Financial Aid Director; U at University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA

Financial Aid Director (4528U) 78433

University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.

June 4, 2025

• Provides individual counseling on and recommends resolution of extremely sensitive, specialized and / or complex issues. Exercises professional judgment to authorize exceptions to policies, changes in financial aid awards or additional funding. Assists team with drop-in and phones as needed; counsels students on escalated issues; coordinates with Financial Aid and Scholarships Office when looking to exercise professional judgment on Cost of Attendance Adjustment Requests and satisfactory Academic progress issues.
• Performs needs analysis, assesses eligibility, and exercises professional judgment to determine allocation of aid awards under complex, specialized regulations or for escalated cases. Recommends packaging policies and strategies for allocation of awards to groups of students. Administers need analysis for Berkeley MBA grants; oversees verification of 100% of grant recipients; determines award amounts and adjustments based on socioeconomic information provided within the application.
• Co‑chairs department committees or provides advanced expertise to plan and coordinate policy and procedure changes. This includes weekly student information system strategy and management meetings, weekly self‑supporting degree program meetings, and participating in various strategic committees such as the DEIJB action plan.
• Develops new, or makes changes to existing, financial aid forms and workflow routing. Creates annual processing schedule. This includes directly leaving improvements to admit and student scholarship applications, Loan Repayment Assistance Program applications, and selection processes for each with a primary focus on the student experience. It also includes working with the Haas Technology support team to implement changes.
• Coordinates, implements, evaluates, and reports on very complex, specialized government, agency, University, or donor aid programs. Supports Department of Alumni Relations in donor stewardship efforts, is responsible for providing an annual risk‑share report, and coordinates with Admissions team to provide reports to Haas management.
• Works with internal and external organizations to develop program policies and coordinate procedures. Interprets regulations, and develops or recommends procedures to ensure compliance and accurate aid delivery. Participates in MBA program lifecycle meetings; coordinates with various programs, departments, and centers in the application of department awards; negotiates and secures loan options for all student populations.
• Serves as expert resource on specialized programs and related regulations and policies, including self‑supporting programs, borrower‑based academic year programs, and less than half‑time programs.
• Provides training on programs to department staff. Supervises staff of two‑three people, plans annual retreat, sets priorities, and conducts Achieve Together reviews, setting and holding individuals accountable for meeting the goals of the team.
• Manages yield and retention activities for targeted student groups. Collaborates on scholarship procedure and policy with MBA Admissions teams, manages scholarship budget for admitted student scholarships, and reports of the yields of MBA admitted student scholarships.
• Determines goals and objectives. Recommends new or changes to existing program policies. Collaborates and communicates with program offices regarding financial aid policy; collaborates with Department of Alumni Relations regarding scholarship procedure and policy; ensures the Office Policy and Procedure Manual is accurate.
• Identifies and implements database elements, queries, and reports needed to monitor complex programs. Analyzes reports to resolve programming errors. This often includes billing issues as this office is a first point of contact for Haas graduate students. This position uses queries to report on student loan indebtedness and to monitor admitted student scholarships.
• Manages department participation in and creates content for outreach services for prospective students,…