Financial Aid Advising Manager

Description

Work from Home (WFH) - Remote work must be performed while residing in California or New Mexico

CIAT Location: San Diego, CA and Albuquerque, NM

Reports to: Director of Financial Aid

Status: Exempt

Employment Type: Full-time

Summary

The Financial Aid Advising Manager at CIAT will lead and oversee a dedicated team of Financial Aid Advisors to support prospective students through the enrollment and financial aid application processes. This role ensures prospective and returning students have a seamless, transparent, and supportive financial aid consultation and enrollment experience. The ideal candidate will bring a passion for education, a strong understanding of federal, state, and institutional financial aid regulations, and proven experience managing and motivating teams in a vocational or technical school environment.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, coach, motivate, and supervise our growing team of Financial Aid Advisors
• Monitor and improve critical KPIs and performance metrics for each Financial Aid Advisor
• Support termly recruitment goals by ensuring Financial Aid Advisors provide expert guidance, communication, and motivation to students evaluating their education and financing options
• Coach Financial Aid Advisors on effective processes in helping students navigate the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process and interpret their financial aid awards
• Oversee the administration of financial aid programs, including federal, state, institutional, and private aid
• Support student escalations by handling student inquiries and complaints with care and a customer service approach
• Coach Financial Aid Advisors to effectively provide counseling on financial aid applications, deadlines, and award processes
• Assist students and families in understanding available financial aid and other funding options
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations such as Title IV, state-specific rules, and institutional policies
• Monitor and track financial aid enrollment and clearance
• Maintain current knowledge of all funding sources offered by the institution
• Provide ongoing training to team members on policy and process changes
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including Admissions, Student Services, and Career Services, to support student recruitment and retention goals
• Ensure that the institution follows federal, state, and institutional regulations
• Prepare for and manage financial aid audits and reviews
• Submit necessary reports required for various governing bodies, such as the Department of Education, and annual audits to the Financial Aid Director for final review and approval
• Adhere to compliance deadlines and perform periodic reviews to determine compliance status
• Work with the Financial Aid Director to develop and revise department policies and procedures
• Communicate policy updates to students and staff as needed
• Coach, and counsel employees, in partnership with HR
• Provide professional growth opportunities for employees
• Manage and enforce timekeeping policies to ensure accuracy and timely process of employee’s timecards
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing results as needed
• Process timely, accurate, fair, without bias, performance reviews
• Embody CIAT’s mission, vision, purpose and values

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 2 years in a Financial Aid management position is required
• Minimum 5 years of experience in higher education financial aid positions required, including administering Title IV, VA, private education financing, scholarships, and employer-sponsored funding
• Minimum 2 years of experience using enterprise CRM systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics
• Experience recommending financing options to students to help them meet their career goals
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to effectively convey information and interact with students, colleagues, and others
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple and rapidly changing priorities to meet the needs and expectations of employees
• Self-motivated with a strong work ethic; dedicated to quality, quantity, and timeliness of results
• Able to handle sensitive information with a high degree of confidentiality
• Possess high ethical standards, being an example of professionalism to others
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs and exercise independent judgment
• Excellent analytical skills, problem-resolution ski