Associate Director, Financial Aid Systems

The Enrollment Division at the University of Denver which consists of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid seeks to attract and enroll students who will become leaders scholars artists entrepreneurs and public servants uniquely qualified to live in and shape a global society.

The Undergraduate Admission team recognizes education as a means of individual and societal transformation - our vision is to inspire guide and support prospective and current students as leaders and scholars who will positively impact their our daily work the enrollment team is guided by these values: intentional and informed decisions; integrity and inclusion; collaboration; fiscal responsibility; spirit; clear and thoughtful communication; and exceptional quality service.

The Financial Aid Office is dedicated to serving and educating students families colleagues and the community through the financial aid process from pre-enrollment to program completion. We value empathy and integrity knowledgeable and professional staff advocacy and access clear and consistent communication and compliance. We have primary responsibility for the undergraduate financial aid process and we also serve the graduate student population.

Position Summary

The Associate Director Systems is a part of the senior management team within Financial Aid. This position manages group assignment fund awarding and disbursement rules for funds given to University of Denver students receiving Federal State and Institutional financial aid. This position tests system upgrades/enhancements; interprets Federal and State regulations; develops Institutional Policy and Procedures; provides leadership for the student loan program and financial aid systems including maintaining integrity of the Banner Financial Aid Module including authorizing Banner Financial Aid security requests and electronic data exchange with external entities; disseminates information to financial aid staff students and administrative units; monitors Satisfactory Academic Progress; oversees workflow enhancements and defects and assists the Director of Financial Aid with project development and information management.

This position hires trains and directs two full-time employee and one student employee providing direction in daily work and career development. He or she provides training to other financial aid staff members on Banner processes and system upgrade changes. He or she works with other departments to resolve process flow issues. This position oversees the yearly completion of system setup awarding and other processing tasks in a timely manner according to the Financial Aid Calendar. The Associate Director of Systems represents DU as a professional member of the Office of Financial Aid within the DU community and at conferences and special events. The position reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Director of Financial Aid.

Essential Functions

In addition to following the University of Denvers policies and procedures principal responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• 25%Banner technical analyst. Manages the testing of Banner releases upgrades projects and patches by identifying critical processes creating a testing plan and working with other staff to ensure testing of each critical process is complete. Disseminates Banner information/changes/new capabilities to the staff through trainings and documentation. Troubleshoots issues related to the Financial Aid Module processes and Workflow. Creates implementation plans and tests changes in Banner to follow revisions in University policy. Resolves duplicate IDs. Requests/refines report criteria as needed by Financial Aid or other departments. Works closely with AIS team liaison.
• 20%Manages awarding rules and procedures. Creates packaging tracking budget and fund awarding/disbursement rules manages group assignment for potential aid recipients and oversees the awarding of federal state and institutional funds while complying with Title IV regulations. Organizes resources and creates budgets. Coordinates the posting of merit aid with Undergraduate Admissions and selected graduate units. Documents current process flow resolves issues and determines necessary changes to ensure proper awarding.
• 20%Supervise the daily activities of the systems team including student loans. Divide daily weekly monthly and annual tasks equally among staff while focusing on effective process flow accountability and customer service. Organize coverage of team availability during office hours coordinate vacations/leaves approve timesheets and conduct performance reviews. Sets team goals service standards training and opportunities for growth and improvement. Recommends new hires and the advancement or change in status of current direct reports.
• 10%Oversees data loads from external sources. Ensures timely imports/exports of FAFSA files loan files and corrections from/to the CPS. Resolves files in suspense. Tests FAFSA loads in Banner and resolves common matching issues. Refines processes relating to information obtained from the FAFSA such as tracking groups. Sends/receives College Opportunity Fund files. Troubleshoots errors missing students records and fund issues. Works with the Bursar Registrar and UTS to resolve discrepancies. Works with entities such as College Assist and ELM to resolve send/receive issues.
• 10%Maintain integrity of the Banner Financial Aid Module including security keeping current on new releases and monitoring processes and workflow. Act as a project manager for system enhancements including approval from key stakeholders communication milestones and evaluations.
• 5%Assists the Director with reports and statistics on selected populations of students testing each selection for accuracy. Liaises with Associate Director for Analysis & Research as needed.
• 5%Monitors Satisfactory Academic Progress. Systematically reviews students continuing eligibility for federal and state aid according to federal guidelines and Banner capabilities.
• 5%Other tasks as assigned by the Director.
  When working as a project manager/analyst the Assistant Director Systems must gather requirements from the user to determine what the objective is and either work as the developer or work with UTS to complete the project.
  For example this role is responsible for the testing of Banner upgrades project patches and releases for the Financial Aid Module. Errors in judgement could result in major complications affecting the ability of the Office of Financial Aid to bring in funds to the University.

This position supervises both the Systems Administrator and the Systems Administrator for Loans and Grants and makes hiring recommendations for his/her direct reports as well as for the student employee.

This position holds a tremendous amount of authority and responsibility for making Banner changes and running Banner processes that affect students eligibility for financial aid. This person must be mindful of how updates to Banner affect other areas within the Financial Aid Module and other modules across campus. Failure to oversee the current Banner processes and investigate issues as they arise could result in loss of funding for students and for the school. COF SAP FAFSA loads and packaging are all areas of this persons responsibility that affect the campus.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Ability to read analyze and interpret general business periodicals professional journals technical procedures or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports business correspondence and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers clients customers and the general public. Ability to communicate with subordinates and upper management as an advocate financial aid professional and expert in the field.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts interest commissions proportions and percentages.
• Ability to apply concepts of basic and intermediate algebra. Ability to understand and balance budgets.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written oral or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• This position requires extensive experience using Banner Oracle SQL Microsoft Access Excel and Outlook. Strong customer service skills. Multiple task management.
• Most work is done on a computer.
• Fast-paced high-volume work environment typically in a cubicle.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Must have a Bachelors degree in computer science or related field and a combination of work experience in the areas of interpreting federal and state regulations recommending institutional policy and system/process flow. This position must understand ongoing changes in federal state and institutional regulations have the ability to analyze these changes and recommend new institutional policy based on system abilities and constraints.
• Work Experience: 3-5 years Previous Financial Aid experience at a similar or like university. Experience supervising staff Experience working with Financial Aid systems. Experience with reporting. Audit experience.
• Vision and Creativity: Individual must also possess creativity in problem-solving and a vision for utilizing Banner to gain efficiencies for office processes particularly financial aid -depth knowledge of the capabilities of Banner are necessary to understand the potential for its growth within the office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in system analysis business
• 5-8 years Previous Financial Aid experience at a similar or like university.
• Experience supervising staff
• Experience working with Financial Aid systems.
• Experience with reporting.
• Audit experience.

Working Environment

• Standard office environment.
• Unexpected interruptions often occur and stress level is moderate to high.
• Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

• Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period.
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs. with assistance.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Application Deadline

For consideration please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) November 5 2025.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number

The salary grade for the position is 12.

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $80000 - $95000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate departmental budget availability internal salary equity considerations and available market information but not based on a candidates sex or any other protected status.

Benefits

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits including medical dental retirement paid time off tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:

1. Resume

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex (including sex stereotypes sex characteristics sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression) marital family or parental status pregnancy or related conditions national origin disability or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color national origin ancestry age religion creed disability sex (including sex stereotypes sex characteristics sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression) marital family and parental status pregnancy genetic information military enlistment or veteran status and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal state or local law regulation or ordinance in any of the Universitys educational programs and activities and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Workers Rights (POWR) Act; and any other federal state and local laws regulations or ordinances that prohibit discrimination harassment and/or retaliation. For more information please see the University of Denvers NonDiscriminationStatement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.