Associate Director of Financial Aid Operations

University of San Francisco•San Francisco, CA

27d

About The Position

The Office of Financial Aid at the University of San Francisco is committed to removing financial barriers to higher education through exceptional student experience and advanced technical analysis. We continue to advocate for educational affordability through a myriad of avenues and evaluations of diverse federal, state, and other financial aid programs. Within this context, the Associate Director of Financial Aid Operations serves a critical role, providing direction, planning, and coordination over key areas in the Financial Aid Office. The successful candidate will have strong leadership and organizational and technical skills, as well as the ability to prioritize competing needs and effectively manage change and unanticipated challenges. The Associate Director of Operations will provide oversight and strategic direction for the Financial Aid Office processing operations. They will be responsible for building a strong, integrated service approach to ensure accurate and timely processing of financial aid funds, responses to customer inquiries with regard to student accounts, financial aid, and enrollment information; managing the delivery of information and integrated customer service to a diverse client base comprised of current and prospective undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and their families; ensuring a consistent and high level customer service experience across all service points (in person, phone, email); and ensure that staff are knowledgeable about and competent in delivering policies, procedures, practices, products, and services.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from a college or University accredited by a US Department of Education or internationally recognized accrediting organization.
Five or more years of experience in financial aid administration in a comprehensive university or college environment with a demonstrated progression of managerial responsibility.
Thorough knowledge of federal and state regulations pertaining to financial aid
Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of federal, state and institutional financial aid programs, to ensure compliance with policies, legislations and regulations
Ability to work with a diverse student/staff population engage in conflict resolution, coordination of interdepartmental projects, deal with outside agencies and auditors
Knowledge of operational processes and procedures, work and task flow for area to support the processing team when needed.
Knowledge of federal, state and institutional financial aid.
Possess a comprehensive knowledge of Banner integrated student information systems.
Excellent communication skills; ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner verbally and in writing.
Ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
Excellent organizational and time management skills.
Ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
Ability to adapt to and work effectively in a heavily bureaucratic environment which requires regular interaction with a number of levels within the organization.
Working knowledge, or ability to quickly learn, university infrastructure, policies, and procedures.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Working knowledge of Banner.
Working knowledge of Nextgen Scholarship Manager.
Experience working in a unionized environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as a key member of the Office Leadership Team. Actively contribute to office and staff growth and development, and act as lead for aspects of department operations, processing, and customer service in the absence of the director. Represent the Financial Aid Office at state, regional, and national conferences and training events.
Work together with the Student Accounts team to ensure Financial Aid participation in student support initiatives and to assist with retention efforts.
Provide leadership and direction to the financial aid processing team; set short- and long-term goals for the team and motivate staff to achieve them.
Maintains knowledge of federal and state regulations, and university policies related to financial aid programs to ensure the proper processing and documentation of awards.
Oversee the year-end reconciliation of the Cal Grant Program.
Ensure timely processing of verification cases working with staff to ensure knowledge, accuracy and efficiency; coordinating caseloads amongst staff.
Research applicable U.S. Department of Education directive and/or Internal Revenue Service publications for the proper handling and resolution of student files.
Communicates accurate processing timelines for loan processing of federal, PLUS and private loans to the front-end team to ensure accurate turnaround times are reported to students and families. Processing that falls below the processing goal would be reported to the Director.
Monitors tableau dashboards to determine financial aid outreach (email and phone campaigns) needed to ensure timely submission of student documentation.
Monitors customer reviews for financial aid and ensures that bad reviews are addressed at the student and employee level (when appropriate). Escalations will be sent to the Director of Financial Aid as needed.
Provide excellent customer service through the use of the queuing system and correspondence through e-mail, phone calls, and face-to-face interactions with students, parents, faculty, staff, and other university stakeholders.
Works in collaboration with SEM's Veteran Enrollment Services team; serves as primary contact for VA students and campus constituents.
Provide seamless transfers for students needing assistance in other areas within the Strategic Enrollment Management or elsewhere within the University.
Assist with the development and implementation of financial aid counseling strategies to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation rates across the institution.
Work with SEM communications team to plan update Admissions pages related to financial aid, and make new aid year updates to the financial aid website (i.e. SSB9 guides, webinar recordings, disbursement schedule, COA updates, Direct Loan interest and loan fees, updates year specific FA forms, ect).
Represent the Office of Financial Aid at divisional and college-wide meetings and committees as requested.
Regularly updates and maintains the financial aid operational calendar with important processing deadlines to align with targeted communication dates for the Office of Financial Aid.
Serve as the liaison to other departments including Admissions, Graduate Enrollment Services and SEM Communications.
Provide a team approach to staff training and execution of financial aid awarding, reconciliation, and delivery to students.
Models inclusive excellence through specific actions that support the University's diversity goals in recruitment, hiring and retention of talented and diverse staff.
Maintains the Staff Schedule, FA Daily Stats, and FA Outreach Events.
Responsible for processing a caseload which includes federal verification, appeal processing (Special Circumstances, Satisfactory Academic Progress, and Professional Judgement).
Counsels prospective and enrolled students on all aspects of financial aid, to include financial management and budgeting practices, as appropriate.
Assist the Director with other projects as needed.
Other duties as assigned.