Higher Education Access Partner

PHEAA•Harrisburg, PA

9d•$54,995 - $71,000•Remote

About The Position

PHEAA is seeking a Higher Education Access Partner to join their growing team in their Pennsylvania School Services department. This challenging and rewarding role is responsible for the promotion of PHEAA’s mission, programs, products and services to educational institutions, legislative and civic groups, customers, clients, and constituents in an assigned area of Pennsylvania and is visible as the image of PHEAA to the public. Candidates for this role must reside within the region this role will service. This fully remote position requires extensive travel and working outside of regular business hours.

Requirements

Candidates for this role must reside within the region this role will service.
Must live in proximity to Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.
Extensive travel required.
Working outside of regular business hours required.
Must have industry expertise.
Must have knowledge of college access and financial aid.
Must have knowledge of State and Federal programs administered by PHEAA.
Must have knowledge of federal and state legislative offices.
Must maintain up to date knowledge of state and federal regulations, products, and services that govern access and processing of financial aid.
Must be able to conduct financial aid presentations and FAFSA completion sessions.
Must be able to conduct training at school counselor/teacher workshops.
Must be able to attend and exhibit at events such as college fairs and career fairs.
Must be able to operate independently in terms of scheduling all visits, events and activities.
Must comply with the Agency’s enterprise security and privacy policies and departmental procedures.
Must document all completed activities in the SalesLogix database and through bi-weekly reports.
Must be able to develop and analyze metrics to measure effectiveness of programs, products and services and make recommendations for improvements.
Must be able to create or contribute to the development of different media to enhance outreach services.

Nice To Haves

Experience with educationplanner.org
Experience with mysmartborrowing

Responsibilities

Establish relationships and, using industry expertise, educates secondary educational institutions and community/ public service organizations in an assigned area. There is special focus on the high schools, federal grants in which PHEAA plays a role in in-kind activities, low-income schools and schools that have a low percentage of students going on to higher education, as well as organizations that best reach our target audience, to create awareness of access to higher education.
Assist key stakeholders in an assigned area with the coordination and delivery of training and programming regarding college access and financial aid. There is special focus on enhancing collaboration among various customer groups to more effectively deliver services to our target audience.
Establish and maintain relationships with financial aid offices at postsecondary institutions to share industry knowledge and assist with training initiatives and problem resolution for State and Federal programs administered by PHEAA on behalf of the Commonwealth and Federal Government. Serves as liaison through personal visits, PASFAA meetings, regulatory updates and intra-Agency communications.
Develop and maintain an effective working relationship with federal and state legislative offices, providing them with updated financial aid information and literature, technical assistance with constituent concerns, and participation at financial aid information sessions and similar events as needed; works collaboratively with in-house Legislative Affairs staff to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure effective communications.
Maintain up to date knowledge of state and federal regulations, products, and services that govern access and processing of financial aid; participates in internal and external conference calls, webinars, and training initiatives on a regular basis.
Collaborate with business units throughout the Agency, in particular State Grant and Special Programs, Legal and Compliance Services, Web Products Management, and other departments within Public Affairs.
Conduct financial aid presentations and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion sessions (or computer lab settings) with students and/or parents and education on the college application and financial aid process.
Conduct training (presentation or computer lab) at school counselor/teacher workshops or other areas as needed, related to the financial aid process, educationplanner.org, mysmartborrowing, or planning, preparing and paying for a higher education.
Attend and exhibit at events such as college fairs and career fairs where information and materials are distributed to parents, students and the general public about preparing and paying for a college education.
Recommend changes to the type and frequency of outreach services.
Research and recommend changes to financial aid educational resources as it relates to the target audience.
Keep abreast of competitor products and make recommendations on enhancements to our products.
Promote PHEAA’s RepayReady suite of products to postsecondary institutions.
Promote all PA Forward Loan products.
Operate independently in terms of scheduling all visits, events and activities to be conducted with customers throughout the service area.
Comply with the Agency’s enterprise security and privacy policies and departmental procedures.
Document all completed activities in the SalesLogix database and through bi-weekly reports.
Develop and analyze metrics to measure effectiveness of programs, products and services and make recommendations for improvements.
Create or contribute to the development of different media to enhance outreach services.
Perform any other duties and/or tasks that may be assigned to him/her on an as needed basis.