Financial Aid Systems Analyst, Financial Aid

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Job Description Summary

The Financial Aid Systems Analyst supports the reliable operation of the systems, processes, and data exchanges used by the Wake Forest Office of Student Financial Aid. The position performs recurring financial aid systems operations, monitors and troubleshoots production processes, supports departmental users and helps maintain accurate and timely movement of financial aid data between institutional and federal systems.

Working closely with the Financial Aid Systems Manager and other members of the financial aid team, the Systems Analyst supports PowerFAIDS, Workday Student financial aid functionality, federal data exchanges, and related technologies. The position also contributes to testing, documentation, staff training, annual system setup, and continuous improvement of financial aid business processes.

The role requires a combination of financial aid knowledge, technical aptitude, attention to detail, and the ability to investigate and resolve system and data issues in a highly regulated environment.

Job Description

Essential Functions:

• Perform and monitor recurring financial aid systems operations and data-processing activities, including the receipt, transmission, import, and processing of federal and institutional financial aid files and data exchanges.
• Support data exchanges involving federal and institutional financial aid systems, including SAIG, EDconnect, IS IR and COD processing, as well as application and document data received from external partners such as the College Board.
• Monitor file transmissions and system processes for successful completion; investigate rejects, exceptions, and processing failures and take appropriate corrective or escalation action.
• Support the administration and daily operation of PowerFAIDS, including batch processes, data imports, scheduled jobs, annual setup activities, and financial aid disbursement processes.
• Support financial aid-related functionality within Workday Student by executing and monitoring operational processes, assisting with testing and configuration changes, troubleshooting issues, and supporting annual and periodic processing.
• Assist with annual aid-year set-up and rollover activities, including parameter review, operational testing, and validation of system processes.
• Provide technical troubleshooting and application support to financial aid staff; triage and resolve support requests and work directly with users to identify and document issues.
• Assist with the investigation and resolution of financial aid data and processing issues involving PowerFAIDS, Workday Student, COD, and related institutional and federal systems.
• Support specialized financial aid processing and program administration as assigned.
• Maintain operational controls designed to confirm that recurring processes, data exchanges, and scheduled jobs have been completed accurately and successfully.
• Develop, maintain, and update systems documentation, procedure guides, processing calendars, operational checklists, and other reference materials.
• Assist with onboarding and systems training for new financial aid staff and provide ongoing guidance to departmental users.
• Participate in testing system releases, configuration changes, integrations, and revised business processes before implementation in production.
• Work collaboratively with Information Systems, the University Registrar, Student Financial Services, Admissions, and other University partners to troubleshoot issues and support reliable financial aid operations.
• Support financial aid data exchanges and hosted technology environments in coordination with university technology staff and external vendors.
• Stay current with changes to financial aid systems and technologies and contribute to the evaluation and implementation of new functionality and process improvements.
• Protects PII, and CUI in all instances.
• Perform related duties and special projects as assigned.

Required Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Experience working with financial aid, student information systems, enterprise applications, or other complex data-processing environments.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and support specialized software applications and technical business processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills include the ability to investigate processing errors, system exceptions, and data discrepancies.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to recognize when system or data results require additional review.
• Ability to manage recurring operational responsibilities while responding effectively to unexpected system or processing issues.
• Ability to work independently, establish priorities, and meet deadlines in a time-sensitive operational environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to explain technical or system-related information to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Ability to develop clear procedural documentation, operational instructions, and training materials.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across functional and technical areas.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and appropriately handle confidential student and financial information.
• Willingness and ability to take initiative, identify process improvements, and adapt as systems and institutional needs evolve.

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Experience supporting financial aid systems or financial aid operations in a higher education environment.
• Experience with PowerFAIDS or another financial aid management system.
• Experience with federal financial aid systems and processes including EDconnect, SAIG, IS IR processing, and COD.
• Experience with or knowledge of Workday Student.
• Familiarity with system integrations, file-based data exchanges, scheduled processing, or cloud-hosted technology environments.
• Working knowledge of federal student financial aid programs and the regulatory environment in which financial aid systems operate.
• Experience testing system changes, troubleshooting production issues, and documenting technical or operational procedures.
• Experience with T-SQL and/or Python programming languages.

Accountabilities:

• Responsible for the accuracy, timeliness, and completion of assigned systems and operational processes.
• Responsible for monitoring assigned processes, identifying exceptions or failures, and escalating significant issues when appropriate.
• Responsible for maintaining accurate and current documentation for assigned systems and processes.
• Responsible for own work and for contributing to the overall effectiveness and continuity of the Financial Aid Systems function.

Physical Requirements:

Sedentary work primarily involves sitting or standing, communicating with others to exchange information, repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands, and/or fingers, and assessing the accuracy, completeness, and quality of assigned work.

Environmental Conditions:

No unusual environmental conditions.

Work Arrangement:

Variable Hybrid. Fully remote work may be considered for highly qualified candidates based on experience, operational needs, and University approval.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship of non-immigrant or immigrant visa status through Wake Forest University. All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.

Additional Job Description

Time Type Requirement: Full time

Note to Applicant

This position profile identifies the key responsibilities and expectations for performance. It cannot encompass all specific job tasks that an employee may be required to perform. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and perform job-related duties as may be reasonably assigned by his/her supervisor.

In order to provide a safe and productive learning and living community, Wake Forest University conducts background investigations and drug screens for all final staff candidates being considered for employment.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified candidates to apply without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability and military or veteran status.

Accommodations for Applicants

If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact AskHR@wfu.edu or (336) 758-4700.