Financial Aid Counselor/Assistant Director

About Holy Family University

Holy Family University is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, founded in 1954. The University is a private institution in the Catholic tradition with campus locations in Philadelphia and Newtown, PA. The main campus is located in Northeast Philadelphia, while the Newtown campus is situated in Bucks County, surrounded by nature.

University Benefits

• Commuter Benefits: Transit and park benefits through pre-tax payroll deductions
• Half-Day Fridays: Enjoy half-day Fridays in the summer
• 403(b) Retirement: Discretionary match up to 5%; vested immediately
• Time Off: 12 Paid Holidays, Vacation, Personal, Sick Days, and a week off for Winter Break
• Tuition Benefits: Employees or dependents pursuing a first Undergraduate Degree receive 100% tuition remission; employees pursuing a first Master’s or Doctoral degree, receive 100% tuition remission; eligible dependents pursuing a first Master’s or Doctoral degree, receive 50% tuition discount.
• Alpha House: 50% Discount for Nursery, Pre-K and Kindergarten

Position Summary

Responsible for verifying eligibility and awarding financial aid in compliance with federal, state, and institutional guidelines. The employee will collect, examine, and verify additional FAFSA-required documents when necessary. The employee will counsel students and families in matters of financial aid eligibility. They will be responsible for executing and analyzing various queries/reports and websites as they relate to student data management and financial aid eligibility. This position is expected to master financial aid technology and tools after effective training. The employee must commit to the mission, goals, and objectives of Holy Family University.

Essential Functions

• Evaluates, verifies, packages, revises, and processes financial aid in compliance with all Title IV, state and institutional guidelines for their set population of students.
• Greets, advises and counsels current and prospective students, families, and others regarding financial aid questions and timelines in person, over the phone, and through email.
• Responsible for being on-call on their assigned day of the counselor of the day rotation.
• Cross-trained to assist all students within any division.
• Develops and maintains strong working knowledge of all aspects of verification, including federal requirements and tax return analysis.
• Works with University Advancement on maintaining, updating, and processing Excel and SSRS reports utilized during the Holy Family Named Scholarship application process.
• Processes all late drops, withdrawals and SAP warning letters when applicable.
• Affords assistance and executes processes used to generate correspondence utilizing Colleague’s communication management.
• Seeks out and takes advantage of training opportunities related to financial aid particularly regarding federal and state processing.
• Relies on training and various resources available to think critically and make decisions independently.
• Assists with the data entry of incoming documents, analyzing to ensure accuracy, and maintaining and executing processes used to generate correspondence utilizing Colleague Communication Management and university managed document imaging software.
• Develops and maintains strong working knowledge of all sources of student financial aid (federal, state, institutional, other).
• Affords assistance in creating and maintaining all electronic processes used to facilitate financial aid processing.
• Ability to access and interpret information from financial aid related web sources (COD, NSLDS, FPS, GrantUs).
• Processes queries and reports from Colleague, SSRS, and ELM.
• Understands PA State Grant program requirements as well as all other PA program requirements.
• Collaborates with other offices (Student Accounts, Admissions, Registrar, etc.) to best serve the needs of the students.
• Participates and facilitates financial aid presentations during Open Houses, orientations, and other University related activities.
• Presence at a Financial Aid table for various university events.
• Affords assistance in establishing clear and efficient time tables and procedures necessary for the office staff to ensure compliance with federal, state and institutional regulations.
• Utilizes Admissions CRM for financial aid specific data and notations.

Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; for the Financial Aid Counselor, in lieu of a bachelor’s degree, at least one year of financial aid experience required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Computer literacy required, with an advanced knowledge of MS Word and Excel in a Windows environment, including proficiency with Excel (reporting and queries) and client-server system (Colleague preferred).
• Strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills are required, as are attention to detail, planning and multi-tasking skills and self-motivation; proven ability to work as a team player and sensitivity to matters of confidentiality are also required.
• Knowledge of and ability to follow university policies and procedures.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with the campus community.

Physical Requirements

• Communicates frequently, in person, over the phone, or via a computer.
• Hearing is needed for extensive telephone and in person communication.
• Regularly required to sit for long periods of time; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms.
• Manual dexterity is needed in order to operate a computer keyboard.
• Operates standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Other Important Information

• Ability to travel, work outside of normal business hours, such as weekends, nights, etc.
• Should teleworking become necessary, employee must be willing and able to perform all parts of this job description while working from home, on campus or a combination, and be proficient or willing to become proficient in the technology needed to work remotely.
• Employee must have the ability to work nights and weekends, as needed

Non-Discrimination Statement

Holy Family University seeks to foster a welcoming and a healthy educational and work environment based on respect, the dignity of each person and the oneness of the human family. Holy Family University is dedicated to ensuring an environment free of discrimination or harassment of any kind, and promotes equal opportunity in its employment and education. For more details on our commitment to nondiscrimination click HERE

Application Instructions

We invite qualified applicants to view our open positions and apply directly at our career center by submitting a cover letter and resume.