Senior Director, Financial Aid & Scholarships (College of Health Sciences)

The College of Health Sciences (COHS) at the University of Arizona is seeking a Senior Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships. This role will be responsible for developing a business plan and timeline to on-board several new professional health programs and establish cost of attendance (COA), scholarship/grant opportunities along with public/private loan options to support recruiting efforts and the COHS Office of Admissions. The incumbent will be responsible for developing the financial package available to U.S. and international students. This will include establishing future international registry relationships with partner institutions. This position will require knowledge of healthcare scholarship and grant opportunities that exist for each specialized program, such as Physician Assistant, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Midwifery, and Genetic Counseling, as well as the ability to develop and implement new funding opportunities.

The Senior Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships is responsible for the financial education and literacy of students from pre-enrollment through post-graduation loan repayment. The position will play a vital role as part of a system of student support to ensure the success of students enrolled in the College of Health Sciences programs, maximizing student recruitment and retention. The incumbent will also interpret (institutional, state, and federal) financial aid regulations, and implement procedures to ensure regulatory and fiduciary compliance and timely delivery of financial aid to local and international students.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Duties and Responsilbities:

• Work closely with the University of Arizona Scholarship and Financial Aid Office, Bursar’s Office, and the compliance team to assure synchronization of all matters related to financial aid. In addition, keep these offices informed of the complex international developments surrounding financial aid specifically pertaining to the international program.
• Create a business model for the Financial Aid Office that can be used to on-board new programs to the College and provide incoming students with an accurate financial picture of their educational investment. Creates and implements plans to meet the College/Division/University goals, while reporting on milestones and statuses of plans to the Dean and other leadership. 
• Manage all aspects of financial aid administration including planning, implementing, and communicating awarding policies as well as determining students' level of need and eligibility for financial aid and collaborating with internal and external partners to strategically allocate funds and maintain institutional reporting requirements. 
• Establish staffing plan and timeline to hire additional staff to the Financial Services Office based on student population in the COHS.
• Oversees, trains and develops the financial aid support team; communicate and interact with other members of the Student Affairs team to ensure student success. 
• Establish a working relationship with the international programs and their financial office and collaborate to support 400+ students that will travel between campuses. This includes designing a process and timeline for the international visa process and cost for students based on their country of origin, and educating COHS staff and students.
• Develop a mechanism and frequently update as to how financial assistance will be awarded across the college and within its programs for local and international students in compliance with institutional, state, federal and international guidelines. 
• Manages the design and execution of required entrance/exit counseling sessions and on-going, longitudinal debt management sessions in accordance with accreditation standard requirements.
• Utilizes in-depth knowledge of financial aid processes, policies, and regulations to coordinate and administer multiple financial aid programs and projects. Keeps up with federal legislation and regulations, and works with College to disseminate information, provide guidance, and develop policies and procedures. 
• Represent the COHS and act as a liaison to University staff, faculty, scholarship donors, military branches, lenders, and other agencies in resolving problems for students with these entities, and in facilitating program objectives. 
• Monitors the budget and budget submissions of state, federal, private and University funds to ensure fiscally sound program administration and full utilization of funds.
• Academic progression monitoring for qualitative and quantitative benchmarks and Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds in accordance with federal regulations. 
• Utilize experience and knowledge of existing healthcare scholarships and grants to educate COHS students, while continually working to establish new funding opportunities for all of the professional programs in the College. 
• Implement procedures to ensure regulatory and fiduciary compliance and timely delivery of financial aid.
• Advocates for federal, state, and institutional funding for students and assesses the impact of policies, proposals and or legislation on Arizona's students. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively with different groups, individuals, and all levels of leadership.
• Knowledge of how to handle confidential and sensitive information. 
• Ability to work with diverse student populations.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required. Master's preferred.
• Nine (9) years of related work experience, including five (5) years of managerial experience, preferably in higher education, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Experience leading a team, project, program, or function is required.

• 9-12 years of experience managing and monitoring a financial aid program while educating and providing guidance on financial aid processes, including the interpretation of institutional, state and federal financial aid regulations.
• 5 years of experience leading, mentoring, and/or supervising employees in a collaborative team environment.
• Experience developing and implementing new funding opportunities and financial packages available to U.S. and international students.
• 9-12 years of experience interpreting institutional, state, and federal financial aid regulations, and implementing procedures to ensure regulatory and fiduciary compliance.
• Working knowledge of healthcare scholarship and grant opportunities that exist for specialized programs in healthcare fields.