University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Associate Vice President of Student Registration and Financial Services - Division of Finance

Job Profile Title

Associate Vice President, Business and Finance

Job Description Summary

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a global leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top universities in the world. Penn has twelve highly regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer, Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers for three consecutive years and in the top five best large employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia.

The university is situated on a beautiful urban campus with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, the Philadelphia region is the perfect place to call home for work and play. To learn more about Penn and its distinctive programs and impact, see here. www.upenn.edu

The Role

Reporting to the Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Mark Dingfield, the Associate Vice President is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the University’s department of Student Registration and Financial Services (SRFS).

This role is accountable for overseeing and administering services to University students in the areas of records and registration, student financial aid, student employment, and billing and account management for tuition and fees.

These responsibilities involve the creation, delivery, and assessment of innovative programs and services to enhance the University and the quality of services provided, while ensuring their effectiveness across Penn’s twelve schools.

The position is responsible for administering the undergraduate financial aid award process and budget, and facilitating and ensuring the compliance of graduate financial aid programs offered by schools. All student loan programs, including federal, state, private and university sponsored installment loans, budget plans, student employment, college work-study and job referral service, are under the auspices of this position.

The incumbent ensures compliance with all regulations, rules, laws, and applicable policies of the various federal, state, and institutional funding programs.

The AVP serves as the functional owner of the student financial and records systems and is responsible for ensuring the integrity of data and processes, while striving to make enhancements to processes and technologies. The incumbent must have a nuanced understanding of how to operationalize and measure business objectives within a complex technology stack. The AVP develops and promotes proper safeguards and controls to protect the confidentiality of all financial and personal information.

In addition, the AVP leads a team of 80+ with eight direct reports. The SRFS division proudly upholds the following core values: Collaboration; Accountability; Compassion; Inclusion; and World Class Service.

Job Description

Key Priorities for the Associate Vice President of Student Registration and Financial Services:

• Ensures compliance with all regulations, rules, laws, and policies of all federal, state, and private funding student assistance programs. Establishes communication, education, and monitoring procedures to ensure all SRFS staff have the appropriate knowledge of these regulations.

• Oversees the coordination and communication of all financial services provided to Penn students including financial aid packaging, student employment and job referral, financial counseling, student credit and loan operations, and student billing and collections.

• Develops and promotes a strategic plan to enhance the university by designing and developing innovative products and programs in Student Registration and Financial Services, minimizing the costs of these services and providing resources for programs.

• Provides thought leadership and participates in conferences and industry trade organizations such as Ivy Bursar, NASFAA, EASFAA, NACUBO.

• Leads negotiations with external lenders to obtain best available loan terms for students.

• Promotes the development of technology systems to manage student registration and financial services.

• Ensures appropriate safeguards are in place to protect and secure the confidentiality of student information.

• Oversees the development and training of the divisional staff responsible for the budgeting and financial oversight of SRFS.

• Leads, inspires, and coaches a department of 80+ colleagues. Models the five core values of the department. Has an active presence throughout the office.

• Collaborates effectively across the 12 schools and Provost’s office to support and implement new programs and curricular innovations. Actively seeks input from diverse stakeholders across the university.

• Supports the Student Services Center in providing a broad range of financial aid and student accounts support to students and families. Identifies growth opportunities for this critical student service.

• Recruits, retains, and develops top talent within SRFS.

• Ensures cohesion and alignment across direct reports; provides guidance on how different goals and priorities roll up to department-wide strategy.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a leader with a strong track record of success and deep subject matter expertise within student financial aid, management, and compliance. In addition to bringing substantive knowledge and experiences within this space, and specifically in compliance, the ideal candidate will also be a highly collaborative, diplomatic, compassionate leader who balances the needs for results with an orientation and passion for high quality service.

The successful candidate will have high emotional intelligence with a low ego and understand how to thoughtfully and appropriately engage many stakeholders across a decentralized, matrixed organizational structure.

This leader is a constant learner, curious, and mission-oriented. They are not easily flustered and have a high degree of comfort with ambiguity. As a leader of others, this person will bring a strong sense of purpose and the ability to create cohesion and connectivity across distinct functions, ultimately inspiring and rallying senior leaders against shared goals.

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Setting Strategy

• The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others with the organization's overall strategy.

• An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative approaches paired with the emotional intelligence to know how to best engage various stakeholders in a matrixed organization.

• The ability to effectively balance the desire/need for broad change with an understanding of how much change the organization is capable of handling, to create realistic goals and implementation plans that are achievable and successful. The ability to thoughtfully engage the many schools and its leaders to deliver excellence throughout the university.

• The energy and enthusiasm to drive adoption of processes and the vision to craft a new compliance framework to impact decision-making across the university.

Executing for Results

• The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance, tenacious and accountable in driving results. An orientation of constant learning and curiosity.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations. A track record of making decisions and giving direction when the path ahead is unclear.

• Seeks data and input from others to foresee possible threats or unintended circumstances from decisions; someone who takes smart risks.

• A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in their approach to making decisions; the ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always prioritizing what is best for the organization.

Leading Teams

• The ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance; widely viewed as a strong developer of others.

• The ability to persevere in the face of challenges and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands respect from followers.

• A leader who is self- aware of their own limitations; who leads by example and drives the organization's performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement.

• A leader who models collaboration and a customer service orientation.

Relationships and Influence

• Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.

• An ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion in their beliefs, and active drive.

• Advocates passionately, effectively disagrees and then unites and supports the decision and the way forward.

• Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.

• Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond his/her own personality and engages others to the greater purpose for the organization as a whole.

• Understands the nature of a role where there is tremendous accountability to many stakeholders.

• Operates with political savviness and nuance; they are not afraid of complex organizational structures and understand how to operate effectively and thoughtfully within a system at this scale.

• Embraces the notion of being accessible to many different colleagues.

Personal Characteristics and Qualifications

• Acts in a transparent and consistent manner, has high integrity and a reputation for making and owning critical decisions in the best interest of their organization.

• High intellectual acuity, functional expertise, and a willingness to take appropriate risks.

• Empathizes and connects with others naturally – can put themselves in someone else’s shoes and bridge gaps between those with differing experiences.

• Communicates the why behind decisions and processes, ensuring that diverse constituencies are engaged effectively and in an ongoing manner.

• Acts with extraordinary diplomacy.

• Leads with humility and curiosity.

• A BA/BS in Accounting, Business Administration, or related field is required and a minimum of ten years of progressive experience in student financial services or a finance field or an equivalent combination of education and experience. MBA preferred.

Nomination and Application Procedure

Penn invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for this position. Interested candidates should confidentially submit a curriculum vitae and letter of interest (Adobe PDF files preferred) to:

AVPStudentRegandFinancialSvc@russellreynolds.com

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Division of Finance

Pay Range

$50,000.00 - $200,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.

Affirmative Action Statement Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts : Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition : Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits . You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources : Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services : From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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  To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay

  The University of Pennsylvania's special character is reflected in the diversity of the Penn community. We seek talented faculty and staff who will constitute a vibrant community that draws on the strength that comes with a substantive institutional commitment to diversity along dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, veteran status, interests, perspectives, and socioeconomic status. Grounded in equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and affirmative action, Penn's robust commitment to diversity is fundamental to the University's mission of advancing knowledge, educating leaders for all sectors of society, and public service. The University of Pennsylvania prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.