Assistant Director of Financial Aid Systems & State Programs

Montclair State University•Montclair, NJ

73d•$83,000 - $90,000

About The Position

Reporting to the Associate Director of Financial Aid Operations, the Assistant Director of Financial Aid Systems and State Programs serves as a leader within the Financial Aid Management team. This role manages state programs and day-to-day operations of the Student Information System (SIS) in collaboration with the Associate Director of Operations. This role ensures efficient, accurate, and compliant processing of financial aid data through system development, maintenance, and integration while serving as the institutional liaison for all state-funded aid programs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
Minimum five years of experience working in operational support of financial aid processing, preferably with Banner or Workday.
Experience with report generation, preferably in COGNOS.
Knowledge of State and Federal regulations affecting financial aid.
Experience supporting Federal grants, State grants, Private and Direct Lending process.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in SQL.
Proficiency in Spanish.
Experience with state grant systems.
NASFAA credentials.

Responsibilities

Ensure adherence to federal, state, and institutional financial aid regulations, policies, and procedures; lead internal/external audits, troubleshoot compliance issues, and ensure Title IV and NJ State financial aid program adherence; support Montclair staff in implementing and maintaining compliance and federal and state financial aid requirements.
Assist with financial aid system operations (Banner/Workday), resolve system-related issues; serve as the back-up liaison within the IT department to ensure system efficiency; analyze financial aid data, resolve discrepancies, and develop strategic solutions; ensure that proper security roles and system access for staff for both the Montclair and Bloomfield campuses are in place for various federal, state, and institutional financial aid processing systems.
Assist in the development and implementation of robust financial aid-related systems for data collection and weekly analysis reporting via knowledge of Banner or Workday, and writing reports via SQL with the use of COGNOS, as well as managing financial aid award years in Banner, writing/updating algorithms and reports.
Serve as the primary contact for the state agency (HESAA).
Oversee compliance, awarding, reconciliation, and reporting of all state-funded financial aid programs.
Monitor state program budgets and prepare required reports for institutional and state use.
Ensure accuracy of student data related to aid disbursement, enrollment reporting, and return of funds.
Participate in the reconciliation process for state funds to ensure internal systems are consistent with external.
Serve as backup for the import and export process (origination, disbursement and response files) of all programs. Federal and State Grants processing, along with the Private and Direct Loan processing in Banner or Workday, interacting with COD and NJFAMS to reconcile State grants.
Assist in updating the Policy and Procedures Manual as it pertains to technical operations in the Financial Aid Office. Document step-by-step instructional guides for most procedures.
Support the preparation and submission of mandatory state, federal, and athletic reporting.
Coordinate system updates, patches, and testing cycles.
Train financial aid staff on system changes and state program updates.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Management retains the right to change or add job duties at any time.