Northwestern University · 23 hours ago
Director, Evanston Office of Graduate Financial Aid
Evanston, IL
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$95K/yr - $105K/yr
5+ years expNorthwestern University is seeking a Director for the Graduate Financial Aid Evanston Office, who will serve as a senior leader within the financial aid organization. The role involves overseeing daily operations, managing a team, and ensuring compliance with financial aid regulations while providing exceptional service to students and campus partners.
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Responsibilities
Provides strategic leadership for graduate and professional financial aid operations by setting vision and direction; overseeing staff recruitment, development, and performance management; advising university leadership on complex financial aid and compliance matters; and building strong, collaborative partnerships across graduate schools
Oversees financial aid operations for complex graduate and professional program structures, leading process improvements to expand efficiency and service quality; partnering with IT to optimize systems and automation (PeopleSoft, MachForm, NSC/NSLDS); testing and validating PeopleSoft upgrades to ensure accurate aid processing and communicating updates to staff; and advancing modern communication tools, workflows, and student service delivery
Manages graduate funding programs, including grants and loans, by overseeing staff responsible for awarding and disbursing aid; establishing and monitoring program budgets; tracking and reconciling monthly expenditures; ensuring compliance with federal, state, and institutional requirements; coordinating annual federal reporting with university accounting; and overseeing reconciliation processes for Federal Direct Loans and private loan programs to ensure all funds are accurately accounted for
Supports the University Director of Financial Aid in developing and documenting policies and procedures; evaluates and enhances business processes to improve proficiency and effectiveness; contributes to the continuous improvement of office operations; and collaborates with academic departments, the registrar, and student services to streamline support systems, and promote student success
Delivers high-quality, personalized financial aid counseling to students, families, and campus partners by providing clear guidance, resolving concerns, and ensuring a supportive and responsive experience
Uses data analytics and reporting to evaluate aid utilization and trends in graduate student financial need, partnering with graduate program leadership to develop financial aid strategies that strengthen departmental priorities and increase the competitiveness of graduate programs
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's Degree
Five years' experience in financial aid
Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
Ability to work as a leader in the office and member of the team
Experience in explaining, processing, and reviewing federal financial aid regulations
Preferred
Master's Degree
Experience in an office that uses PeopleSoft student information system
Experience in a highly selective, complex, institution of higher education
Experience with Microsoft Office suite
Benefits
Meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans
Retirement benefits
Tuition discounts
Comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities
Flexible work arrangements
Programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care
Employee career development
Company
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university that offers academic programs across various fields of study. It is a sub-organization of Northwestern Athletics.
5001-10000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (325)
2024 (308)
2023 (280)
2022 (282)
2021 (184)
2020 (155)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$98.02MKey Investors
National Peanut BoardAdvanced Research Projects Agency for HealthGRAMMY Museum
2024-10-30Grant
2024-10-04Grant· $34M
2023-11-28Grant· $0.02M
Leadership Team
Diego Klabjan
Professor
Henry Bienen
Interim President
Recent News
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