POSITION SUMMARY:
Date application must be received for priority consideration by: April 14 2025
Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: May 1 2025
Closing Date or if blank Open Until Filled:
Job Family Group: Administrative and Professional
Division/Department: Academic and Student Affairs/Financial Aid
Compensation Range (commensurate with experience) $85000 $95500 annually
FLSA Status: Exempt
Appointment Basis: 12month
Time Type: Fulltime
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Renewable/Nonrenewable/Grants/Limited Duration: Renewable
This position must possess and maintain a current valid Driver License: Yes
This position is designated as a critical securitysensitive or safetysensitive position; therefore the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal Background Check: Yes
Lead Work/Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes
Work Location Type: Oncampus
Work Hours: MF 8:00a 5:00p) Hours are subject to change with notice.
Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:
POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The Director of Student Financial Aid reports to the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Services and is responsible for the comprehensive administration of Title IV programs state student assistance and institutional aid programs. This role oversees the development implementation delivery and assessment of student financial aid services aligning these functions with institutional enrollment goals. The Director fosters a studentcentered environment emphasizing service excellence and customer service while supporting student recruitment retention and financial literacy initiatives.
The Director serves as a key member of the Strategic Enrollment Management team contributing innovative and creative approaches to leveraging student aid and collaborating across departments to support institutional objectives. This position requires a collaborative innovative and studentcentered leader dedicated to supporting student success and institutional enrollment goals. The ideal candidate will demonstrate creativity humility a sense of humor and a commitment to student success.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelors degree in education finance or a related field.
- Five 5 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education financial aid administration.
- Three 3 years of supervisory experience including managing union and nonunion employees.
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite document imaging systems databases customer relationship management (CRM) software and related applications.
- Experience with Banner.
- Ability to interpret federal and state financial aid regulations.
Preferred Requirements
- Masters degree.
- NASFAA credentialing.
- Engagement with professional organizations such as NASFAA SASFAA and/or TASFAA.
- Experience with Workday Student.
Essential Functions
Duties The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be allinclusive or restrictive:
30 Leadership
- Lead a welcoming inclusive and studentfocused environment that supports students and families in navigating the financial aid process.
- Supervise train and develop staff ensuring crosstraining and professional growth.
- Manage daily office operations and oversee staff performance.
- Collaborate with campus stakeholders to align financial aid services with institutional recruitment and retention goals.
- Exercise professional judgment for families experiencing significant changes in financial circumstances.
- Serve on institutional committees and engage in collaborative projects.
35 Compliance and Reporting
- Prepare federal state and institutional reports including FISAP IPEDS Gainful Employment and Title III applications.
- Oversee Return to Title IV (R2T4 processes verification SAP monitoring and loan default management.
- Maintain compliance with consumer disclosure requirements and federal/state regulations.
- Participate in audits and coordinate with the Controllers Office to resolve audit findings.
- Manage the census roster reporting in conjunction with the Registrar.
- Manage data integration with internal systems and external partners including the Department of Education and thirdparty servicers.
- Monitor student loan defaults and assist with due diligence requirements for delinquent borrowers.
- Oversee required Entrance and Exit Interviews for all borrowers; maintain evaluate and disseminate information on alternative financing options through other organizations.
- Supervise the preparation verification and distribution of award letters for all federal needbased and institutionally funded recipients maintaining both program and individual student files.
25 Strategic Planning
- Utilize technology and best practices in financial aid to enhance student engagement and enrollment outcomes.
- Collaborate with the Controllers Office on budget forecasting modeling and discount rate strategies.
- Conduct data analysis and projections to optimize aid distribution and budget management.
- Evaluate and adjust student cost of attendance budgets based on local economic data.
10 Student and Family Engagement
- Provide individual counseling to students and families on financial aid topics including FAFSA completion borrowing options and financial literacy.
- Coordinate high school FAFSA presentations and participate in student registration sessions.
- Develop and deliver communication across multiple channels to support students and families through the financial aid process.
Skills Knowledge and Abilities
- Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner both verbally and in writing.
- Demonstrated customer service experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist.
- Expressed ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures under pressure of deadlines in a fastpaced environment.
- Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather evaluate and to develop wellreasoned conclusions and recommendations.
- Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
- Great ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information. Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion tact and diplomacy.
- Takes initiative in independently planning organizing and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
- Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and timesensitive deadlines.
- Excellent computer skills and proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word processing spreadsheets databases online systems social media platforms Internet as well as online calendaring and email.
- Demonstrated ability to initiate establish and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive cooperative productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
- Willingness to and work effectively in a heavily bureaucratic environment which requires regular interaction with a number of levels within the organization and multiple outside agencies.
- Working knowledge or ability to quickly learn university infrastructure policies and procedures.
- Demonstrated ability to provide training and direction to student assistants.
- Demonstrated skills in an institutional/educational environment utilizing a customeroriented and servicecentered attitude.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to engage diverse audiences.
- Strong leadership and staff development skills. Budget management and data analysis proficiency.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects effectively.
- Expertise in federal and state financial aid regulations.
- High level of customer service and conflict resolution skills.
- Experience with institutional aid leveraging models and professional judgment.
- Knowledge of financial aid as an enrollment management tool for recruitment and retention.
- Commitment to professional development and continuous improvement.
- Demonstrated experience in financial aid management disbursement and administration.
- Experience using data to support strategic decisionmaking
Physical Demands
- Normal office activities such as sitting/standing at a desk using a computer answering phones and communicating in person both in writing and via phone with others. Works in a busy office environment with constant interruptions and demands.
Special Conditions
- Must be willing to travel and attend training programs offsite for occasional professional development.
- Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
- Must be able to successfully pass a preemployment background check.
- This position classification has been defined as exempt and is not subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- The person holding this position is considered a mandatory reporter under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.
SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Southern Oregon University will provide if requested reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application interviewing and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If however you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.
Diversity Statement:
Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity we strengthen and enrich our role as learners educators and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.
SOU Land Acknowledgement
We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta Takelma and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid EuroAmerican colonization the Gold Rush and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s the discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of EuroAmericans to their lands leading to warfare epidemics starvation and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed confederating these Tribes and others together who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States and in return they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856 these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are living descendants of the Takelma Shasta and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourageYOUto learn about the land you reside on and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.
Notice to Prospective Employees
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the Clery Act) require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOUs Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use possession and sale of /alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.
An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR) can be accessed at the following link: A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy please visit the Office of the General Counsel located in Churchill Hall 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard Ashland Oregon 97520. For more information callor email.