Director Of Financial Aid

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Job Summary

The Office of Financial Aid at CU Boulder welcomes applications for the Director of Financial Aid. This role is part of Student Financial Services within the Enrollment Management division where we play a key role in helping students achieve their educational goals. We are committed to helping students pay for college through innovative programs to support access and graduation and we empower students to make healthy financial decisions. Under the direction of the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Financial Services, the Director of Financial Aid serves as a leader for Student Financial Services along with the Director of Scholarships Services and the Bursar as a team that values collaboration, innovation, and promotes a student-centered approach to proactive, seamless, and cohesive customer service across the student financial services offices.

The Director of Financial Aid is responsible for the overall management of the programs, services, and funding provided by the Office of Financial Aid. This includes the administration of Title IV federal aid, state financial aid, university grants, work-study, and all types of loans for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. The director ensures aid policies and practices positively impact retention, graduation, and diversity goals while maintaining fiscal integrity and ensuring compliance. The director has extensive knowledge and experience in financial aid and provides policy expertise for the campus.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

The Office of Financial Aid is committed to helping students pay for college by building innovative programs to support access and graduation, empowering students to make healthy financial decisions, investing in the development of our staff, and engaging lawmakers and partners to improve aid policy! We coordinate over $490M in grants, scholarships, work-study and loans for over 25,000 students each year. Our staff consists of 30 full-time professional employees and 40-50 student employees.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Financial Aid Administration:

• Provide exceptional customer service for prospective and current students and their families.

• Manage high performing teams that provide the service, technology, and processes to deliver all aspects of financial aid.

• Assure policies and procedures reflect standard processes for application, packaging, verification, and aid adjustments.

• Maintain extensive knowledge of policies, procedures, and eligibility requirements for federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs. Monitor emerging legislative, regulatory, and sub-regulatory guidance to ensure proactive steps to meet compliance requirements.

• Oversee reporting requirements (FISAP, SURDS, PPA), disclosures, and represent financial aid in audits and program reviews.

• Supervise fiscal operations responsibilities to ensure sound accounting and budget management.

• Comply with NCAA and Big-12 rules and regulation governing financial aid to student athletes.

Office Leadership:

• Lead and inspire staff and student employees to provide excellent service to students, parents, and other constituents.

• Foster an inclusive, creative, success-oriented, and accountable environment that attracts and retains top-notch professional and student staff who are passionate about providing the highest quality of work, facilitates a safe space for feedback and constructive criticism in support of positive and ongoing dialog, and nurtures the collaborative relationships that enable the work to be produced.

• Establish norms and vision for the Office of Financial Aid.

• Develop mechanisms to identify and implement process and improvements.

• Serve as the appointing authority and oversee the Office of Financial Aid operating budget.

• Encourage a climate of innovation, continuous improvement, and professional development.

Strategic Leadership:

• Serve on Student Financial Services leadership team to collaboratively develop a coordinated strategy for student financial support focused on student success and retention.

• Builds strong working partnerships across Enrollment Management to ensure seamless transitions along the enrollment continuum.

• Develop and implement policies and strategic initiatives in collaboration with Enrollment Management Division units and Student Financial Services to support and enhance access, affordability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Manage all components of the need-based financial aid budget and deploying the packaging strategy.

• Serve as the key need-based financial aid resource person for the Boulder campus, CU System, and CDHE, especially for legislative and media requests.

• Stay current with financial aid policy and emerging trends and be a subject matter expert interpreting federal and state laws and regulations.

• Develop network for campus compliance that intersects with financial aid (accreditation, enrollment reporting, GLBA, etc.).

• Work collaboratively and build strong relationships with partners both on and off campus.

Professional Development:

• Participates in training seminars, conferences, committee meetings, etc. for professional development in the areas of Title IV financial aid.

• Stay connected and support state and national associations such as CAFAA, RMASFAA and NASFAA.

• Attend staff meetings, retreats and other meetings as assigned.

• Collaborate with supervisor to determine areas for professional growth and identify and request appropriate training opportunities.

• Assist in the development and implementation of financial aid related trainings for all staff as needed.

This position reports to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Financial Services and directly supervises 5 FTE, with an overall unit of 25-30 FTE and 40-50 student employees.

What You Should Know

Hybrid work environment offered, however must reside in Colorado.

Final candidate must successfully pass a criminal and financial background check and cannot be in default on a student loan either upon hire or while employed in this position.

What We Can Offer

• The salary range for this position is $128,400 - $145,000 per year.

• Additional Compensation Details:

• Signing Bonus offered within departmental guidelines!

• Relocation allowance may be offered within departmental guidelines.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be driven. Be visionary. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required.

• Six years of financial aid experience in a higher education setting.

• Working knowledge of Federal Title IV financial aid programs and regulations.

• Equivalent combination of Education and experience may substitute on a year for year basis.

What You Will Need

• A strong dedication to providing an extraordinary student experience.

• Strong leadership, supervisory, budgetary, staffing and planning skills.

• Ability to interpret and apply federal, state, institutional rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

• Ability to gain confidence and trust of others through honesty, authenticity, and acceptance of responsibility.

• Ability to exemplify excellence through diversity by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment that maximizes the success and inclusion of all students, staff, and faculty.

• Ability to create new and better ways for the organization to be successful.

• Ability to build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.

• Ability to communicate key and critical information in a timely fashion.

What We Would Like You to Have

• A master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education.

• Financial aid leadership experience at a large public institution.

• Thorough knowledge of State of Colorado financial aid regulations.

• Proven track record of innovation in financial aid strategies to support enrollment and student success.

• Experience with federal financial aid data systems including NSLDS, FAA Access, and COD.

• Strong computer skills including software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other presentation software), email communication tools, and web-based applications.

• Experience using PeopleSoft student information system.

• Leadership credential or certification.

• NASFAA credentials.

• Bilingual.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1.A current resume.

2.A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by July 9, 2024, for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources

Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu