Assistant to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships

Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Assistant is an essential member of the team in providing support and taking initiative across a wide range of office management functions. The Assistant is responsible for leading the efficiency of day-to-day operations.

A successful candidate will have a strong ability to build relationships, work independently, be thorough and thoughtful, detail oriented and be able to balance a workload of ebbs and flows. The Assistant also operates from a lens of understanding and prioritizing equity in the work with MSU Denver's diverse community.

This role will report to the Executive Director while also supporting (as needed) the other Directors and staff in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and Call Center (OFASCC). With a professional staff of over 30 and a student staff of 40+, we come together to create a professional team rich with diversity in thought, life/work experience and culture.

The Assistant to the Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships is a base funded position.

IND208

Duties/Responsibilities

40% - Office Management

• Serves as the liaison and first point of contact when representing theOFASCCwith internal and external departments, organizations, and groups through a variety of modalities including phone, emails, meetings, and one-on-one conversations.

• Serves as point of contact for referrals to the Executive Director to help de-escalate/resolve problems and/or refer to appropriate personnel, as per University policy.

• Ensures that the tone, standards of professionalism, and customer service reflect the values and service standards communicated by theOFASCC.

• Adheres to confidentiality standards within the office.

• Maintains the condition of the office to provide a professional, welcoming, inclusive, and organized area.

• Maintains conference room and manages reservations, and guest appointments.

• Manages internal operations, identifies problems and develops solutions. Maintains office efficiency by developing, recommending, planning, and implementing office administrative systems, structures, processes, procedures, and workflows to meet the needs of the office/branch.

• Works independently, handles matters confidentially, analyzes and solves problems in theOFASCC, and makes decisions appropriate to the position.

• Designs and maintains filing systems, copying, electronic filing, scanning, data entry, processes paperwork, develops documents/spreadsheets, supervises mail and hand-deliveries and other necessary office procedures.

• Stays up to date with knowledge of institution, state, and federal fiscal procurement policies and procedures and processes appropriate budget processes respectively.

• Responsible forOFASCCoperating budget. Purchases and tracks office supply, identifies and works with vendors appropriate for purchasing needs.

30% - Assist/Support Executive Director andOFASCCTeam

• Manages and maintains Executive Director's calendar and appointments, prioritizing activities and events, ensuring that meeting requests are completed in a timely fashion, vetted in an appropriate manner, and clearly presented.

• Supports Executive Director by monitoring email and highlighting items of importance, delegating items to other staff as needed, and ensuring all escalated issues are referred quickly to appropriate staff.

• Initiates scheduling of conference calls, lunch meetings, and off-site meetings.

• Prepares travel authorizations, makes airline, hotel, and transportation reservations, and determines travel and expense report management in alignment with all University policies, procedures and deadlines.

• Develops, maintains and monitors requests and calendaring systems for general reporting requests submitted toOFASCC, assigns and monitors timelines for major data and Department of Education deadlines in collaboration with the Associate Director of Reporting.

• Assists in pulling simple reports in Banner to help respond to internal and external data request, ensuring federal, state, and institutional regulations and policies are followed.

• In collaboration with Financial Aid Accountant and Associate Director of Scholarships, receive and track external scholarship checks, reconcile external scholarships, correspond with donors and return unspent funds.

15% - OFASCCLiaison to Human Resources

• Updates staff and student job descriptions and ensures all employee and hiring information is submitted and up-to-date in all HR systems.

• Coordinates hiring process including convening of hiring committees, scheduling interviews and ensure hiring and onboarding processes are completed for all new employees.

• Manages employee separation process.

• Coordinates annual employee review process.

10% - Administrative Support & Project Management

• Manages appropriate projects assigned by the Executive Director.

• Provides additional support for other office staff.

• Ensures professional and accurate completion of duties assigned.

5% - Other Duties as Assigned

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated strong skills in verbal and written communication, time management, coordination and event planning, and human relations.

• High school diploma or GED

• One (1) year of experience in working in a higher education environment

• One (1) year of administrative or office coordination experience

Important Note: Successful applicants will ensure their resumes clearly demonstrate that their work experience describes how they meetALLrequired qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using Workday Procurement, Workday Expenses, or a similar enterprise financial system to process purchases, expense reports, invoices, or other financial transactions.

• Associate's degree or higher

• Experience in Workday or similar

• Proficiency with standard MS Office software applications

Work Hours

• Full Time, 40 hours per week, Exempt

• Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

• Occasional evening and weekend hours are required.

• Hybrid schedule (on-campus and remote) available for this position.

• Travel: Occasionally

Open Until Filled

The University's benefits package is comprehensive and offers medical, vision and dental, free RTD pass, tuition reimbursement, as well as a life and supplemental insurance plans, retirement plans and other programs, such as accessto a long-term disability (LTD) plan.Visit MSU Denver'sbenefits websiteto learn more.

For a brief overview, please see: https://www.msudenver.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MSU-Benefit-Summary.pdf.

The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the employment application process. To request an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Human Resources ADA Coordinator attotalrewards@msudenver.edu.

Background Checks

Metropolitan State University of Denver is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students, and visitors. To Assist in achieving that goal, we conduct background checks on all finalists for positions at the University prior to employment.

Metropolitan State University of Denver is a unique, access-oriented campus community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms. Our student population consists of nearly 58% first generation students and over 50% students of color. We are a designated Hispanic Serving Institution located in downtown Denver.

We create an equitable learning and working environment in concert with individuals who consistently demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion. We greatly value the diverse identities and perspectives of our students, faculty, and staff and recognize that in order to achieve a just and equitable society, diversity must go beyond simple representation. It requires critical inquiry and dialogue and a commitment to action. We strive to provide a culture of belonging for all community members to achieve personal and professional success.