Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Baylor University • Waco, TX

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

This position will support the mission and vision of Baylor University by
leading a Financial Aid team in maintaining a customer service focus in the
administration of financial aid. Strong leadership, relationship building, and
communication are critical components of this position. Demonstrating robust
core competencies, most notably: facilitating a commitment to succeed, leading
by example, a desire to continue professional development and learning,
teaching, and developing others, being an innovative thinker and having an
ability to be decisive with a service-minded attitude. These attributes will
support the Financial Aid office in efficient, timely, and accurate
administration of financial aid.

A bachelor's degree and three years of relevant experience are required. Five
years of relevant experience are preferred.

Additional education or experience will be considered in lieu of one another.

Requirements

• Financial Aid and Higher Education experience
• Ability to maintain a high level of accuracy, professionalism, integrity, and customer service focus
• Proven leadership results
• Ability to lead, inspire, monitor, and supervise employees to achieve goals that contribute to the mission of Baylor University
• Proven ability to lead individuals and groups where duties involve instruction, training, reviewing work, documenting procedures, presenting information, and problem-solving
• Proven ability to plan and complete assignments, resolve conflicts, coordinate, and direct work with others between cross-functional teams
• Handle and delegate responsibilities
• Support effective collaboration with cross-functional teams
• Commitment to active listening and effective communication
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Accurately estimate timelines and meet deadlines
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, collaboratively, and thrive in a dynamic work environment
• Strong working knowledge of industry policies and regulations
• Curious learner driven to grow in and understand more about Financial Aid, Higher Education, systems, and development of skills
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to review work and proactively act on error resolution
• Exercise good judgement and discretion when working with confidential and sensitive information and situations
• Intermediate experience with Excel, Banner, Federal Student Aid, COD, NSLDS, and other related agencies, systems, and platforms
• Must be able to travel outside of the state of Texas.
• Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States on a Full-Time basis.
• A bachelor's degree and three years of relevant experience are required.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of current Department of Education Financial Aid Regulations and Title IV Aid programs
• Knowledge of institutional, state, and private aid programs, requirements, and regulations
• Knowledge of aid administration in conjunction with athletic aid eligibility, including NCAA, Big 12, and Baylor policies and regulations
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with reporting and data analysis
• Strong analytical and critical thinking to identify patterns, gaps, research solutions, assess performance, and support implementation of processes, procedures, and policies.
• Five years of relevant experience are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for direct supervision and leadership of a Financial Aid team
• Lead in development and coaching of staff
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge in aid administration to ensure accurate and timely processing
• Leadership in daily, monthly, and annual audits and reconciliation of financial aid programs
• Analyze data to provide proactive identification of error resolution to support compliance and student experience
• Report patterns in data to supervisor to address areas of needed training, and/or changes to policy and procedure for efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance
• Heightened awareness in the stewardship and responsibility of accurate, compliant, aid administration
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of federal, state, NCAA, Big 12, and university regulations, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance
• Development of necessary policies and procedures
• Support training efforts for the Financial Aid Processing team, as well as cross-functional training in Financial Aid, Enrollment Management, and Baylor University
• Research and respond to requests from team members to support customer service and student experience
• Partner with Student Financial Aid Tech Team in automation setup, performance, and preparing reports to support Financial Aid Operations
• Assist with special projects and any other task assigned by the supervisor
• Some travel for training and events
• Perform all other duties as assigned to support Baylor’s mission
• Ability to comply with University policies
• Maintain regular and punctual attendance

Benefits

• eligible employees receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, generous time off, tuition remission, and outstanding automatic retirement contributions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees