Financial Aid Assistant Director: Pell Initiative Coordinator

This position is part of the undergraduate counseling team within the Office of Financial Aid. This team works to review applications, determine aid eligibility, and communicates with current and incoming students and families about the aid application process and financial aid programs. The incumbent will play a primary role in partnering with the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) in support of efforts for increasing enrollment of Pell Grant eligible and first-generation college students.

Core responsibilities include:

•Evaluate and review financial aid awards, process documents, perform application verification, and respond to student requests in accordance with federal, state, and institutional policies and procedures.
•Advise prospective and current students and families in all areas related to the student financial aid programs at William & Mary. This includes conversations held in-person, on the phone, via e-mail, and using other web-based communication tools.
•Serves as an informational resource on financial aid offers for Pell-eligible students, providing guidance to prospective applicants, current students, parents, university personnel, and professional organizations.
•This position will also serve as functional manager and subject matter expert on one or more specialized programs. These programs are assigned by the office Director and may include (but are not limited to) study abroad, student employment, athletics, specific student populations, etc.

We are a high-volume customer focused office that requires an onsite presence at our beautiful campus in historic Williamsburg, Virginia.

Job Description:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or comparable education and experience.

• Experience working in a financial aid office making aid determinations (typically 2+ years).

• Demonstrates analytical and problem-solving skills to solve problems and exercise sound judgments in financial aid decisions and propose recommendations.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills to communicate with a wide and diverse audience.

• Strong computer skills with experience in MS Office.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in a customer service role at a higher education institution.

• Proficiency with Workday.

• Prior use of the Ellucian Banner or other higher education-focused database system.

• Strong proficiency in a variety of computer applications financial aid databases.

Conditions of Employment:

• This position may require additional hours beyond the typical work week to include evenings and weekends to meet the operational needs of the business.

• Employee must adhere to ethical standards in handling sensitive financial information.

• Employees must maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of students and families.

• This is a non-exempt position, eligible to receive overtime in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Job Duties:

Financial Aid Operations:

• Employees must maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of students and families assigned caseload responsibilities.

• Develop knowledge and serve as a subject matter expert in the verification process and perform verification of applicant records.

• Maintain subject matter expert knowledge of federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs and regulations.

• Serve on Financial Aid Committee that oversees review of special circumstances, appeals, and other unique application reviews.

• Exercise delegated professional authority and analyze assigned cases.

• Utilize the Banner student module to perform processing duties.

• Maintain and keep current in Banner training and updates.

• Maintain a broad understanding of all functions related to financial aid.

• Assist in the development of office policy and procedures as assigned.

• Assist with the office’s quality assurance and compliance efforts as assigned.

• Other financial aid related duties as assigned.

Financial Aid Advising

• Advises and counsels financial aid applicants and responds to concerns and questions in a timely manner.

• Utilizes multiple methods of communication to advise and counsel applicants and families. Inclusive of in-person, e-mail, phone, and web-based communication tools.

• Acts in the best interest of the applicant while also maintaining adherence to all federal, state, and institutional financial aid and privacy laws and regulations.

• Assists with all front desk reception duties as needed and assigned by supervisor.

• Communicates on behalf of applicant with campus partners to assist with case resolution.

• Maintains knowledge of various modules of the Banner system to provide comprehensive advising.

• Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative undefined.

• Constructs well-written and detailed responses in a timely and professional manner.

• Assists with financial aid outreach efforts and interdepartmental collaboration related to financial aid.

Specific Program/Student Population Management:

• Serves as an informational resource on financial aid offers for Pell-eligible students, providing guidance to prospective applicants, current students, parents, university personnel, and professional organizations. 

• Serves as subject matter expert, coordinator, processor, and/or liaison for one or more programmatic or demographic-specific areas. In this role, the staff member may be required to create and maintain written policies and procedures for their assigned areas. These areas of expertise are assigned by the Director based on the needs of the office and may include, but are limited to:

• Study Abroad Programs

• Athletics

• Washington DC Campus

• Departmental Aid Awarding

• Website Development and Maintenance

• Customer Service Communications

• Compliance

• Transfer Students

• Student Employment