• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35

Position Summary

The Office of Student Financial Aid & Planning for both the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) and the College of Dental Medicine (CDM) works with a student body of approximately 1500 and manages funds totaling in excess of $80 million from over 350 school scholarship and loan accounts and over 35 external scholarship and loan funds.  Programs in Vagelos P&S include medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, human nutrition, genetic counseling, biomedical informatics program in health information technology, and psychoanalytic programs.  CDM includes both predoctoral and postdoctoral programs.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Executive Director for the Office of Student Financial Aid & Planning (SFA&P), the Associate Director functions with minimal supervision, and performs the following functions:

• Develop and maintain a system for VP&S Scholarship Funds to match donor preferences with recipients to ensure donor preferences are met
• Work closely with the VP&S Budget and Finance office to budget and manage expenditures for these funds
• Monitor VP&S recruitment Scholarships to ensure proper activity based on student enrollment
• Responsible for the administration, management and reporting for all financial aid funds for the Programs in Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physical Therapy (PT). This includes development and maintenance of the forecasting models/excel spreadsheets disbursement, awarding and reconciliation of school funds. 
• Mentor staff about the OT and PT programs
• Manage disbursement, certification, and processing of financial aid from federal, institutional, and external financial aid programs to approximately 500-580 VP&S and CDM students. 
• Analyze and review student, spouse and parental information to determine eligibility for various aid sources
• Counsel students and families at all stages of the awarding cycle - applicants, students, graduates - about financial aid policies, programs and procedures
• Present financial literacy programs and debt management seminars, and assist with developing programs and communication for current and pipeline students and other stakeholders via a variety of media 
• Monitor financial aid compliance updates and issues, keep staff up to date
• Manage and ensure continued compliance for the department's Return of Title IV Funds process
• Responsible for the all R2T4 calculations, related account adjustments and R2T4 student notifications
• Play a leadership role both in staff development and with the planning process for the department
• Assist with development and implementation of procedures to assure efficient work-flow and high standards of customer service
• Interview and recommend applicants for employment; assist with the training of new employees
• Back-up the Director for all VP&S and CDM PowerFAIDS and SIS functions, and primary contact for setting up OT and PT programs' pay codes and other related areas
• Serve as liaison on financial aid matters for the OT and PT programs and related University administrative offices as well as to external and private government funding agencies; and represent the department at internal and external meetings and conferences
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in education and experience plus four years of related experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Four to eight years of progressive management experience in financial aid administration
• Experience with a graduate/professional financial aid population and knowledge of Title VII Programs a plus
• Experience and comfort with seminar presentations
• Experience with PowerFAIDS a plus

Other Requirements

• Knowledge of and experience with mainframe and PC-based financial aid systems
• Proficient with Microsoft Office software applications, Adobe, and web design software packages
• Strong knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations 
• Experience with "Institutional Methodology" (IM) needs analysis methods
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written, and project management capabilities to establish and meet goals
• Strong ability to analyze and interpret data and to work well under pressure
• Ability to work in a high volume environment with minimal supervision
• High degree of discretion needed due to volume of sensitive and confidential issues

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

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