• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $70,000 - $75,000

Position Summary

The Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the finest liberal arts college in the United States dedicated to making Ivy League education accessible to nontraditional students. GS was founded in 1947 with the mission of expanding access to elite higher education, and it remains the most diverse college in the Ivy League, with many transfer, first-generation, and international students. GS students are fully integrated with Columbia's broader undergraduate population and are taught by Columbia's celebrated faculty

Responsibilities

• Provides comprehensive financial aid counseling and guidance to School of General Studies students, encompassing all aspects of the financial aid process and related concerns. Acts as a financial aid counselor for prospective and newly admitted students, while managing a dedicated counseling portfolio for currently enrolled students.

• Interacts with the GS Admissions Office and Columbia University Central Administration effectively in assisting current, prospective, and newly admitted students with their financial concerns. Additionally, serves as the liaison between students, the GS Dean of Students Office, and other University offices.

• Facilitates information sessions, presentations, and workshops aimed at prospective, newly admitted, and current students to provide comprehensive guidance on financial aid resources, application procedures, and ongoing support services.

• Utilizes reporting tools to track and reconcile federal, institutional, and state financial aid awards. Manages review and reconciliation of periods of enrollment details, outside scholarship payments, and other financial aid program awards.

• Manages FAFSA verifications, budget adjustment requests, and professional judgments, and reviews financial aid documents such as the CSS Profile and GS Scholarship Application submitted by students. Ensures all necessary follow-up actions are taken and guides students through the required next steps. Administer financial aid awards to students, including institutional, federal, and other forms of financial assistance.

• Exhibits strong skills in customer service, collaboration, and documentation, coupled with a robust technical aptitude, ensuring seamless coordination with central offices while efficiently addressing student inquiries through various channels.

• Leverages counseling interactions and workflow processes to identify trends and assess root-cause issues that negatively impact the student experience. Designs and implements solutions and cohort management approaches to enhance student outcomes, both independently and in collaboration with members of the educational financing management team or enrollment colleagues within other GS offices.

• Strong Interpersonal Skills: Excellent communicator with the ability to build and maintain relationships with colleagues and students, engage with diverse groups, and foster a collaborative team environment.

• Adaptability and Creative Problem-Solving: Be highly adaptable, comfortable with ambiguity, and able to think creatively to navigate complex challenges and drive improvement.

• Resilience and Flexibility: Be resilient under challenges and flexible with shifting priorities, maintaining focus and effectiveness under pressure.

• Empathetic Customer Focus: Demonstrate genuine empathy in student interactions and have a strong orientation toward understanding and meeting student needs with an open-minded approach.

• Proactive Self-Management: Have strong self-management skills, effectively prioritize tasks, take initiative, and manage responsibilities autonomously to drive projects to completion.

• Growth Mindset: Committed to personal and professional growth, ready to act on feedback constructively, and eager to continuously learn and adapt

• Performs other duties as assigned or requested.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or its equivalent required.
• 2 years minimum experience required; excellent interpersonal and counseling and public skills required.
• Must be detail-oriented, able to maintain high levels of confidentiality, self-motivated, and able to work with minimal daily supervision.
• Demonstrates a positive attitude and enthusiasm for assisting students in navigating the financial aid process.
• Experience with word processing and spreadsheet software required; experience with financial aid management systems a plus, but not absolutely required. Would consider limited financial aid experience replaced with significant interpersonal skills combined with other related analytic experience