Associate Director, Financial Aid Operations-Hybrid Schedule

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: Full Time
• Salary Range: $85,000-$95,000

Position Summary

The Associate Director provides systems and operational support for a highly operationally diverse and varied skill user community with a focus on Financial Aid system processing across various schools of Columbia University. The Associate Director supervises and professionally develops two (2) Systems Specialists to support the University Financial Aid Office’s goals and expectations set forth. Reporting to the Director of Financial Aid IT Operations and Loans Services, the incumbent will be relied upon to provide advanced technical and systems support to various users of SIS and the financial aid subsystem.

Responsibilities

• Monitor system usage to ensure compliance with UFA internal policy university code of conduct.
• Responsible for creating test plans related to implementation of new releases and patches of the PowerFAIDS system.
• Develop reports and metrics to monitor withdrawal processing within Operations.
• Provide technical and systems support to users of the PowerFAIDS system;
• Envision, develop, document and maintain practices and processes for operations and systems processing.
• Respond to requests for support to resolve technical issues such as installation, Windows authentication, password resets and other PowerFAIDS functionality across a range of platforms and operating systems on multiple campuses.
• Plan and accomplish SIS user revalidation and support PwC and other audits as SIS security coordinator;
• Lead development activities from a functional perspective and monitors existing technical processes and data interfaces and identifies issues or enhancement needs requiring CUIT assistance throughout the year.
• Serve as independent liaison between users and the SIS technical teams, provide user set-up and desk-top support;
• Other duties as assigned.
• Serve as the lead contact and primary administrator for various third party software and applications, including ServiceNow and Fidelity Information Services (FIS) Global.
• Act as functional subject matter expert in planning, designing, developing, testing and implementation of Business Objects reports.
• Manage disaster recovery efforts as it relates to PowerFAIDS and Student Information System(SIS)
• Process and coordinate withdrawal-related disbursements.
• Administer user access for financial aid and student information systems;
• Serve as a liaison with the IT departments of each individual School and advises and assists Schools with system setup and configuration issues.
• Monitor withdrawal activity and verifies that withdrawal processing is handled accurately and in a timely manner within Operations.
• Provide outreach to users to support testing of system changes and enhancements.
• Perform planning and support for the development, implementation, and testing of system enhancements and new systems using a variety of technologies including mainframe, client-service, software as a service, and web-technologies.
• Act as business process and systems analyst and technical specialist for student services process and operations.
• Provide support to CUIT in the development and continuous improvement of Business Objects universes.
• Through the use of reporting tools and process flows the incumbent will be responsible for ensuring proper data flow between multiple data systems ensuring data integrity.
• Ensure that processes and systems are updated to keep pace with Federal, State, University, and other regulatory requirements, policies and guidelines with regard to withdrawals.
• Support functions for various student system modules including: provides end-user training and system support;
• Support financial aid operations and processing through system uploads and feeds.
• Manage best practices for creating reports across Financial Aid Offices within the University.
• Assign, monitor and fulfill daily inquiries and requests via email, fax or phone, regarding all aspects of Student Information System (SIS), Student Services Online (SSOL) and SIS Desktop Reporting (SDR).
• Coordinate access termination for other student information system components;

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required
• 4 years related experience with demonstrated success as a technology-oriented professional in a complex organization required

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management experience is a plus.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Access.
• Experience with SIS Informs and PowerFAIDs Financial Aid system is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of SQL, Drupal and/or HTML a plus.

Other Requirements

• Must have a passion for excellent customer service and commitment to exceptional quality.
• A demonstrated ability to work independently, manage conflicting priorities and work under deadlines is required.
• An understanding of how technology supports and enhances administrative operations and service provision in a University environment is required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required.
• Must have record of successful leadership, effective management, and a proven track record of developing and leading strong working teams through the implementation of best practices and customer service focused processes.
• In addition, the successful candidate must be able to work well with all levels of employees, be flexible in nature, have sound judgment with an open and collaborative style that encourages teamwork and cooperation beyond the immediate team to the broader organization.
• Strong working knowledge of relational database structure and administration Experience with enhancement, development, and integration of complex student information systems is required.
• A demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of University and business personnel performing student administration activities is required.
• Knowledge of various activities within system operation including File Transfer Protocols, system/database access, and batch scheduling is required.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.