Director of Financial Aid

The Director of Financial Aid guides and manages the overall provision of Financial Aid for NYFA. The Financial Aid Director leads all Federal regulatory practices and objectives to develop policies and procedures that maintain compliance with all regulatory bodies.

The following responsibilities are general duties that a particular employee in this position may or may not be required to perform. The day-to-day duties required for this position may vary.

• Establishes standards and procedure of Financial Aid and all regulatory education compliance.
• Manages the development and maintenance of the Student Financial Aid System and all peripheral reporting functions.
• Provides necessary Financial Aid related education and materials to managers and employees including workshops, manuals, employee handbooks, and standardized reports.
• Establishes in-house employee training and within the Financial Aid Departments.
• As a member of the Compliance Team, formulates and recommends regulatory policy changes and objectives for the company about state and federal education compliance.
• Directs the preparation of information requested or required for compliance with education laws.
• Designs, directs, and manages a department-wide process of organization development that addresses issues such as succession planning, superior workforce development, key employee retention, organization design, and change management.
• Directs a process of organizational planning and evaluates department structure, job design, and personnel forecasting throughout the company. Evaluates plans and changes to plans. Makes recommendations to executive management.
• Keeps the CEO and the executive team informed of significant problems that jeopardize the achievement of company goals and those that are not being addressed adequately at the line management level.
• Advises Senior Management on regulatory updates that may affect the operations of NYFA.
• Maintains current expertise in all educational compliance related issues.
• Develop operational strategies to ensure the retention of students through exceptional customer service.
• Manages all financial aid dept. team members, responsible for ensuring adequate staffing.
• Completes all state grant award reconciliation and fund management.
• Reviews Federal Funding amounts monitoring the reconciliation process.
• Updates the NYFA financial aid website with regulatory requirements for consumer information.
• Coordinates NYFA's Default Prevention and Reporting on all compliance reviews and audits.
• Responds to escalated complaints from students or student family members.
• Oversee the Return to Title IV process.
• Supports outreach efforts including new student orientations.
• Assists continuing and transfer students through the Federal Student Aid (FSA) application or FAFSA.
• Advises continuing and transfer student aid applicants and their families on available student aid programs and funding options.
• Provides necessary Financial Aid related education and materials to students and or parents.
• Creates student aid checklist ensuring FSA funding requirements have been met prior to fund disbursements.
• Participates in the Returning Student Clearance process managed by the Registrar’s Office.

• Broad knowledge and experience federal compliance, organizational planning, organization development, employee relations, and training and development.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and coaching skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop Financial Aid staff members.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a successful participant on the Compliance Team that provides company leadership and direction.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with fellow campus partners.
• Excellent computer skills in a Microsoft Windows environment. Must include Excel and skills in database management and record keeping.
• General knowledge of various employment laws and practices.
• Ethical / Honest - evidence of the practice of a high level of confidentiality.
• Excellent organizational skills.

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in industry experience and proven success.
• Ten plus years of progressive leadership experience in state and federal regulatory compliance.
• Specialized training in compliance of Title IV, BPPE, Accreditation, student retention strategies, employment law, organizational planning, organization development, employee relations, training and development.
• Active affiliation with NASFAA, CAPPS, CASFAA, and NASM.

THE FOLLOWING MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND / OR SOFTWARE ARE COMMONLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS, ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS POSITION. ACTUAL MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND/ OR SOFTWARE USED WILL VARY.

• Office equipment including, but not limited to, computer, phone, fax machine, copier and calculator.
• Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, Adobe Reader, Power Point, File Maker Pro, ADP, iEmployee
• Company information system applications.

The following environmental / atmospheric working conditions are commonly, but not always, associated with the performance of this position. The actual working conditions will vary.

• Higher Education Office Setting.
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

New York Film Academy (“NYFA”) is an equal opportunity employer. Prospective employees will receive consideration without discrimination because of race, creed, color, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military and veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.