The Peabody Institute seeks an Assistant Director of Financial Aid to work as a collaborative member of the Financial Aid team developing and implementing policies and procedures that meet the goals of the school and university. Reporting to the Director of Financial Aid, the Assistant Director will support the department in all facets of aid administration and play a significant role in communicating daily with students, faculty, and staff. The successful candidate will have a solid foundation in financial aid, a commitment to providing the highest levels of customer service, and knowledge of post-secondary admissions, financial aid, billing, and registration processes and will be collaboratively responsible for university compliance matters for the division. This position will work closely with the Enrollment Management Team, University’s compliance team, the Director of Financial Aid, the Campus Senior Software Engineer, the SEAM (Student Enrollment and Account Management) operations team.

The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University advances a dynamic, 21st-century model of performing arts training in pursuit of its mission: to elevate the human experience through leadership at the intersection of art and education. Through its Conservatory for undergraduate and graduate studies and the Preparatory, Baltimore’s largest community performing arts school, Peabody empowers musicians and dancers from diverse backgrounds to create and perform at the highest level.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Evaluates aid applications for prospective and returning full and part-time undergraduate and graduate student populations to determine aid eligibility using federal and institutional methodologies, exercising professional judgment when necessary.
• Resolves and identifies C-flags on student applications and process students selected for verification audits of FAFSA applications.
  
• Responds to inquiries via email, phone calls, meeting requests and the Student Case Management system.
  
• Reviews student Budget Adjustment Requests, assist with the awarding and disbursement of institutional financial aid.
  
• Serves as the main point of contact with students and families via phone, email, online and in-person.
  
• Supports Peabody’s student recruitment and retention efforts by preparing and/or presenting financial aid sessions/workshops to current and prospective students and other organizations upon request.
  
• Reviews financial aid appeals, assesses student financial needs, and makes informed recommendations accordingly.
  
• Assists with the development and implementation of financial aid policies and procedures.
  
• Assists with reconciliation of scheduled reports to ensure timely delivery of financial aid to students and compliance with Federal Title IV regulations.
  
• Oversees Financial Aid aspects of federal work study program in coordination with Peabody’s office of Human Resources and supervises assigned workers.
  
• Maintains frequent communication and attends meetings with campus partners within the Peabody Institute (Admissions, Registrar, Student Accounting, Student Affairs, Enrollment Management and Institutional Affairs) and Johns Hopkins University (SEAM, Office of Financial Aid).
  
• Serves in place of the Director, when necessary, with the ability to handle sensitive information from the division.
  
• Performs additional assigned responsibilities for other programs as needed.

Special Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Comprehensive understanding of Federal Title IV regulations and Federal Title IV financial aid processing systems (COD, NSLDS, etc.).
• Comprehensive knowledge of Federal verification and Return to Title IV.
  
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
  
• Student-based counseling proficiency.
  
• A good eye for detail with strong organizational skills.
  
• Ability to interact with Department of Education systems, including but not limited to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System and the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS), FAA Access and EdConnect.
  
• Familiarity with the ELM platform to certify and manage private student loans and ability to work with ECSI.
  
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment, where expectations for performance and productivity are high.
  
• Proficiency in working with Microsoft Office 365 Suite of products.
  
• Candidates must possess unquestioned personal and professional ethical standards.
  
• Attention to detail and experience managing/stewarding scholarship programs.
  
• Ability to manage multiple projects with minimal supervision.
  
• Ability to work without direct supervision and partner with other departments in order to work cross-functionally.
  
• Ability to follow-through with policy and procedural implementations.
  
• Strong conceptual, logical, and problem-solving abilities.
  
• High professional standards with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  
• Demonstrated ability to establish and meet objectives within limited time frames and under tight schedule deadlines.

• Bachelor's Degree.
• One-year related experience.
• Additional education may substitute for experience to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

• Relevant financial aid/Title IV experience.
• Experience with CSS Profile, IDOC, PowerFAIDS, OnBase and NetPartner.
• Experience with both undergraduate and graduate student populations in a performing arts/music conservatory setting.
• Experience with analyzing and recommending significant improvements in departmental operations.

Classified Title: Financial Aid Administrator 
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Assistant Director of Financial Aid   
Role/Level/Range: ACRP/03/MC  
Starting Salary Range: $48,000 - $84,100 Annually ($66,000 targeted; Commensurate with experience) 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: 37.5 hours per week 
Exempt Status: Exempt 
Location: Peabody Institute 
Department name: ​​​​​​​Financial Aid  
Personnel area: Peabody