Asst Dir, Financial Aid

About the role

The Assistant Director of Financial Aid reports to the Director of Financial Aid and is responsible for implementing activities in the overall operation of student financial aid programs, managing day-to-day office operations, and serving as a liaison with internal and external constituencies while counseling students on aid eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Participates in recruitment to ensure effective communication with prospective and admitted students, internal offices, and external agencies to meet enrollment goals.
• Assists in establishing financial aid office policies by coordinating and implementing office-wide tasks and procedures.
• Administers and conducts ongoing statistical reviews and reconciliation of all financial aid programs (Federal College Work-Study, Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, State Aid Programs, Institutional Scholarships, Federal Direct Loans, and other funding sources).
• Ensures department compliance with applicable federal, state, and institutional rules and regulations.
• Maintains day-to-day responsibility for the PowerFAIDS Financial Aid module, overseeing all systems processing.
• Writes and updates rules, population selections, and other functional/technical aspects of the system.
• Determines eligibility and awards various types of institutional, state, and federal financial aid.
• Provides support in processing Federal Direct Loan programs and Common Origination and Disbursement (COD).
• Manages and reconciles state grant funds.
• Prepares informational materials for publication and maintains current information on the departmental website.
• Administers and reconciles scholarship and institutional funds.
• Oversees and coordinates the Student Loan Default Management program, including prevention, management activities, and borrower outreach.
• Works closely with the Director to develop and implement automated processes.
• Evaluates, trains, and supervises the Financial Aid Counseling staff and manages workflow.
• Authorizes release of funds to students and prepares required records and reports.
• Reconciles all loan program accounts and maintains balance records.
• Performs general clerical/administrative duties as required (data entry, copying, filing, typing reports/correspondence, answering telephone, reviewing mail, etc.).
• Performs related duties as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization.
• Five (5) years' experience working in a college or university student financial aid office.
• Thorough knowledge of rules and regulations within Federal and State student financial assistance programs, including tax laws.

Skills

• Functional knowledge of student financial aid processes.
• Technical expertise and problem‑solving abilities.
• Ability to work with office and Institutional Technology personnel to develop and expand electronic processes.
• Counseling and advising students on loans