Financial Aid Assistant IV

The Financial Aid Assistant IV at BTC offers great customer service to students and staff at the Financial Aid front desk. This position responds to inquiries regarding office policies and procedures in person, by phone and email; assists students with all aspects of applying for financial aid and maintaining eligibility.

Bellingham Technical College invites applications for one full-time, regular classified position as Financial Aid Assistant IV for the Student Financial Resources office. Position is anticipated to begin about September 15th, 2025. This position reports to the Associate Director of Student Financial Resources.

The Financial Aid Assistant IV serves as the primary point of contact for students and staff by providing direct customer service at the front desk during business hours; responds to inquiries regarding office policies and procedures in person, by phone and email; assists students with all aspects of applying for financial aid and maintaining eligibility; and may coordinate one or more financial aid or scholarship programs or operational processes. This position requires strong customer service skills, utilizes higher level technical skills while exercising independent judgment in applying financial aid regulations, and under general supervision, performs a variety of more complex clerical tasks.

Position Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as primary contact for students, staff and other agencies via phone, email, and in-person customer service at the front desk; provide information regarding program policies; perform a variety of public relations functions;
• Research the status of student financial aid applications and answer student questions and concerns regarding financial aid and Workforce funding awards and issues;
• Thoroughly review and accept student documents, scan and file documents in an electronic filing system, and update and maintain student records;
• Assist students and families with FAFSA/WASFA application completion, answer questions regarding required contributors, tax information, and consent;
• With minimal direction, make decisions relative to areas of assigned responsibility;
• Provide input regarding policies and procedural decisions that pertain to area of responsibility;
• Verify eligibility for various awards with local, state, or federal sources;
• Generate reports and conduct reconciliation activities on a monthly basis;
• Conduct data entry for Workforce grant programs and student tracking;
• Build student profiles for scholarship processing and post award amounts;
• Perform more complex word processing and data entry tasks;
• Operate standard office equipment such as PC's, calculators, FAX, copy machine, and scanners;
• Provide excellent customer service by listening attentively, responding professionally, demonstrating empathy, effectively managing difficult communications, and exercising professionalism and confidentiality in all communications.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• High school graduation or equivalent AND minimum three years of applicable experience such as problem solving, managing projects and deadlines, strong computer skills, and customer service. OR
• Associates degree or higher AND minimum one year of applicable experience such as problem solving, managing projects and deadlines, strong computer skills, and customer service. OR
• Education and experience equivalent to one of the two requirements listed above.

Preferred Qualifications:

• One year of work experience in a financial aid setting;
• Associates Degree or higher;
• Experience using computer applications such as PeopleSoft, Banner, or SBCTC Legacy systems

Physical Work Environment: Shared office setting which requires the ability to position self and operate a computer for long periods of time during the work shift; Regular keyboarding and using a computer mouse or equivalent assistive technology; Frequent need for oral, written, and auditory communication; Ability to position self and move up to 10 pounds with or without accommodation; Working in an open office environment with frequent interruptions and distractions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Program, and college policies and procedures;
• Working knowledge of general office equipment;
• Applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations.

Skill:

• Strong computer skills, and accurate computerized data entry using the college's systems/programs including word processing, database management, and developing spreadsheets;
• Strong team building skills;
• Strong organization skills;
• Skill in and accuracy with detail work, filing documents, and proofreading skills;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Confidentiality and professionalism;
• Exercising independent judgment in gathering, arranging, and evaluating, diversified data.

Ability to:

• Work independently and as a part of a team;
• Communicate in a positive manner with diverse populations of students;
• Effectively diffuse highly emotional incidents;
• Exercise problem solving skills and complete detailed work including mathematical computation duties with a high degree of accuracy;
• Perform job tasks using a variety of computer systems and electronic records, with or without accommodation;
• Position oneself for long periods of time;
• Utilize organizational skills and manage a high-volume workload.