Application Open:
Full-Time
Job Purpose:
MBZUAI is seeking a Head of Financial Aid & Scholarships to lead and scale the University’s financial aid, scholarship, and sponsorship operations on a university-wide basis. This senior role is responsible for establishing robust governance frameworks, standardized policies, and centralized operating models that ensure consistency, compliance, and a high-quality experience for students and sponsors alike. The role oversees two distinct portfolios and operating models, aligns cross-department processes within the Academic Division, manages sponsor relationships and benefit portfolios, strengthens operational excellence and risk controls, and provides data-driven insights to support sustainable growth, transparency, and institutional decision-making.
Key Responsibilities:
Financial Aid & Scholarships Governance
- Work with Senior Management to imagine and operationalize financial aid strategies.
- Own the university-wide financial aid and scholarship framework, including governance, eligibility rules, award structures, approvals, and renewal/continuation processes.
- Design, document, and maintain university-wide policies, procedures, and controls aligned with funding source requirements.
- Ensure policies and practices are transparent, student-centric, and scalable as portfolios grow.
- Establish and maintain a centralized operating model with clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs), workflows, handoffs, and escalation paths.
Sponsor Relationship Management & Benefits Portfolio Administration
- Serve as the primary point of contact for established and prospective sponsors (government, industry, etc. as relevant), and ultimately leading sponsor sourcing and relationship management, including:
- Sponsor requests and clarifications
- Student eligibility confirmations
- Benefit entitlements/portfolios (tuition coverage, allowances, conditions, reporting requirements, etc.)
- Sponsor-specific documentation and reporting obligations
- Create sponsor servicing standards: response time to SLAs, documentation requirements, approval flows, and exception handling.
- Source and maintain sponsor portfolio records, ensuring accuracy and alignment with university policy and sponsor contracts/agreements.
Centralized Servicing & Cross-Division Alignment
- Lead centralized servicing across University departments, ensuring:
- Consistent student/sponsor experience
- Accurate and timely processing and communications
- Clear ownership boundaries between central function and division-specific stakeholders
- Coordinate and standardize processes where possible (e.g., document collection, award communication, renewals), while supporting division-specific nuances.
Operational Excellence, Quality Control, and Risk Management
- Define and oversee controls for award decisions, renewals, sponsor billing and eligibility confirmations (as applicable), and audit readiness.
- Monitor case quality, turnaround times, and error rates; implement corrective actions and continuous improvement.
- Maintain confidentiality and appropriate handling of student records and sponsor information.
Data, Reporting, and Insights
- Serve as the data steward for financial aid, scholarships, and sponsorship, owning data quality, governance, and reporting requirements.
- Provide insights and recommendations to leadership on policy changes, funding strategy, and operational capacity needs.
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 Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Education Administration, Higher Education Management, or other relevant discipline.
- A postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline will be preferred.
Professional Experience:
Essential
- Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive experience in financial aid, scholarships, sponsorship management, student funding, or related academic administration functions within a university or complex institution.
- Demonstrated experience leading centralized service models, governance frameworks, and standardized policies across multiple portfolios or divisions.
- Proven track record in policy development, eligibility frameworks, award governance, renewals, and compliance with internal controls and external funding requirements.
- Strong experience managing stakeholder and sponsor relationships, including government entities, industry partners, or funding bodies.
- Experience overseeing data governance, reporting, and analytics to support leadership decision-making and resource planning.
- Strong people leadership experience, including managing teams, setting performance expectations, and driving continuous improvement.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate credibly at senior academic and executive levels.
Preferred
- Exposure to multi-sponsor environments, including government scholarships, industry sponsorships, and externally funded student benefit programs.
- Experience in institutions operating ERP or student systems (e.g., Banner, PeopleSoft, Oracle) supporting financial aid or sponsorship processes.
- Familiarity with regional or international scholarship schemes, national sponsorship programs, or government-funded education initiatives.
