Senior Director of Student Financial Services

Description To be considered for this position, candidates MUST reside in the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. This position is Hybrid/Remote in the Austin, TX metro area. POSITION SUMMARY API is growing! We are looking to hire an experienced Student Financial Services Senior Director who will play a key role within the Company. Reporting to VP Advising & Coaching, Visas, & Student Financial Services, the Senior Director is responsible for providing dynamic leadership, management, and direction for the billing, collections, financial aid, scholarship, visa and enrollment processes for students. Serves as a catalyst within the entire organization through the process of change for continuous improvement. This position will oversee the administrative support for billing, collections, financial aid, scholarship, visa and course registration operations. This person will serve as an informational resource to a variety of stakeholders, including students, prospective students, parents, faculty/staff, and study abroad offices. Lastly, this person will be a key component of spearheading change, where new technology and processes are being leveraged, and replaced by manual efforts. We are deeply committed to transforming students’ lives through experiential learning programs while becoming the most innovative, strategic, and visionary Company in this space. RESPONSIBILITIES Key Responsibilities: Serves as an information resource to students, potential students, and their families; explains the policies and procedures involved in applying for financial aid and/or scholarships, and visas as well as those that apply to student/school billing and collections. Must possess the ability to supervise staff and communicate effectively with a variety of departments. Must possess a working knowledge of Federal guidelines, student aid processing, student visa processing, and scholarship processing. The Director will report directly to the Vice President of A & C, Visas and SFS. Responds to email or phone calls from applicants regarding status of application as it relates to financial aid, scholarships, or visa. The Director plans and implements services that reflect maintenance of various forms and documents. The Director will direct and oversee the creation and the functioning of various applications within our technology platform. Monitors financial aid and/or scholarship accounts on a continuing basis; ensure compliance with scholarship requirements. Research, creates, recommends, and implements policies to enhance the overall operations; provides strategic long-term direction. Develops a full-service department that ensures various counseling of students/families to improve yield. Establishes an environment that emphasizes excellent customer service and team building. Coordinates with cross-functional departments, as appropriate, to forge more seamless retention processes and communications for/to students. Requirements QUALIFICATIONS KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES Demonstrated Supervision experience of full-time employees. Experience in analyzing and reporting data. Excellent team building and organizational skills; ability to lead teams and work in cross-functional settings. Demonstrated ability to create effective workflow processes. Exceptional communication skills, both verbally and in writing. Must hold high ethical standards. Strong interpersonal skills. Works well under pressure: Has a patient and calm approach when managing multiple projects or tasks. KEY EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of five years of progressively increasing professional responsibilities in higher education, visa, scholarship, and student financial aid operations, preferably as director or an assistant or associate director level. Master’s degree preferred. Must have demonstrable experience of holding a high level of confidentiality. Three years of successful supervisory experience of full-time professional and/or clerical staff.