Financial Support Specialist (Financial Aid)

Company Description:  Pioneer Academics is a growing, privately held global organization that offers transformative co-curricular educational programming to students from around the world. Based in the Philadelphia region, Pioneer has employees working in multiple countries in roles ranging from business development to instructional design. High performance is a must in every role in the organization regardless of level and colleagues who struggle with meeting performance standards will be offered a respectful exit from the organization. Culture in this team is prioritized and celebrated and key aspects of that culture include integrity, accountability, and the keen ability to solve AND seek problems to spark innovation.  

Mission:  The Financial Support Specialist will report to the Director of Admissions. The purpose of the role is to oversee the processing of need-based scholarship applications to ensure comprehensive and timely evaluation and to recommend appropriate amounts of funding.  The Financial Support Specialist will ensure the perception of Pioneer Academics as committed to transformative educational experiences and to supporting the financial needs of admitted applicants.  This team member will establish relationships with high school financial aid counselors and other partners referred by students applying for need-based scholarships to ensure they are clear about Pioneer’s dedication to serving disadvantaged students. The Financial Support Specialist is responsible for thoroughly understanding Pioneer’s existing non-profit partnership models and being a key liaison to these organizations. This role is also responsible for maintaining current data and statistics related to the scholarship applicant pool. 

Key Criteria/Requirements  This role requires detail orientation, strong analytical skills, and the ability to consider the many factors that affect funding decisions. The Financial Support Specialist must maintain a strong focus on data management that is critical to meeting targets. This team member must consistently coordinate with team members and leadership, keeping open and clear communication in a fast-paced environment with quickly evolving metrics. 

• Bachelor's degree or higher preferred

   

• 3+ years of experience with financial aid analysis and processing in an admissions environment, preferably on a global scale Proven experience driving and owning scholarship funding decisions and allocation Previous relationship management experience with a preference for non-profits Proficient experience with data organization and analysis with the ability to work in shared databases

   

  Proficient in data management systems or other admissions-related software, such as Slate, Excel, etc.

   

  Strong technical skills and experience with Zoom, Google Suite, etc.