Director of Financial Aid

Colorado Mesa University•Grand Junction, CO

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Financial Aid must have a dual passion for student support and data-driven fiscal management. The Director leads a diverse team responsible for awarding and communicating financial aid, managing and programming systems, analyzing data, and collaborating with the CMU Foundation, Athletics, and Student Services to support students and steward limited funds effectively. This leader must navigate complex federal and state laws and regulations while keeping CMU's mission and student needs at the forefront.

Requirements

An earned Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution, is required.
A minimum of three years of progressively responsible management experience in a customer/student service environment
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
Ability to interpret an extensive variety of legal and regulatory documents and deal with several abstract and concrete variables
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, and percentages.
Applicant must be able to verify U.S. employment eligibility.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education is preferred
demonstrated commitment to improving the levels of access and success for underrepresented students within higher education.

Responsibilities

Ensure effective financial aid counseling, advising, and service delivery to students
Lead process improvement initiatives to enhance the student experience, including interdepartmental coordination and problem-solving
Conduct task analyses and process reviews to ensure efficient and strategic department operations
Oversee communications and systems management, with particular attention to web and electronic communications and the student experience
Develop and monitor the office operations budget, institutional financial aid budget, and federal and state financial aid budgets
Lead and manage staff
Build a positive department culture through recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and performance evaluation
Contribute to the development of institutional, state and federal financial aid strategy in alignment with enrollment plans
Participate in enrollment planning
Collaborate with others in student recruiting and yield activities on and off campus
Coordinate with other Colorado Mesa University departments including Admissions, Development, and Athletics to leverage financial aid for effective recruitment and retention
Work with Enrollment Management Planning Team to improve public information quality, raise public awareness, and present on financial aid availability and awarding processes
Participate in CMU Data Governance
Ensure coherent, consistent, and useful classification of financial aid data (e.g., fund source, fund type, etc.)
Establish practices and procedures to ensure appropriate data use, security, and quality
Review and present financial aid scorecard and other reports/analysis to inform enrollment management and financial strategy decisions
Ensure compliance with federal, state and institutional regulations and policies
Review and updates policies and procedures regularly
Provide analysis and recommendations of federal and state financial aid issues
Interpret federal and state regulations and keep staff informed of changes
Serve as CMU’s representative on the CCHE Financial Aid Advisory Committee and other external organizations as appropriate