Director of Financial Aid

 University of Illinois Springfield

Director of Financial Aid

Established in 1867 as the public land grant university of the State of Illinois, the University of Illinois System has achieved international recognition as a center of higher learning. With universities in Urbana/Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield, including a major health sciences center in Chicago, the U of I System’s reach is extensive. The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) has an annual operating budget of $131.7M and enrolls almost 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students and employs more than 700 (FTE) faculty and staff who contribute to the missions of teaching, research, public engagement, and economic development. The Director of Financial Aid reports to the Associate Provost for Enrollment Management and oversees an office of 11 staff who provide financial support for NASFAA University courses, professional credentials, and the FA administrator certification program. The director serves as the administrator over all financial aid programs, ensuring compliance with all rules and regulations, and develops the strategic plan and vision, as well as, engages with students, student organizations, employees and employee organizations and members of the Springfield community to enhance the visibility and reputation of the financial aid office.

1. Overall responsibility for the accurate, timely and supportive delivery of FA counseling; customer service, data and loan processing; disbursement of funds; student employment; scholarships and tuition waivers. This includes supervising and evaluating staff, and identifying and addressing training, and professional development needs and opportunities. Address complaints and resolve problems. Anticipate and meet constituent needs.
2. Serve as the final monitor and approver on all FA packaging and revising. Oversee tracking of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), limitation of entitlements, tuition waivers, federal work study, management of the verification process, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program; coordination of student loan processing between students, federal government, and the institution; Title IV refunds and repayments; and U.S. Department of Education and National Student Loan Data System notifications.
3. Formulates, develops, implements and administers policies and programs related to financial assistance. Periodically reviews and edits policies to be consistent with best practice.
4. Serves as the subject matter expert on rules and regulations applicable to financial assistance and financial assistance programs, including staying current on regulations, compliance status, and pending changes. Identifies necessary changes to maintain compliance.
5. Facilitates relationships with the Office of Advancement to oversee the administration of over 300 institutional scholarships and helps identify new opportunities for expansion of these scholarships.
6. Oversees the timely development, accuracy and presentation of reports of activities, regulatory reports and awards. Serve on various internal and external committees, work groups and task forces as needed.
7. Reviews and assesses current plans, processes, and resources to create and execute a continuous improvement plan designed to ever-modernize and consistently evolve all aspects of financial assistance. Oversee management of the technological systems and required state and federal software systems.
8. Oversees all Financial Assistance training programs and presentations to parents and students. This may include providing direction and guidance to staff on content and information, reviewing and directing the updating of marketing materials (print, and electronic).
9. Facilitate communication between respective colleges/departments as needed. Work with Student Accounts and Records & Registration for accurate and timely exchange of information for financial aid and work with the reconciliation process. Provide administrative oversight for compliance audits including ISAC program reviewers.
10. Serves as fiscal officer for Financial Assistance, including overall fiscal responsibility for the Office of Financial Assistance. Facilitates all internal and external audit activities.
11. Other duties appropriate for a Director of Financial Aid.

Candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with five (5) years of experience in financial assistance (or other financial distribution entity), two (2) of which include supervision of subordinates; Master’s degree and/or NASFAA Certified Financial Aid Administrator Certification preferred. Other required qualifications include: interpersonal and written communication skills required for interaction with a diverse group of people including exhibiting sensitivity to, and understanding of, the varied constituencies that comprise a college community; proficiency with web-based software platforms, database tools for data manipulation, aggregation and validation, and analytical and problem-solving including writing queries and producing reports; ability to be a team player and work collaboratively, be a leader and work independently, self-direct and motivate, creatively problem solve, establish priorities, effectively manage time and budgets; event and program creation, development, management and analysis; proficiency in Microsoft office suite of products, online applications and website content management; good planning, organization, follow -through and multi-tasking skills; detail-oriented and willing to self-start, take initiative; advanced mathematical, fiscal and statistical know-how; facility with numbers, familiarity with predictive modeling; basic principles and techniques used in public relations including proper communication etiquette regarding English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary; basic research skills; and knowledge of state and federal financial aid programs, and regulations and requirements.

Preferred qualifications include: experience as an assistant or associate director; familiarity with merit-based aid; enrollment management work experience at public colleges/universities; college admission and financial aid experience; Slate/Banner experience; familiarity with SQL, HTML, and SAP Business Objects and Webi for report writing; and Spanish language proficiency is a plus.

This is a full-time, 12-month Academic Professional position. For full consideration, candidates must apply and submit a letter of application, resume, and names/addresses/phone numbers of three professional references by August 6, 2021 at https://jobs.uis.edu/job-board.

System Human Resource Services
(217) 333-2600
erhr@uillinois.edu

The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer of employment.  Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

UIS is an affirmative action/equal employment opportunity employer; veterans, persons with disabilities, women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4292&pageId=1411899