Financial Specialist - Hybrid

University of Illinois System•Urbana, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Financial Specialist serves as the University Bursar’s subject-matter expert for student loan fund accounting, overseeing nearly $60 million in federal and institutional loan funds across the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses. Under the direction of the Director of Business Operations, this role manages the full accounting cycle for nearly 100 Perkins, HRSA Health Professions, and institutional loan funds, ensuring accurate integration between Banner and the University’s loan servicer. The position prepares federal compliance reports and quarterly and annual reports for University Accounting and Financial Reporting, and partners with Financial Aid on fund projections that determine annual lending capacity. The role also supports University System accounts receivable operations, including daily payment-portal feeder processing, returned-check resolution, refund reconciliation, and Banner data reporting used for analysis and decision-making. It exercises independent judgment to safeguard high-dollar fund balances and ensure compliance with university, state, and federal requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, or a field related to the position.
Two years of professional business, financial, and/or managerial work experience. A master’s degree in an area consistent with the duties may substitute for one year of work experience.
Specialized knowledge of professional accounting practices and applicable state and federal guidelines and regulations.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to prepare clear financial reports with detailed information.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Demonstrated problem-solving capability.
Excellent organizational and multitasking skills.
Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and working knowledge of other Microsoft Office applications, such as Word and Outlook.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated financial and accounting expertise to analyze financial documents, reports, and related processing systems.
Proficiency with SQL and report-writing or query tools, such as DBeaver.
Knowledge of Banner programs and applications.
Work experience in a higher education institution, preferably the University of Illinois.

Responsibilities

Coordinate and prepare required annual federal reports, including the Perkins FISAP for the U.S. Department of Education and Annual Operating Reports for HRSA; prepare and analyze annual campus portfolio reports summarizing loan balances, collections, and default rates.
Coordinate and prepare quarterly financial reports on the student loan portfolio for University Accounting and Financial Reporting.
Reconcile monthly refunds issued from student and general accounts receivable for all three campuses, ensuring billing-system refunds match University accounting records.
Manage and support daily accounts receivable data processing in Banner and related integrated systems, including preparing, reviewing, and submitting feeder data from University payment portals.
Coordinate and administer returned-check processes for System Office locations, including investigating, processing, communicating, and documenting NSF and returned checks.
Verify monthly that loan disbursements and borrower payments transfer accurately between Banner and the third-party loan servicer; research discrepancies and coordinate corrections.
Manage and reconcile the three loan-payment and adjustment holding accounts, monitoring activity and ensuring transactions clear accurately and promptly.
Coordinate monthly reconciliations of each federal and University-funded loan fund, investigate discrepancies between Banner and loan-servicer records, and implement corrections.
Analyze and project monthly available funds for each loan fund and provide projections to Financial Aid to support annual student loan funding decisions.
Support and coordinate financial activities for closing out the federal Perkins Loan program, including verifying loan cancellations and assisting with transfers of remaining loans and cash balances to the U.S. Department of Education.
Calculate, review, and record annual financial allowances, including administrative and doubtful-account allowances, with accurate reporting and supporting documentation.
Coordinate federal funding activities when an HRSA health professions loan fund has low cash balances, including reviewing the Notice of Award and coordinating federal fund drawdowns.
Develop, generate, and maintain Banner data downloads, reports, and supporting datasets for financial reporting, reconciliation, analysis, and operational decision-making.