Associate Director of Financial Aid

We need to output HTML fragment with headings

for sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. The posting includes Position Overview (which could be About the role), Position Responsibilities, Additional Considerations (skills/qualifications?), Qualifications, Work Location, Statement on Our Mission, About Merrimack College, etc. We need to map content to sections. We must not repeat job title as heading. No Job ID etc. Remove boilerplate: cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, application instructions. The posting includes "Application Materials Should Include Resume Cover letter stating motivation..." that's application instructions; we should remove that. Also "Application Deadline: 05/30/2026" is application instruction; remove. "Work Location This is an on-campus position..." maybe we can keep as part of About the role? It's location info; could be part of About the role or maybe a separate section? There's no specific heading for location; we could incorporate into About the role paragraph. The mission statement and About Merrimack College is boilerplate? It's about the institution; maybe we can keep as part of About the role? But it's somewhat generic; but it's substantive about the college. The instruction says remove cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, and application instructions. The mission statement is not exactly boilerplate but could be considered part of "About Merrimack College". Might be okay to keep as part of About the role? However we need to avoid filler. The mission statement is specific to the institution; we can include as a paragraph under About the role. We need sections: About the role (position overview). Responsibilities (position responsibilities). Requirements? The posting has Qualifications (education, experience). Also Additional Considerations (skills, abilities). Could map Additional Considerations to Skills section. Qualifications to Requirements or Qualifications? The instruction says use headings for Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We can have both Requirements and Qualifications if content distinct. But we should prefer few substantive sections over many thin ones. We could combine Requirements and Qualifications into one section maybe "Qualifications". But we need to follow instruction: use headings for those categories if we have content. We can decide to have sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (covering education, experience, knowledge), Skills (covering technical skills, abilities). No Benefits, Pay, Schedule as not provided. We must not create sections with filler like "commensurate with experience". Not needed. Now extract content. About the role: combine Position Overview and maybe Work Location and Mission statement? Let's craft a paragraph(s) summarizing. Position Overview text: "The Associate Director of Financial Aid provides operational leadership for the day-to-day administration of financial aid programs while serving as a key partner in enrollment strategy, student support, and cross-department collaboration. This role is responsible for ensuring the accurate and compliant delivery of federal, state, and institutional financial aid while supporting institutional goals related to recruitment, retention, and student success. The Associate Director works closely with the Director of Financial Aid to develop and implement policies, streamline processes, and improve the overall student financial experience. In addition to overseeing core financial aid operations, the role requires strong collaboration with Admission, Registrar, Student Accounts, and IT to support institutional priorities and maintain efficient workflows. The Associate Director of Financial Aid is responsible for the major operations to include, but not limited to application review and processing, eligibility, verification, counseling, compliance regulations, advising and financial aid initiatives, and awards and disburses financial assistance in accordance with changing institutional, federal, state, and NCAA procedures, policies, and regulations, and the supervision of the financial aid professional staff within the Office of Financial Aid. The Associate Director will assist the Director of Financial Aid in developing, interpreting, and implementing policies and procedures to provide efficient and effective delivery of financial aid. Additionally, the Associate Director trains and manages other skilled professional staff members within the Office of Financial Aid. The Associate Director will be involved in weekend events and may be needed for extended hours during high traffic time." Work Location: "This is an on-campus position as employees are essential in order to provide a fully on-campus, residential college experience for our students and the community. This position is subject to the successful completion of a criminal background check." Mission statement: "Merrimack College is a Catholic Augustinian institution of higher education committed to building an accepting and respectful community. Our mission is to enlighten minds, engage hearts and empower lives and is inspired by our Catholic faith and the Augustinian tradition of seeking truth through inquiry and dialogue. Merrimack College seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to Merrimack’s Catholic and Augustinian mission. All candidates should describe in their application how they will foster a culture that supports our mission." About Merrimack College: details about college size, programs, location, ranking, NCAA Division I, etc. Might be considered boilerplate but it's specific info about employer. Could include as part of About the role? Might be too much but it's substantive. However the instruction says remove cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, and application instructions. This is not exactly those; it's about the college. I'd keep a brief summary maybe. But to keep sections thin, maybe we include About the role as overview only, and put college details in a separate section? There's no heading for "About the Employer". Not in allowed headings. Could incorporate into About the role. Thus About the role will have multiple paragraphs. Responsibilities: list from Position Responsibilities bullet points. We need to convert to

• . Responsibilities text includes many items separated by periods. We'll split into list items. Let's extract each responsibility: - Manage core financial aid operations including application review, verification, eligibility determination, awarding, and disbursement of federal, state, and institutional aid. - Serve as a final reviewer for financial aid files to ensure regulatory accuracy, compliance, and ethical processing. - Process and monitor federal aid programs including Direct Loans and Pell Grants through Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) and complete monthly reconciliation and reporting. - Monitor federal and state regulatory updates and implement process changes to ensure institutional compliance. - Oversee staff members responsible for key program areas including Federal Work Study, state aid programs, and R2T4 processes. - Partner closely with Admission to support incoming undergraduate and graduate students through financial aid awarding, communication strategies, and enrollment support. - Work collaboratively with Admission, Registrar and Student Accounts leadership to improve communication, reduce processing delays, and create a more seamless student experience. - Serve as a point of contact for resolving complex student cases that require coordination across multiple departments. - Support the training of Admission and campus staff on financial aid policies, processes, and timelines. - Supervise and mentor financial aid professional staff, providing training, guidance, and support in daily operations. - Serve as a delegated authority in the absence of the Director, ensuring continuity of operations, decision-making, and leadership while upholding departmental standards and institutional priorities. - Assist in developing office policies, workflows, and best practices to improve efficiency and accuracy. - Support the Director in implementing new initiatives and improving service delivery. - Represent the institution at recruitment events, information sessions, and campus-wide programs. - Counsel prospective and current students and families on financial aid processes, eligibility, and timelines. - Develop and contribute to student communications, financial aid materials, and website content. - Deliver financial aid presentations to prospective and currently enrolled students, families, and campus partners. - Support appropriate exploration and use of AI-enabled tools in student services and administrative processing, with an emphasis on efficiency, service quality, data stewardship, and responsible operational application. - Utilize advanced Excel skills for reconciliation, financial modeling, audit preparation, regulatory reporting, and data analysis to inform decision-making and institutional planning. Now Additional Considerations: list of skills/abilities. We'll extract each as list items for Skills section. Additional Considerations text: "Proficiency with an ERP systems (Jenzabar preferred) Experience with or knowledge of PowerFAIDS Familiarity with federal systems such as Common Origination and Disbursement System, NSLDS, FAFSA Partner Portal; and experience with EDconnect. Familiarity with Slate CRM helpful Well organized, multi-tasker, effective time management, problem solver pays attention to detail Must demonstrate ability to work in a fast-paced environment and prioritize accordingly Ability to function independently while operating effectively within a team environment; Must have technical competence and an ability to understand the "big picture" as well as the details of complicated systems and issues. Must be able to exercise good judgment, be responsive and courteous, and student service oriented at all times Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and experience with database management; Strong verbal and written communication skills; excellent customer service skills and abilities. Ability to work \with students, colleagues, and external constituents, including diverse populations. High level of professionalism, leadership, diplomacy, and the ability to manage complex projects with minimal supervision. Ability to work with sensitive and confidential material. Enthusiastic, sense of humor, positive attitude, persistence, and passion for the work." Note there's a stray backslash before "with". We'll fix. Now Qualifications section: bullet points. Qualifications text: "Bachelor's degree; minimum of 5-7 years of progressive student financial services management experience (including staff supervision, budget and project management); Thorough knowledge of Federal Title IV financial aid regulations as it pertains to both traditional and non-traditional programs;" Also maybe "Application Materials Should Include ..." we removed. Thus Qualifications: list items: - Bachelor's degree - Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive student financial services management experience (including staff supervision, budget and project management) - Thorough knowledge of Federal Title IV financial aid regulations as it pertains to both traditional and non-traditional programs Now we need to ensure we don't include filler like "commensurate with experience". Not present. Now we need to output HTML fragment with

  headings and

  paragraphs,

  • for lists. We'll have sections:

    About the role

    ... (overview paragraph(s))

    Responsibilities

    • ...
    ...

    Qualifications

    • ...
    ...

    Skills

    • ...
    ...
    We should not include Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Now craft About the role paragraph(s). Combine overview, work location, mission, and brief about college maybe. Let's write a concise but comprehensive paragraph(s). Could be two paragraphs. Paragraph 1: Position overview (first big block). Paragraph 2: Work location and mission statement plus brief about college. We must preserve all substantive information; not invent or summarize away detail. So we need to keep details from overview, work location, mission, and about college. Summarizing may lose detail; but we can keep as is, maybe split into multiple paragraphs but keep the sentences. We'll just copy the overview text as a paragraph (maybe trimmed). Then work location as another paragraph. Then mission statement as another paragraph. Then About Merrimack College as another paragraph. That preserves all. But we need to ensure not to include boilerplate like "Merrimack College is an Equal Opportunity Employer." That's EEO boilerplate; we should remove. Indeed at end: "Merrimack College is an Equal Opportunity Employer." Remove. Also "Statement on Our Mission" heading is not needed; we just include the paragraph. Now check for duplicated lines: none. Now ensure we didn't include application instructions: we removed "Application Materials Should Include..." and "Application Deadline: 05/30/2026". Also removed "Contact information for three professional references". Good. Now check for any leftover boilerplate like "The only Catholic, Augustinian institution