Associate Director

About the role

The Associate Director serves as a key member of the management team responsible for overseeing departmental operations related to student and family services, recruitment and retention initiatives, and financial aid outreach aligned with institutional enrollment goals.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for complex, multi-departmental student service issues requiring advanced review and resolution through consistent, in-person interaction with students, staff, and campus partners.
• Utilize advanced communication techniques to stabilize high-emotion situations, ensuring students feel heard while maintaining institutional policy.
• Identify recurring "pain points" in student services and propose systemic fixes to reduce the overall volume of escalations.
• Lead training initiatives for financial aid customer service staff and advisors to support recruitment, retention, and service excellence.
• Provide guidance and training to University Admissions counseling staff to support prospective students and families.
• Coordinate financial aid outreach activities including Open Houses, Admitted Student Days, orientations, college fairs, and presentations, which primarily involve on-site participation and direct engagement with prospective and current students and their families.
• Maintain extensive knowledge of financial aid regulations, policies, and best practices to ensure compliant program administration.
• Identify operational challenges and implement process improvements through collaboration, project management, and technology.
• Foster strong relationships with campus partners to support effective communication and service delivery, through regular, in-person collaboration and engagement.
• Manage the Federal Work-Study Program, including hiring processes, compliance monitoring, reconciliation, budget oversight, and preparation of FISAP reporting data.
• Oversee athletic scholarship processing and collaborate with technical teams to improve system efficiencies.
• Interpret and communicate financial aid policies and procedures to students, families, and campus partners.
• Serve as a subject matter expert representing the financial aid office internally and externally.

Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in a financial aid office within higher education in a supervisory role.
• Strong knowledge of Title IV federal financial aid regulations.
• Demonstrated leadership experience and commitment to excellent customer service.
• Excellent communication, organizational, leadership, and presentation skills.