Assistant Director, Financial Aid Systems

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:
Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston Texas Rice University is ranked among the nations top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system which supports students intellectually emotionally and culturally through social events intramural sports student plays lectures series courses and student government. Developing close-knit diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rices culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name RICE Responsibility Integrity Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:
The Assistant Director of Financial Aid is an integral part of the Office of Financial Aid within the Enrollment Division at Rice University a highly selective research institution located in the heart of Houston Texas. The Office of Financial Aid is responsible for the administration of all sources of student financial aid in a manner strategically driven to meet the enrollment goals of Rice University. The office is also responsible for ensuring that students and families are informed about the financial assistance available to them including information on all federal state and institutional financial assistance programs.

The Assistant Director will be responsible for projects or initiatives that have a defined scope moderate to high levels of complexity and external visibility and require autonomous (independent) execution. As part of a team the Assistant Director will provide technical support for Banner and other software to the Office of Financial Aid and administer the universitys financial aid programs and policies for undergraduate and/or graduate students. The Assistant Director is also responsible for drafting procedures problem solving and special projects. The ability to communicate financial aid policies and convey complex financial information is essential. The position has minimal interaction with students and families.

The Assistant Director will be building skills to learn the work of the Enrollment Division at a highly selective institution. Familiarity with business processes institutional methodology verification and financial aid systems as well as knowledge of Rice University and/or experience in a higher education environment is desired.

Ideal Candidate Statement:
The ideal candidate will have at least 3 years of experience in financial aid administration with progressive responsibilities and exhibit excellent functional and technical financial aid knowledge. They will have demonstrated initiative in utilizing professional development resources available to them. Experience with system testing development of instructional materials and implementing system solutions is desired. Current or past experience managing a Federal Student Aid fund portfolio and Banner aid-year setup is preferred. Automic experience is a plus.

Workplace Requirements:
This position is offered as a hybrid role combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. The hybrid schedule will be 6090% remote after a probationary Rice policy 440 work arrangements may be subject to change.

• Other requirements: Valid drivers license and reliable transportation. Some travel expected.
  

Hiring Range: Salary commensurate with experience.
*Exempt (salaried) positions underFLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelors degree

• 2 years of experience in higher education financial aid and a successful track record of working with diverse student populations in a positive manner

  • In lieu of the education/experience requirement additional related education and/or experience above and beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.

Skills:

• Knowledge of computer system capabilities business processes and workflow

• Banner system technical support experience

• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal including the ability to bridge functional and technical resources by communicating effectively with individuals of varying systems expertise and business needs

• Demonstrated ability to set priorities manage time and workflow and manage multiple concurrent highpriority projects in a timepressured environment

• Demonstrated analytical and quantitative skills and sound judgment
  

Preferences:

• Three to five years of progressively responsible and successful experience in a higher education financial aid office

• Institutional Methodology (IM) financial aid experience

• Federal aid program management experience

• Banner system technical support experience

• Automic experience
  

Essential Functions:

• Analyzes and documents user needs existing and new policies processes procedures and operational methods to consider possible improvements to new and existing systems

• Utilizes elicitation techniques to understand business processes and translate them into system requirements and/or development of system solutions

• Defines and documents business requirements and test cases for system development

• Coordinates with business and technology teams ascertaining system requirements such as program functions output requirements input data acquisition and system techniques and controls

• Problem solves in areas such as system design input/output requirements and procedural flow between departments and/or business systems

• Performs configuration of enterprise application software

• Performs testing of new systems upgrades and patching of existing systems; may include developing test plans

• May develop instructional materials training and job aids

• Assists with analysis of applications and completing need analysis for a high volume of financial aid applications

• Reviews detailed financial documents including tax returns for accuracy of reported financial information

• Determines student awards based on computed financial need and other factors; adjusts budget and packages based on special circumstances

• Reviews a wide variety of reports to identify changes or conflicting data in financial systems

• Facilitates solutions and resolves complex issues regarding financial aid packaging verification origination disbursement or other financial aid concerns

• Performs all other duties as assigned

  
  

Rice University HR Benefits: Mission and Values:Mission and Values Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race color religion age sex sexual orientation gender identity national or ethnic origin genetic information disability or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process please get in touch with Rice Universitys Human Resources Office via email at for support.

If you have any additional questions please email us at Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.