Systems Specialist

Systems Specialist Benefits of working at VCU

All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU's robust benefits package that includes: comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave granted up front, generous tuition benefit, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more. Learn more about VCU's benefits here.

Job Code 24211 Recruitment Pool All Applicants Posting Number req5793 Unit Offc of Strategic Enrollment Mngmnt Department Financial Aid Department Website Link https://semss.vcu.edu/ Location VCU Address 907 Floyd Ave, Richmond, VA 23284 USA Duties & Responsibilities

Position Summary:

The Financial Aid Systems Specialist supports the mission of the University by working to ensure that federal, state, and institutional financial aid is delivered to recipients in a timely, equitable, compliant, and logical manner. These functions are accomplished through researching, testing, reporting, improving, and resolving technical implementations. Duties as assigned align with VCU Technology Support Services to maintain security protocols, best practices, and compliance with federal, state, and institutional policies.

Core Responsibilities:

Reporting (45%)

• Write and/or maintain student-level and aggregate reports to aid the department in efficient business practices

• Utilize student information system data to report on current, historical, and projected trends

• Assist in collecting data for state and/or federal reporting requests

• Analyze existing reports and processes to identify opportunities for systematic enhancements related to the awarding and disbursing of financial aid

Process Improvement (35%)

• Support the continuous setup, testing, packaging, and financial aid review processes to meet federal, state, and institutional requirements

• Create, modify, and maintain population selections, batch processes, and algorithms used within the production schedule

• Collaborate with Financial Aid staff to use student information system-delivered technologies to streamline manual processes

• Develop, write, and test rules to improve strategic goals of early awarding, equitable packaging, and fund management

Team Support (15%)

• Serve as backup to the Associate Director of Financial Aid Systems and IT Analyst as needed

• Perform regularly scheduled Production Schedule functions

• Run data loads, import/export data, and letter generation functions

• Confirm successful output or investigate and correct failures in time to resolve issues before subsequent processing

Professional Development (5%)

• Ensure knowledge of institutional, state, and federal policies are up to date

• Actively participate in workgroups to improve Systems-delivered functionality

• Represent VCU Financial Aid Systems by attending meetings and webinars as opportunities arise

• Perform Financial Aid Systems projects as assigned by supervisor/manager

• Document data irregularities and research possible solutions

• Test vendor-delivered upgrades and patches prior to installation within production environments (current vendors include Ellucian, Inceptia, Blackbaud, and Anthology, among others)

• Troubleshoot files that are sent and received from the Department of Education to resolve processing rejects

• Independently review processes and procedures to improve overall Systems effectiveness

Qualifications

Minimum Hiring Standards:

• Bachelor's degree in business, information systems, computer science, or related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience

• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills

• Strong documentation and organizational skills

• Must have the ability to communicate to clients and co-workers at both technical and non-technical levels

• Ability to self-manage assigned tasks and projects

• Ability to work effectively with other information technology staff

• Demonstrated ability to think critically and creatively

• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to adjust to changing requirements

• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff and student environment or commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU

• Experience with Microsoft operating systems and Microsoft and Google productivity applications or equivalent

• Strong familiarity with SQL and relational databases

• Ability to follow written and oral procedures with attention to detail

• Proactive problem-solving skills to identify, research, and resolve complex technical challenges as they relate to scholarships

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, information systems, computer science, or related field with an emphasis on computer literacy and/or certificate in information systems

• Student enrollment management experience, especially Financial Aid operations experience

• Student information systems experience, especially Ellucian Banner experience

• Specific familiarity and understanding of Oracle SQL and SAS PROC SQL syntax

Other Position Details:

Position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule consisting of 60% on-campus expectations and 40% telework expectations.

• Applications close July 14th at 7PM

FLSA University Employee Job FTE 100% Exemption Status Exempt Restricted Position No E-Class UF - University Employee FT Job Category University Employee ORP Eligible No Salary Range Up to $60,000 Compensation Type Salaried Target Hire Date 8/12/2024 Contact Information for Candidates

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