Assistant Director for Financial Aid (00034)

Title: Assistant Director for Financial Aid (00034)

State Role Title: Education Coordinator II

Hiring Range: $110,000 - $160,000

Pay Band: 6

Agency: State Council of Higher Educ

Location: State Council of Higher Educ

Agency Website: https://www.schev.edu

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

Job Duties

About SCHEV
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the coordinating body for the nation’s preeminent system of postsecondary education. Among its primary responsibilities are: the development of a statewide strategic plan for higher education; the facilitation of collaboration among postsecondary institutions that enhances academic quality and operational efficiency; and the development of system-level recommendations on budgetary and policy matters.

The Council and its staff play multiple, statutory roles in financial, budgetary and policy matters related to Virginia higher education, including: (i) developing policies, formulae and guidelines for the fair and equitable distribution and use of public funds among the public institutions of higher education; (ii) providing periodic updates of base-adequacy funding guidelines; and (iii) calculating each public institution's basic operations and instruction funding need for each year of each biennium and making that calculation available to the Governor, the General Assembly and the public colleges and universities. To fulfill these duties and expectations, SCHEV requires expertise in not only finance, accounting, budgeting and policymaking, but also in the management of higher-education-related financial information and data.

SCHEV aspires to be a great place to work. It is an environment of public servants committed to developing an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive and coordinated system of higher education in Virginia. We value honesty, quality, diversity, inclusion, growth orientation, personal well-being, equity, transparency and accountability. And we seek team players that will advance these values through their work and engagement.

About the Position
This position provides supervision and oversight over the agency’s financial aid section. This position will supervise the current staff of four full-time positions and will report directly to the Director of Finance Policy & Innovation. This position provides an opportunity to work alongside FP&I’s professional staff in a collegial atmosphere. In addition to providing expertise and supervision of the financial aid section, this position will have ample opportunity to work in overall higher education data and policy. SCHEV’s office is located in downtown Richmond, VA; limited teleworking is possible, but not guaranteed.

Duties and Responsibilities
•Supervise current staff of four full-time financial aid positions.
• Provide expertise and insight for financial aid policy specifically and contribute to higher education finance policy topics overall.
• Develop and enforce financial aid regulations consistent with the Code of Virginia, the
annual Act of Appropriation, and other official direction from state policy makers.
• Assess and implement efficient strategies to maximize affordability and access for all
students.
• Prepare periodic short-form narratives on pressing higher education topics for SCHEV’s insights blog, Council meetings and other venues.
• Prepare research and policy analyses to be included in ad hoc reports and presentations to stakeholders.
• Support fiscal and operational planning and performance at the state and campus/institutional levels, including six-year plans, a biennial planning process for institutions and state government, and the institutional performance standards.
• Other duties as assigned that support SCHEV’s efforts in fulfilling the goals and strategies of the statewide plan for higher education.

Minimum Qualifications

• Extensive experience and knowledge of state and federal financial aid programs and administration.
• Broad familiarity with higher education topics including enrollment, finance, affordability, academic programs and workforce alignment.
• Considerable experience demonstrating the ability to collaborate with, lead, coach, and provide personnel guidance/management to professional staff.
• Experience demonstrating analytical skills, with the ability to recognize correlations
between data to conduct temporal and peer comparisons and to develop hypotheses on patterns identified.
• Experience using spreadsheets and/or database management applications is required.
• Experience conducting research and developing/drafting summaries and recommendations based on that research.
• Experience communicating verbally with demonstrated ability to provide effective presentations and training sessions.
• Experience providing customer service and collaborating with internal and external
stakeholders.
• Experience working independently in a deadline driven and politically sensitive work environment.

Additional Considerations

• Experience working with Microsoft Office suite required and experience and knowledge of cloud services (SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams) and AI machine learning tools also desired.
• Experience in the field of higher education finance is desired.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license and/or of access to reliable transportation for travel to job-related activities.

Special Instructions

You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.

Special Requirements
Occasional intraday travel will be required, and periodic overnight travel will be also required.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS
Cover letter and resume are preferred.
Applicants must apply through the Commonwealth of Virginia Recruitment Management System (RMS). Applications submitted via email, postal mail, fax or in person will not be considered. When applying through RMS, applicants are expected to fully represent their qualifications and work history on the State applications and/or in resumes. The decision to interview an applicant is based on the information provided in the application, resume, or other relevant documents; therefore, applicants must supply detailed information. Submitting an incomplete state application/resume or a state application/resume lacking in detail may impact your interview eligibility. The RMS website will confirm receipt when the application is submitted successfully.

Other Information
SCHEV is an E-Verify and Equal Opportunity Employer.
State employees who have been affected by Policy 1.3 Layoff and possess a valid Interagency Placement Screening Form (Yellow Card) or a Preferential Hiring Form (Blue Card) must submit the card BEFORE the closing date for this position. The card may be scanned and attached to the application or faxed to (804) 371-7401. Please include your name and the position number on the fax cover sheet. You may apply for this position at http://jobs.agencies.virginia.gov. Reasonable accommodations are available to individuals with disabilities during the application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Veterans, people with disabilities, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.
Equal Opportunity Employer

Contact Information

Name: Taris Harmon

Phone: 804-292-6482

Email: taris.harmon@dhrm.virginia.gov

In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.

Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.