University Director of Financial Aid

Department: Financial Aid EV
Salary/Grade: EXS/15

For full consideration, application materials should be submitted to the Issacson, Miller search here.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Vice President of Enrollment within University Enrollment, and working closely with the Dean of Undergraduate Admission, the Director will lead a talented team of 35 full-time staff members on the Evanston and Chicago Campuses, and oversee an institutional financial aid budget of approximately $300 million, and total aid expenditures of over $600 million. The Director is responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance and overseeing the administration of all federal, state, and institutional financial aid, and is also expected to provide guidance to school-based financial aid staff outside of the Division of University Enrollment to ensure their regulatory compliance as well.

The Director works closely with and provides guidance to many units on campus, including Student Affairs, Student Finance, Alumni & Development, Athletics, the Office of the Dean of Students, and the offices of the Associate Deans.

Northwestern is a highly-selective, need-blind institution of nearly 9,000 undergraduate and 14,000 graduate and professional students. The institution aspires to become a leader among selective-admission schools in ensuring access and affordability for talented students regardless of their financial circumstances. The Director will be expected to play an engaged role in the national conversation about these pivotal topics, and to shape and utilize the University's aid policies to ensure that Northwestern is an inclusive and welcoming destination for students from all backgrounds.

The ideal candidate should have a deep and infectious appreciation for the power of need-based financial aid to help students accomplish their dreams. He/she should possess exceptional interpersonal and analytical skills, a collaborative work style, and an unwavering moral and ethical compass. Additionally, candidates must have strong team-building skills and a demonstrated record in successfully managing and supervising staff. Finally, the Director must have the ability to act as a spokesperson for Northwestern on financial aid.

Candidates should possess minimally a bachelor's degree (advanced degree preferred) and a minimum of six years of experience in managing a financial aid office, ideally.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Provides strategic leadership and oversight in the implementation of financial aid policies. Strategizes and develops financial aid initiatives. Develops financial aid allocation requests and prepares reports for central administration, including the Central Budget Office and the Office of the Provost.
• Reviews compliance issues including federal, state, Big Ten, NCAA and institutional policy. Supervises a director of operations in the completion of internal and external audits. Responsible for the oversight of an institutional financial aid budget of approximately $300 million.
• Responsible for staff management, professional development, and training of over 35 employees throughout the central aid offices and for the greater aid community.
• Analyzes and prepares financial aid awards and appeals for students, including the implementation of the automated packaging process for admitted and returning students. This includes developing packaging strategies with the Vice President and Dean of Enrollment.
• Supervises the work of the financial aid office systems manager in the maintenance, annual update, and configuration of the financial aid component of PeopleSoft. Ensures that the system is updated according to the calendar that supports the annual financial aid cycle. Works closely with the systems manager and director of analytics in University Enrollment to analyze data related to financial aid, project expenditures, and make policy recommendations regarding aid programs.
• Key member of University, state, federal and external committees regarding financial aid and admission.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Minimum 6 years' work experience in student financial aid.
• Minimum 4 years' experience directly supervising staff.
• Expert knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the undergraduate admission process.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree preferred.
• Experience using PeopleSoft software.

Target hiring range for this position will be between $200,000-$220,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.