Director Financial Aid

Benefits and Insurances

• Employer premium support for Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Optional employee paid insurance - life, AD&D, Short Term Disability
• Paid time off – vacation, personal hours, sick
• Paid holidays
• Oregon PERS retirement
• Tuition waivers

This position application is open until filled, with a review of applications upon receipt

An Application is complete when the following have been uploaded:

• A Resume
• A Cover Letter

Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC) is shaping the future of higher education in Lincoln County.

In support of our mission, all OCCC employees demonstrate commitment to:

• Participation in cross-functional collaboration across the College.
• Continuous improvement.
• Understanding that student success is at the center of every staff position at the College.
• Having an entrepreneurial mindset and propensity to “see what is possible.”
• Exhibit collegiality and respect for everyone.
• Being excited about and committed to advancing OCCCs future: continued independent accreditation, growth and a great place to work.

Position Summary

Under the supervision of the Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs, the Director of Financial Aid is responsible for the overall leadership, management, and improvement process in all Federal, State, and Local financial aid programs.

Working with the third-party vendor, this position will ensure compliance, collaborate across departments and represent the College to various audiences.

Duties and Responsibilities

Delivery

• Directs and assists with the packaging of financial aid for new and current students, including awarding and adjusting financial aid and scholarships from internal and external sources.
• Directs and assists with the certifying of VA educational benefits
• Administers financial aid satisfactory academic (SAP) progress evaluation and appeals process.
• Preparing accurate reports for various governing agencies and auditors.
• Develops and directs financial aid strategies that are consistent with the enrollment management objectives of the College and administers financial aid, scholarships and student employment programs that support student recruitment and retention
• Lead the development, implementation and evaluation of debt reduction and financial literacy programs.
• Lead strategies to ensure high quality student support service through all communications with students, departments, and external agencies.
• Effectively work with underserved and first-generation students to understand financial obligations and support the development of financial literacy at the pre-college and post-enrollment stages

Compliance

• Maintains Title IV Participation Agreement and ECAR with the U.S. Department of Education.
• Maintains institutional eligibility for VA educational benefits.
• Resolves any issues related to financial aid and VA educational benefits State Approving Agent (SAA) or auditors findings.
• Ensures compliance with financial aid policies and regulations and serving as the Colleges primary authority on Federal and State financial aid requirements.
• Performs routine audits on active and inactive student files to ensure compliance with Title IV regulations.
• Maintains a high level of professional competence in best practices in financial aid, program assessment, operational budgeting, and a working knowledge of the college software system.
• Evaluate and approve award adjustments using federal guidelines for “professional judgement.”

Partnerships

• Collaborates with college staff and other offices in strategic and operational planning aimed at achieving OCCC, institutional, Divisional and Office goals and objectives.
• Represents the financial aid office to various agencies, auditors, high schools, scholarship foundations, professional associations, and current and prospective students and their families.
• Collaborates with the OCCC Foundation Office to award funds consistent with the goals and objectives of the foundation scholarship and/or other need-based programs.
• Coordinate the Oregon Coast Community College Scholars program with relevant departments and high school staff. Plan and implement the promotion, selection, and awarding of the scholarships.
• Facilitate coordination among vendors involved with the systems to manage the financial aid program. Sustain working vendor relationships that support effective use of the student information and finance system, financial aid processor systems, and federal and state program management and reporting systems.
• Coordinate with the Business office a program for debt repayment of Title IV funds.

Miscellaneous

• Participates in training, in-services and professional development
• Supports student success through participation in college committee work, Welcome Week, OCCC Cares, Commencement and/or related activities.
• Performs other duties, as assigned, that support the Colleges mission.

The list of essential functions is intended to be representative of the tasks performed by this position. The omission of an essential function does not preclude management from assigning duties not listed herein if such functions are a logical assignment to the position.

Requirements:

Supervisory Responsibility

Supervises Classified, Student, Volunteer, and/or Temporary Staff assigned to the area.

Supervision includes:

• Collaborating with Human Resources to Write/Review Job Descriptions.
• Overseeing Unit budgets and ensuring effective allocation of resources.
• Hiring, Onboarding, Training, and Evaluating all direct reports.
• Encouraging Development and Professional enrichment of direct reports through tuition waivers, conferences, certifications, or other development opportunities.
• Recognizing direct reports for achievement and success.
• Initiating disciplinary action when needed, responding to employee complaints, and effectively recommending various personnel actions.
• Ensuring Staff are apprised of College Policies and Procedures.
• Ensuring a backup process is in place for all critical operations.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in finance, business administration, education, or a related field.
• 2 years professional experience in Financial Aid
• Experience working with an integrated database, such as a student information system or financial management system.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in finance, business administration, higher education leadership, public administration, or related areas.
• Professional experience in Financial Aid Administration
• Experience with configuration of enterprise relational program (ERP) for financial program and student information
• Bilingual - Spanish

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Qualifications

• Knowledge of federal, state and local laws, statutes, regulations, codes, and standards related to Financial Aid.
• Ability to identify and incorporate continuous changes in federal and state policies and procedures, ensuring OCCC compliance.
• Ability to deliver effective public presentations
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to maintain professional partnerships both internally and externally
• Ability to establish interpersonal rapport and relate to students from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures
• Verbal and written communication skills, and ability to develop and deliver effective public presentations.
• Ability to analyze, organize and prioritize work while meeting multiple deadlines.
• Computer literacy with proficiency using Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Excel and Word, email, the Internet and social media.

Working Environment & Physical Requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is:

• Frequently required to sit, see and talk or hear.
• Often required to have mobility to move between offices, classrooms, and floors.
• Use hands to finger, handle or operate computers, objects, tools or controls.
• Reach with hands and arms.
• Light physical exertion with occasional, bending, stooping, pulling, and moderate lifting.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and have the ability to carry equipment and tools of moderate weight, using arms and hands.
• Specific vision and hearing abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus, and complete and maintain various types of records.
• Ability to hear the conversational voice and effectively communicate responses.
• Work occurs in an office environment with potential for interruptions and background noise.

Assignment will include presence at all primary OCCC locations and may include evening and weekend work. Travel between College sites and other locations will be required. Occasional travel and overnight stays outside of Lincoln County may be required for training and other purposes.