Application Open:
Full-Time
Job Purpose:
The Financial Aid Specialist at MBZUAI plays a pivotal role in assisting students to secure financial support through sponsored grants and philanthropic private donors. This position involves counseling students on financial aid options, managing the application process, maintaining relationships with donors, and ensuring compliance with institutional and governmental regulations. The specialist collaborates closely with the Student Recruitment team to align financial aid strategies with enrollment objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
Financial Aid Counselling
- Provide individualized counseling to current and prospective students regarding financial aid opportunities, application procedures, and eligibility criteria.
- Assist students in understanding the financial implications of their educational choices and guide them through the financial planning process.
Application Management
- Review and process financial aid applications, ensuring accuracy and completeness of submitted documents.
- Verify student eligibility for various financial aid programs, including sponsored grants and scholarships.
- Maintain detailed records of financial aid applications and awards, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.
Donor Relations and Fund Management
- Identify and cultivate relationships with potential philanthropic donors to establish new scholarship opportunities.
- Communicate with existing donors, providing updates on scholarship recipients and program impact.
- Coordinate the administration of scholarship funds, ensuring compliance with donor intentions and institutional policies.
Compliance and Reporting
- Ensure all financial aid processes comply with university policies and governmental regulations.
- Prepare and submit required reports on financial aid activities, including funding allocations and student eligibility.
- Stay informed about changes in financial aid regulations and adjust institutional processes accordingly.
Collaboration with Student Recruitment
- Work closely with the Student Recruitment team to integrate financial aid information into recruitment strategies.
- Participate in recruitment events to provide prospective students with information on available financial support options.
Other duties
- Perform all other duties as reasonably directed by the line manager that are commensurate with these functional objectives.
Academic Qualifications:
- A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in education, finance, or other relevant discipline.
- A master’s degree is preferred.
Professional Experience:
Essential
- At least three years’ experience in financial aid administration, preferably in a university or other academic institution.
- Strong understanding of financial aid processes, including grants and scholarships with at least two years’ experience recruiting students to a university.
- Strong connections with top universities or research institutions in key target markets.
- Demonstrable experience producing high-quality communications and social media content in a business environment.
- Superior computing skills, particularly with MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and with data analysis software.
- Experience in managing databases and optimizing the utility of CRM systems to achieve operational objectives.
- Proficiency in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, analytics, and reporting.
- Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of continuous quality improvement.
- Excellent written communication skills with competency in high-level report writing and presenting visualizations of findings and recommendations.
- Experience managing meeting and events logistics and administration, and hosting organization visitors including senior executives and officials.
- Proven ability to identify key stakeholders who are central to the success of an initiative.
- Proven record of managing complex projects, office administration, meeting deadlines, and achieving results.
- Demonstrated success operating in a multicultural environment and adapting systems and processes to meet diverse expectations and needs.
- Exposure to and understanding of Middle Eastern business and cultural practices.
Preferred
- Dual- or multi-language speaker.
- Experience working with philanthropic donors and managing scholarship funds.
- Familiarity with the higher education landscape in the UAE and internationally.
- Knowledge of compliance requirements related to financial aid and scholarships.
