Financial Aid Coordinator Manager

Description

The Financial Aid Coordinator Manager at CIAT will lead and oversee a dedicated team of Financial Aid Coordinators to support active and returning students through their educational journey. This role ensures students have a seamless, transparent, and supportive financial aid experience each term to ensure continuous funding through graduation. 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.

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

San Diego, CA and Albuquerque, NM

Reports to: Director of Financial Aid

Status: Exempt

Employment Type: Full-time

• Recruit, coach, motivate, and supervise our growing team of Financial Aid Coordinators
• Monitor and improve critical KPIs and performance metrics for each Financial Aid Coordinator
• Support term‑ly financial processing goals by ensuring Financial Aid Coordinators provide accurate student financial statements, forecasts, and financial guidance
• Coach Financial Aid Coordinators on effective processes in helping students navigate the 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 Coordinators to effectively provide counseling on financial aid applications, deadlines, and award processes
• Assist students and families with renewing financial aid and other funding options
• Adhere to SAP policies and guidelines, coaching Financial Aid Coordinators on effective strategies in motivating and educating students on the funding impacts of SAP
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations such as Title IV, state‑specific rules, and institutional policies
• Monitor and track financial processing 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, values, and support the goals of the department
• Ensure a safe, secure, and ethical work environment

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent work experience
• Previous Financial Aid management experience preferred
• Minimum 5 years of experience in higher education financial aid positions, 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, Hub Spot, 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…