Assistant to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships

Metropolitan State University of Denver•Denver, CO

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Assistant is an essential member of the team in providing support and taking initiative across a wide range of office management functions. The Assistant is responsible for leading the efficiency of day-to-day operations. A successful candidate will have a strong ability to build relationships, work independently, be thorough and thoughtful, detail oriented and be able to balance a workload of ebbs and flows. The Assistant also operates from a lens of understanding and prioritizing equity in the work with MSU Denver’s diverse community. This role will report to the Executive Director while also supporting (as needed) the other Directors and staff in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and Call Center (OFASCC). With a professional staff of over 30 and a student staff of 40+, we come together to create a professional team rich with diversity in thought, life/work experience and culture. The Assistant to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships is a base funded position. IND208

Requirements

Demonstrated strong skills in verbal and written communication, time management, coordination and event planning, and human relations.
High school diploma or GED
One (1) year of experience in working in a higher education environment
One (1) year of administrative or office coordination experience
Successful applicants will ensure their resumes clearly demonstrate that their work experience describes how they meet ALL required qualifications.

Nice To Haves

Experience using Workday Procurement, Workday Expenses, or a similar enterprise financial system to process purchases, expense reports, invoices, or other financial transactions.
Associate’s degree or higher
Experience in Workday or similar
Proficiency with standard MS Office software applications

Responsibilities

Serves as the liaison and first point of contact when representing the OFASCC with internal and external departments, organizations, and groups through a variety of modalities including phone, emails, meetings, and one-on-one conversations.
Serves as point of contact for referrals to the Executive Director to help de-escalate/resolve problems and/or refer to appropriate personnel, as per University policy.
Ensures that the tone, standards of professionalism, and customer service reflect the values and service standards communicated by the OFASCC.
Adheres to confidentiality standards within the office.
Maintains the condition of the office to provide a professional, welcoming, inclusive, and organized area.
Maintains conference room and manages reservations, and guest appointments.
Manages internal operations, identifies problems and develops solutions.
Maintains office efficiency by developing, recommending, planning, and implementing office administrative systems, structures, processes, procedures, and workflows to meet the needs of the office/branch.
Works independently, handles matters confidentially, analyzes and solves problems in the OFASCC, and makes decisions appropriate to the position.
Designs and maintains filing systems, copying, electronic filing, scanning, data entry, processes paperwork, develops documents/spreadsheets, supervises mail and hand-deliveries and other necessary office procedures.
Stays up to date with knowledge of institution, state, and federal fiscal procurement policies and procedures and processes appropriate budget processes respectively.
Responsible for OFASCC operating budget.
Purchases and tracks office supply, identifies and works with vendors appropriate for purchasing needs.
Manages and maintains Executive Director’s calendar and appointments, prioritizing activities and events, ensuring that meeting requests are completed in a timely fashion, vetted in an appropriate manner, and clearly presented.
Supports Executive Director by monitoring email and highlighting items of importance, delegating items to other staff as needed, and ensuring all escalated issues are referred quickly to appropriate staff.
Initiates scheduling of conference calls, lunch meetings, and off-site meetings.
Prepares travel authorizations, makes airline, hotel, and transportation reservations, and determines travel and expense report management in alignment with all University policies, procedures and deadlines.
Develops, maintains and monitors requests and calendaring systems for general reporting requests submitted to OFASCC, assigns and monitors timelines for major data and Department of Education deadlines in collaboration with the Associate Director of Reporting.
Assists in pulling simple reports in Banner to help respond to internal and external data request, ensuring federal, state, and institutional regulations and policies are followed.
In collaboration with Financial Aid Accountant and Associate Director of Scholarships, receive and track external scholarship checks, reconcile external scholarships, correspond with donors and return unspent funds.
Updates staff and student job descriptions and ensures all employee and hiring information is submitted and up-to-date in all HR systems.
Coordinates hiring process including convening of hiring committees, scheduling interviews and ensure hiring and onboarding processes are completed for all new employees.
Manages employee separation process.
Coordinates annual employee review process.
Manages appropriate projects assigned by the Executive Director.
Provides additional support for other office staff.
Ensures professional and accurate completion of duties assigned.