CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: full time
• Salary Range: $95,000-$110,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of University Financial Aid IT Operations and Loans Services, the incumbent supervises loan processing and reconciliation functions for all federal, institutional, and private loan programs totaling approximately $400MM. The Associate Director supervises and professionally develops two officers to support the overall University Financial Aid Office’s goals and expectations set forth.   

Responsibilities

Primary duties include but are not limited to:

• Develops and maintains relationships with financial aid offices to ensure the streamlined delivery of Federal, Institutional, Campus-Based, and Private loans for students. 
• Supervises originations and the monthly reconciliation of all federal loan programs as required by federal guidelines. He/she supervises the edits and error files with individual School financial aid offices and ensures proper delivery of corrected data to federal aid systems.
• Provides directorial oversight of alternative, private, institutional, and campus-based loan processing and reconciliation efforts.
• Ensures audit accuracy and fiscal compliance with federal guidelines and University operating policies and procedures. 
• Supervises the reconciliation of federal and private loans monthly in addition to the weekly drawdown of federal funds in collaboration with the University Controller’s office.
• Supervises all reconciliation efforts with the Accounting & Business Management (ABM) team for Federal Direct Loan, Campus-Based, and Private Loans.
• Assures compliance with reconciliation guidelines associated with Federal and Institutional accounting policies and procedures.
• Responsible for monitoring the preparation of reconciliation schedules and quality assurance reports.
• Works closely with the Director to identify new account needs and develop/implement systems for the expansion of the scope of accounts and enhance system-based processes. 
• Leads efforts in the creation and maintenance of policies and procedures associated with all aspects of loan processing and reconciliations.
• Supervises the Request for Information / Proposal process for all associated private loan lenders annually as required by University policy.  
• Manages and serves as a subject matter expert (SME) for loan-related regulatory updates impacting current systems setup and implementation changes.
• Coordinates Loan Entrance / Exit Counseling activities including the creation and maintenance of PowerPoint presentations and functions as the system operational lead and representative of the University Financial Aid Office in concert with representatives from ABM. 
• Assists Financial Aid Offices across the University with public presentation events related to federal, institutional, and private loans.
• Responsible for the maintenance of all loan-related consumer information on the Student Financial Services (SFS) website as required by federal mandates and will manage and serve as a subject matter expert in training users of the Financial Aid community on loan processing, withdrawal processing related to Return of Title IV funds, troubleshooting, and best practices. 
• Performs related duties and special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and a minimum of 5-7 years of related experience are required.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of Federal Student Aid regulations and understanding of Financial Aid systems preferred. 
• Knowledge of federal and private loan programs is strongly preferred. 
• Experience with SIS Informs, PowerFAIDS Financial Aid system, and ELM Select is strongly preferred. 

Other Requirements

• Knowledge of accounting concepts as well as competence in Excel required.  

• A demonstrated ability to work independently and in a team-based environment, manage conflicting priorities, and work under deadlines is needed.  

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access required). 

• Must be detail-oriented with organizational and problem-solving skills, and be able to manage deadline-oriented projects. 

• Must be able to demonstrate critical thinking, interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.  

• In addition, the successful candidate must be able to work well with all levels of employees, be flexible, and have sound judgment with an open and collaborative style that encourages teamwork and cooperation beyond the immediate team to the broader organization.  

• Must have a passion for excellent customer service.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

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