Detect problems or opportunities. Gather all relevant information. Identify underlying issues or problems. Organize information. Recognize trends. Commit to an action after developing alternative courses of action that are based on logical assumptions and factual information, taking into consideration resources, constraints and organizational values. Weigh pros and cons/impact of alternatives. Inform others when necessary. Commit to the most appropriate action. Develop and maintain weekly, monthly, quarterly and other progress reports for senior management as requested.

11. Strategic Leadership - Create and achieve a desired future state (vision) through influence on organizational values, individual and group goals, reinforcements, and systems. Communicate vision and values by demonstrating commitment to them. Translate vision into measurable goals. Align systems with vision and values. Gain commitment to vision, values, and individual/unit goals. Establish reward structures. Lead through vision and values.

12. Delegation of Authority and Responsibility - Allocate decision making authority and task responsibilities to appropriate supervisor; utilize supervisor’s time, skills, and potential effectively. Target assignments to appropriate individuals. Assign responsibility for action. Clarify scope of authority and responsibility. Communicate confidence in individuals. Provide resources to complete assignments. Establish follow-up process and dates.

13. Integrity - Maintain and promote social, ethical and organizational norms in conducting internal and external business activities. Ensure external activities do not conflict with business activities. Share complete and accurate information. Fairly represent organization’s capabilities. Maintain confidentiality. Adhere to policies and regulations. Meet personal commitments and promises.

14. Management - Develop, implement and maintain department procedures based on policies set by management. Establish departmental goals and objectives on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Participate in the setting of goals and aid in the development of planning.

15. Reporting - Develop and maintain weekly, monthly, quarterly and other progress reports for management. Process all department quality control and maintenance reports.

16. Budgeting - Monitor and evaluate such departmental resource needs as staff, equipment and supplies and make recommendations to senior management regarding the filling of these needs. Constantly endeavor to research avenues for cost reduction and initiate action to achieve cost efficiencies. Does not compromise quality of product and service. Consider alternatives. Resource appropriately. Operate within budget parameters. Look for ways to optimize costs.

Qualifications:
Education/Experience: Bachelor’s Degree required. Minimum of three years working with a nonprofit organization or educational institution. Prior experience in financial aid, FAFSA, scholarship administration and management preferred. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in college access and completion programs which support first-generation, low-income high school students to and through college, including specific knowledge related to successful support strategies for college persistence and completion. Must demonstrate successful experience collaborating with other organizations to achieve program goals. Experience working in a fast-paced, goal-oriented environment with the ability to set and meet clear deadlines.

Computer Skills: Intermediate to advanced knowledge of the following: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). A general knowledge of Microsoft Publisher and Adobe software preferred.

Abilities:

• Experience in presenting with an ability to speak in front of large groups when necessary
• Excellent organization and time management skills
• Commitment to service and excellence
• Self-direction with the ability to manage multiple projects and responsibilities
• Relationship building skills
• Compelling written and verbal communication skills

Travel Availability: Ability to travel for networking purposes and meetings with overnight 10 or more times per year.

We are an EEO/AA Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law

To build a diverse workforce, MOHELA encourages applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities and veterans.

In compliance with the American Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with MOHELA, please call please call 636.733.3700 x3571, TDD 7-1-1.