Job Announcement List Title:
Associate Director of Financial Aid - Highline College - WA

Post Date
9/27/2022

Expiration Date
10/27/2022

Details:
General Summary

Under the direction of the Director of Financial Aid, the Associate Director of Financial Aid-State Aid will independently complete routine and non-routine processes with a high level of efficiency and accuracy, and explains processes to students, staff and the public. This position is responsible for the oversight of all aspects of Washington State Financial Aid (Washington College Grant, College Bound, and Passport to College program) including pertinent regulatory guidelines from primary source documents, as well as institutional and internal procedures. The position provides training for staff and makes policy recommendations. Finally, this position manages our financial aid webpage using web tools—no coding experience required.

This position has direct contact with students on a weekly basis. Direct contact includes students making an appointment and meeting with the Associate Director to review their application for financial aid, be awarded, discuss payment options, and disbursement.
This position is an exempt, full time position that is not eligible for overtime. Hours of work may rarely include evenings and weekends for special events.

This is an exempt at-will position.

This is position is eligible for telecommuting opportunities in accordance with the guidelines of the college and the needs of the department. After the employee is trained to the satisfaction of the Financial Aid Director, this position would be eligible for the current option of working 2 days off campus, 3 days on campus, or whatever schedule fits the needs of the department.

Individuals hired into this position may, at no time, be in default on a federal student loan or employment may be terminated.

Please be advised beginning October 18, 2021 of the Washington State employees requirement to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Additional details located in the Supplemental Information section.

Essential Tasks
Reporting to the Director of Financial aid, this position will:

Reviews, awards, and reconciles the State aid programs including Washington College Grant, College Bound, Passport to College, and State work Study;
Completes the state quarterly interim reports and the annual Unit Record;
Awards for the office following federal, state, and institutional policies;
Disburses funds through batch process multiple times a week;
Manages the Consortium Agreements for both Host and Home and communicates with other colleges and universities;
Reconciles institutional grants;
Manages the Financial Aid Office webpages using comprehensive web management tools that do not require coding experience;
Updates the website as needed, quarterly, and annual;
Gives large and small student presentations on work study and financial aid;
Reviews an assigned quota of financial aid applications with less than a 1% error ratio;
Assists with Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals;
Performs Professional Judgements including dependency override;
Supervises union and non-union staff within the department, as well as hourly and student employees;
Assist in supporting and training staff in policies and procedures;
Provide consumer information regarding financial aid programs at the Financial Aid Customer Service Counter, entry services, workshops, appointments, over the telephone, by email, and on a drop in basis to students, staff, and external agencies;
Perform full-service functions related to all aspects of the Financial Aid programs including, but limited to, determining eligibility for student financial aid programs, awarding aid, and reconciling Federal, State, and Institutional accounts;
Determine and monitors Satisfactory Academic Progress status and update records accordingly;
Counsel students, verify applicant data, determine financial need, and award financial aid funds;
Provides advising about available financial aid opportunities, eligibility requirements and the application process to students and parents;
Analyzes and evaluates financial aid eligibility for students;
Provides relevant financial aid related support to students experiencing family, personal, or economic crises which may impact school performance. Specific focus on working with special needs populations to identify unique needs and coordinate appropriate services;
Monitors financial aid progress and documentation for students. For students needing assistance completing their file, provides additional follow up advising as needed;
Participates in the development of institutional financial aid policies and procedures that will positively impact efficiency and quality of service provided;
Review federal regulations and makes recommendations on office policy and procedures;
Conducts financial aid workshops on and off campus and through Zoom;
Assist the Director in completing federal, state, and institutional surveys and reports;
Collaborates with multiple funding service providers.



Qualifications:
Competencies:
Excellent English language verbal and written communication skills;
Strong computer skills, especially in Word, Excel, and Outlook;
Demonstrated excellent attention to detail.

Ability to:
Provide immediate, clear, and direct performance feed back to employees;
Use computer-based Financial Aid Management systems such as PeopleSoft, Banner or FAM;
Accurately and efficiently complete a broad range of student aid processes and procedures without assistance;
Advise students on an individual or group basis on all aspects of financial aid;
Handle interpersonal interactions, including challenging students, parents and others;
Ability to relate effectively with a wide diversity of students, faculty, staff and community members with sensitivity, tact, patience, and respect;
Ability to use the Microsoft Office Suite effectively, especially Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, Teams and OneNote
Ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing with a wide range of individuals using the English language

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's Degree, preferably in Education, Business, Communication or Accounting; AND
3 year’s experience working with federal and state financial aid regulations; AND
2 year’s supervision experience.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

5+ years of Financial Aid funding experience within the state of Washington;
Experience with a website coding language such as HTML;
Experience working with other higher education funding sources such as Workforce or Foundation funding;
Ability to speak multiple languages;
Experience with PeopleSoft, especially the Washington ctcLink project;
Experience with Microsoft’s Teams, SharePoint, and OneNote software, as well as Zoom.


Comments:
Position is open until filled, however priority consideration for applications submitted by 10/10/2022.

4 entry level Financial Aid Advisor positions are also available at Highline, see our website for more information.

Employer:
Highline College
Contact:
Corinne Soltis

Address:
2400 S. 240th St.


Work Phone:
2065923320

Email:
hrstaff@highline.edu

Website:
https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/highline/jobs/3724681/associate-director-of-financial-aid?page=1&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs