Executive Assistant I - Financial Aid

Executive Assistant I (Grade 17) Financial Aid - Customer Service

Overview: The Executive Assistant I assist with the day to day administrative and customer service support functions for the Office of Financial Aid. This individual is responsible for front desk customer service via walk-in, phone and email. They are required to answer questions about financial aid and other enrollment related inquiries. The environment is fast-paced and student-focused. The schedule may vary depending on Departmental needs during peak enrollment periods.

Essential Duties:

• Greet and provide high quality customer service experience to all visitors and students by responding to financial aid questions.
• Assist students with information regarding the types of financial assistance and qualifications for financial aid and referrals to Admissions, Registrar, Bursar and Advising.
• Guide students and staff through the Cincinnati State financial aid web site, MyCState Self-Service portal and the federal financial aid web sites.
• Corresponding with and assisting prospective and returning students with the completion and submission of financial aid documents.
• Provide counseling to students concerning rights and responsibilities of financial aid, the minimum standards of academic progress and the implications regarding financial aid.
• Assist with financial aid and enrollment services outreach activities.
• Provide administrative support to the director and assistant director.
• Process administrative and academic forms which affect financial aid awards.
• Scanning documents into Perceptive Content.
• Responsible for distribution of outgoing and incoming mail.
• Maintain front office appearance.
• Maintain general office supplies.
• Perform and track outreach and recruitment activities (phone/text outreach, mailings, emails, etc.)
• Assist with departmental text messages.
• Monitor and respond to email messages.
• Prepare and send routine mailings, emails and correspondence.
• Submit work order requests on behalf of department.
• Work directly with financial aid advisors when appropriate to provide thorough answers to students.
• Provide general administrative duties as assigned.
• Train and assist in supervision of student employees.
• Establish annual goals relevant to job expectations consistent with the goals of the college and department.
• Attend and contribute to assigned college committees.
• Assist with the management of institutional, state and/or federal aid programs.
• Contribute to on going process improvement and refinement to ensure optimal customer/student experience.
• Other appropriate duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Two (2) years of customer service experience.
• Competency in the Microsoft Office Suite: Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work in person 8:00 am - 4:30 pm with flexibility which might include opening office early or closing the office as late as 6:00 pm and occasional evenings/weekends during peak enrollment periods.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate's degree from an accredited college.
• Four (4) years customer service experience in higher education especially a community college setting.
• Experience with Ellucian Colleague, Perceptive Content, Microsoft Outlook and Teams.

Desired Competencies:

• Demonstrates ability for punctuality and reliability.
• Self-motivated with well-developed organization and planning skills.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to students with diverse academic, socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Ability to handle complex situations with diplomacy.
• Management projects independently as assigned by supervisor.
• Adaptable, attention to detail, and resilient under pressure.
• Demonstrates excellent organizational skills and written/oral communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively individually and as a team player with the ability to build effective and collaborative relationships.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a diverse professional community and student population.

Details:
Department: Office of Financial Aid
Employment: Full-Time
Title/Position: EA 1
Pay Grade: 17
Reports to: Director, Office of Financial Aid
Compensation: $19.74/hr.
Job Category: Staff
Contract Affiliation: SEIU
Classification: Exempt

Benefits:

• Cincinnati State provides employees with high quality and cost-effective benefits with a variety of options:

• Medical Insurance (PPO-employer covers up to 92% of the premium, HDHP-employer covers 100: of the premium)
• Dental Insurance (employer covers 100%of the premium)
• Vision Insurance
• NO WAITING PERIODS! Medical, Vision and Dental benefits are effective from day one of the employment!
• Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account (employer contributions)
• Short-Term Disability: Offering 60% of your salary with a mx of $500 weekly
• Life insurance and AD&D Insurance (employer paid)
• Supplemental Life Insurance, Critical Illness and Accident: Optional at employee expense
• Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Plan for employees, spouse and dependents
• Tuition Waiver for employees, spouse and dependents
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Free parking
• 11 annual paid holidays in addition to generous paid time off options including vacation, sick, personal leave, and winter season days.
• Employees Cincinnati State qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Retirement:

As a Cincinnati State employee, and an employee of an Ohio public institution, you will not contribute to the Federal Social Security system. Instead, our employees will contribute to a State Retirement Plan (SERS or STRS) or an Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP): 403B and/or Deferred Compensation Program 457 Plan.

Cincinnati State is an E-Verify employer:

• If you're hired, you must complete a Form I-9 , which verifies your identity and your legal right to work in the U.S.
• You'll need to provide original, acceptable documents -no photocopies-to complete the I-9 process.
• A list of acceptable documents can be seen here: USCIS I-9 website

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

• The institution declares that it will educate students by means of free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth.
• The institution declares that its duty is to equip students with the opportunity to develop the intellectual skills they need to reach their own, informed conclusions.
• The institution declares its commitment to not requiring, favoring, disfavoring, or prohibiting speech or lawful assembly.
• The institution declares it is committed to create a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the autonomy of each member, supports individual capacities for growth, and tolerates the differences in opinion that naturally occur in a public higher education community.
• The institution declares that its duty is to treat all faculty, staff, and students as individuals, to hold them to equal standards, and to provide them equality of opportunity, with regard to those individuals' race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.