Title: Assistant Director of Financial Aid
Position Purpose:
Reporting to the Associate Director of Financial Aid, the Assistant Director will support access and affordability for Bates students by analyzing financial aid applications, calculating eligibility, and awarding financial aid. In addition, they will advise students and parents on financial aid policies, application processes, programs, and associated timelines. The Assistant Director will oversee financial aid awarding and notification for Study Abroad programs and will work closely with campus partners to support recruitment and retention efforts.
Job Duties:
- Provide exceptional customer service and counseling to students and families as they make decisions about college planning and financing.
- Manage a caseload of students and families, serving as their point of contact from initial application to graduation.
- Calculate eligibility for institutional need-based aid and Federal Title IV aid by analyzing US federal income tax forms and other financial documentation.
- Counsel students and parents regarding institutional and federal eligibility requirements, processes, and timelines.
- Oversee financial aid awarding and notification for Study Abroad programs.
- Calculate the cost of attendance and repackaging aid for study abroad participants.
- Communicate with study abroad programs regarding student eligibility and payment information, as well as prepare visa letters for students.
- Certify state scholarships.
- Review outside scholarships and adjust financial aid awards to ensure compliance with federal financial aid regulations.
- Assist in communication outreach to prospective and continuing students.
- Participate in Admission events and make occasional presentations to visitors and campus partners.
- During heavy volume periods, assist with front-line office coverage (phone calls, emails, and drop-in visits).
Minimum Qualifications:
Education:
Bachelor’s degree required.
Experience:
1-3 years of financial aid or adjacent experience within a higher education setting.
Skills and Knowledge:
- Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with students and families in a positive, professional, and highly confidential manner.
- Enthusiasm for higher education and the mission of the liberal arts.
- Strong organizational (time, task, and project management) skills.
- Attention to detail and a sense of humor.
- Demonstrated ability to take initiative and follow-through.
- Commitment to continuous professional growth and learning.
- Proficiency in basic computer applications and comfort using multiple computing platforms, and a willingness and ability to learn technology applications and systems as needed.
- Ability and willingness to work occasional weekends and evenings.
Benefits:
Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits (health, dental, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personal days, 13 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more), and a supportive, collegial environment in a drug and smoke-free workplace.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations. All college faculty, staff, students, contractors, visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.
Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed to Gwen Lexow, Title IX Officer, 207-786-6445 or via email at glexow@bates.edu.
About Bates:
Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world.
Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.
Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.
Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percent of its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earn graduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550 staff.
The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburn community, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population of approximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre, traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city with an entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamic business community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 miles north of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.
