"Assistant/Associate Director of Financial Aid"

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business seeks an Assistant/Associate Director of Financial Aid to assist in coordinating and administering financial aid programs for the Darden School of Business. Responsibilities include providing timely accurate customer service to a high volume of inquiries from current students, prospective students, and other constituents about financial aid. This position also contributes to the compliance of federal and state regulations, along with the creation and enforcement of office policies and procedures to ensure timely and accurate delivery of student financial aid.

This position requires most work to be performed in person at Darden, in Charlottesville, VA.

To be considered for an Assistant Director role, responsibilities include:

Customer Service

• Assist with management for Darden financial aid shared email address, walk-in requests and telephone calls. Respond to inquiries in a timely manner and escalate questions to other team members as needed.
• Communicate directly with large numbers of students as needed and monitor responses to those communications.
• Counsel existing and prospective students on financial aid programs, eligibility criteria, deadlines, and application procedures.
• Conduct student loan entrance and exit counseling sessions and assist with group presentations and webinars.

Financial Aid Administration

• Assist in awarding federal, state, institutional, and private sources of financial aid to students within appropriate guidelines and regulations.
• Repackage students due to aid eligibility changes.
• Certify loans, review records for loan eligibility, and clear discrepancies that impact eligibility and disbursement of financial aid.
• Scan and index a variety of documents and communications into imaging software.
• Maintain department’s scholarship records and oversee annual set up in Blackbaud Award Management.

Reporting

• Monitor and report on key metrics relating to outstanding loan balances, defaults, and other key indicators
• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Financial Aid on all surveys on financial aid data.
• Oversee Darden’s cost of attendance surveys for students in all MBA formats.

In addition to the above, Associate Director level responsibilities include:

• Manage and execute more complex and complicated financial aid issues.
• Lead projects, often requiring collaboration across multiple departments.
• Prepare and actively participate in presentations, webinars and information sessions for prospective and current students.
• Mentor and motivate junior team members.
• Assist with initiatives to streamline workflows and enhance operational efficiency.
• As regulations are proposed, advise senior management on the potential impacts on Darden students.
• Synthesize large volumes of data from numerous sources and utilize all available resources appropriately.
• Create and enforce financial aid policies and procedures.

Professional Experience and Education:

• Assistant Director: Bachelor's degree and at least two years of financial aid experience. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Associate Director: Bachelor’s degree required with at least four years, preferably seven or more of progressively responsible experience in higher education financial aid. Both a Master’s degree and 4-7 years of experience determining eligibility for student financial aid (using federal need-based aid and institutional need-analysis formulas) are preferred.
• Proficiency in MS-Office products, database management, and report writing
• Strong customer service skills and the ability to develop rapport to discuss sensitive and personal information and to resolve customer concerns/questions.
• Strong technical and web-based skills with the ability to identify and initiate improvements to processes and systems.
• Proficiency in Peoplesoft and Oracle preferred.
• Displays excellent organizational skills, can simplify and clarify complex processes, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to function effectively in a team environment, with minimal supervision, to achieve results and meet goals in a service-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to review, interpret, and make professional judgments on complex issues while maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Ability to handle and manage ambiguity, repetition, and change.