Assistant Director, Financial Aid

Summary of Duties

The Assistant Director of Financial aid plays a key role in supporting the Director of Financial Aid in the planning, development, organization, administration, overall coordination and supervision of a comprehensive financial aid program. The Assistant Director plays a key role in supervising the financial aid staff, advising students, and ensuring compliance with regulations, and will support students in navigating the financial aid process through proactive strategies to connect students with financial aid solutions that contribute to the College’s student enrollment, persistence, retention, and completion goals. This position is eligible for remote work.

Duties & Responsibilities

Major responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Provide financial aid counseling to students, families, and prospective students on all state, federal and institutional student aid programs, including grants, loans, scholarships, and outside agency programs.
• Daily processing of student verifications of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Receive financial aid forms; review for completeness and accuracy; verify information reported on student applications to determine eligibility for awards.
• Process student financial aid files in accordance with federal and state regulations and maintain current working knowledge of guidelines/regulations related to financial aid.
• Manage distribution of correspondence produced by the Financial Aid Office such as: award letters, verification materials, SAP notifications, student loan materials.
• Participate in the development, evaluation and implementation of institutional policies and procedures regarding student financial aid.
• Assist the Director in answering emails or phone calls sent to the financial aid office, including the necessary research, obtaining assistance from other staff when needed, and responding to the student/parent in a timely fashion.
• Assist the Director of Financial Aid in making decisions regarding high level, complex policies and procedures as they relate to professional judgment, SAP, verification, and the awarding of discretionary aid, and in awarding of financial aid to eligible students.
• Collaborate with the Director to develop and implement annual department plans including administrative unit outcomes and assessments.
• Coordinate various technologies for the office including Calendly, Modern Campus Message and Student Forms.
• Serve as the direct supervisor for financial aid staff.
• Serve as an active member of institutional meetings and within Shared Governance as appropriate.
• Some evening and weekend work may be required.
• Perform other similar duties as assigned.

Experience, Skills & Abilities

Required:

• One to three years of financial aid experience.
• Knowledge of financial aid packaging and processing and use of Ellucian Banner Financial Aid module.
• A high degree of customer service skill.
• Knowledge of office practices and procedures, typing, operating PC based software applications (word processing, database, spreadsheet) as well as network operations (email, downloading/uploading, FTP).
• Ability to coordinate and assign work by analyzing requirements for specific projects and communicating with users.
• Ability to work within a team environment.
• Must be able to work non-standard work schedules and work hours to meet weekly work schedule requirements.
• Ability to deal with a variety of variables in somewhat unfamiliar context.
• Committed to the two-year college mission.

Education & Certifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 3-5 years of Financial Ad experience.

• Broad knowledge of financial aid regulations, laws, and best and promising practices.

• Master’s degree and current National Associational of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Financial Aid Administrator Certification (FAAC).