Sr. Operations Analyst, Student Finance
About The Position
The Sr. Operations Analyst, Student Finance is a technology-enabled role responsible for improving end-to-end operations across Financial Aid Management, Billing and Receivables, and Payment and Cash Operations. The role combines hands-on processing work (25%) with analytics, systems optimization, and automation (75%). It designs, implements, and scales solutions to improve efficiency, system utilization, data accuracy, and student experience. The analyst provides operational expertise across Student Finance systems while leading workflow optimization, automation, reporting, and continuous improvement. The position works closely with Student Finance, IT, and Operations teams to translate business needs into system capabilities, support implementations, and measure results.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Information Systems, or a related field.
- 4–6+ years of experience in student finance operations or process optimization.
- Experience with systems such as Banner, Salesforce, and ProSAM, or other Financial Aid Management systems.
- Experience with Federal Student Aid, third-party billing, and VA web-based applications.
- Maintain access to federal systems, which requires having no defaulted federal student loans.
- Strong technical proficiency in Excel, Power Query, Power Automate, and Power BI or equivalent technologies.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently.
- Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new technologies, systems, and tools in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Responsibilities
- Perform processing across Student Finance functions to maintain operational fluency and support priority workloads.
- Serve as a cross-functional subject matter expert across Student Financial Aid, Billing, and Payment systems.
- Execute and validate complex financial transactions and ensure data integrity across systems.
- Support escalations and exception handling requiring deep system knowledge.
- Lead optimization of Student Finance systems and workflows.
- Design and implement automation solutions using Power Automate or other automation and AI platforms, Power Query, and reporting tools.
- Partner with IT to define system requirements and enhancements.
- Improve audit, reconciliation, and compliance processes, eliminating manual work through automation and process redesign.
- Partner with operational leaders to identify opportunities for AI-driven operational improvements.
- Analyze data across systems to identify trends and risks.
- Develop KPI dashboards, operational scorecards, and performance monitoring frameworks to support management decision-making.
- Support capacity planning, workload forecasting, and scalability assessments across Student Finance operations.
- Establish data validation and monitoring frameworks.
- Map and redesign workflows to improve efficiency and scalability, and maintain SOPs and process documentation using best practices.
- Apply design thinking, systems thinking, and data-driven methods to identify root causes and develop sustainable solutions.
- Conduct process experiments, pilots, and proof-of-concepts to validate operational improvements and emerging technologies.
- Support project planning, requirements gathering, user acceptance testing, implementation, and post-launch performance measurement.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and industry best practices and recommend solutions that improve organizational effectiveness and student experience.
- Drive measurable improvements in performance metrics.
- Act as a liaison between Student Finance, IT, and Operations teams.
- Support project execution and successful implementation.
- Contribute to training and change management efforts.
- Facilitate workshops and discovery sessions to translate business needs into digital capabilities.
Benefits
- 401(k) with up to 6% company match
- Tuition assistance and career development opportunities
- Remote and hybrid opportunities
- Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health
- Generous paid time off, including parental leave and volunteer time off
- FSA/HSA options
- Disability and life insurance
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
