"Associate Director, Operations, GSAS Financial Aid"

Overview

The Graduate School Financial Aid Office administers over $250 million in assistance and serves more than 3,000 students across Ph.D., MS, MA and non-degree programs in collaboration with more than sixty departments.

The Associate Director, Operations, GSAS Financial Aid assists the Director of Graduate School Financial Aid with the management of the daily operations and programs of the department with a focus on innovation and strategic use of technology. Provides leadership for functional performance and workflow, working in an advisory capacity to team members and units, and ensures timeliness in the administration of funding in compliance with school, University and external policies governing student funding. This position will assist in ensuring all teams have the resources and alignment required to be successful in managing student funding and achieving organizational objectives. The position requires utilizing multiple systems, including Banner and Workday to assist the director in managing payroll for graduate students using the Graduate Student Funding process.

Essential duties:

• Leverages technologies to create, maintain, and enhance workflow processes, develop and optimize queries for cyclical use and for ad-hoc requests, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in data handling. Maintain and update dashboard reports. Provide accurate and timely data to stakeholders while ensuring data integrity across all platforms.
• Designs, develops, and maintains interactive dashboards and operational reports using query tools; (e.g. Power BI, Argos and Data Warehouse/Data Mart sources. Partner with IT and data teams to define trusted datasets, metrics, and logic.
• Utilizes AI-assisted analytics and natural-language query tools to accelerate insight generation and empower business users with self-service reporting.
• Ensures the timely reconciliation of student accounts and reconciles GSAS records against actuals; works closely with departmental administrators, students, and various central offices, including Student Accounts, Payroll and the Office of the Registrar, to resolve issues related to financial aid, student compensation, student accounts, payments, and billing.
• Manages aspects of annual set-up and coordination with program construction of algorithms, packaging formulas, rules, and other tools; creation and approval of selection sets; and batch posting data.
• Updates and maintains website content. Reviews, writes, and edits text as required. Drafts departmental communications for the unit.
• Assists in long-range planning and maintain a processing schedule.
• Serves as a point of contact for departmental leadership and students for programs and appointments.
• Obtains, keep current, and fully leverage knowledge of business processes to administer, standardize, document, and train staff and departments in graduate funding and systems.
• Counsels and advises prospective and current students on graduate funding policies, procedures, programs eligibility criteria, and other related issues. Maintains a small caseload.
• Updates and advises the director on all aspects of maintenance of programs and operations of the department.
• Manages multiple projects under varied time constraints while maintaining data integrity for the department.
• Performs other duties as assigned and may manage staff.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Ability to provide excellent communication regarding administrative matters in an institution of higher education. Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and time management skills; demonstrated ability to deal effectively, tactfully, and professionally with a body of students, faculty, and staff.
2. Technical expertise in student and/or financial information systems with the ability to envision and implement innovative solutions. Excellent analytical skills and the ability to trouble shoot technical issues.
3. Strong project management, communication, and collaboration skills. Demonstrated management and leadership skills in a team-based environment, managing both projects and other team members, communicating effectively, problem solving, and motivating team members.
4. Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as provide insightful guidance and support for decentralized counterparts. Strong ability to identify opportunities to improve existing programs and processes and to develop new ones. Ability to reconcile information from varying internal and external sources and collate them into larger operational procedure and policy directions with a passion for organizing.
5. Ability to work independently on projects and the ability to interact at multiple levels within the organizational structure. Demonstrated ability to work independently with a high degree of professional discipline, discretion, and student service orientation; superior analytical skills and excellent computing skills, including advanced Excel skills essential.

Preferred Skills and Abilities

1. Demonstrated leadership experience in graduate student funding or student financial services.
2. Minimum of five years’ experience in operational support (two years’ experience in PhD funding) platforms.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Directs, monitors, and assesses needs and directs the application of resources of an administrative University office dealing with one or more major functional areas.
2. Directs and implements solutions to problems that are routine to complex in nature and that affect multiple functional areas of responsibility.
3. Plans and/or participates in planning University activities on a long-term basis to comply with University goals and objectives.
4. Establishes and implements consistent university-wide policies in multiple functional areas of responsibility.
5. Ensures that University office policies and procedures are in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.
6. Develops and monitors goals and objectives for managerial and professional staff in compliance with University strategies.
7. Directs a staff of exempt and non-exempt employees.
8. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in related field and five years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.