Process Specialist

Process Specialist

Reporting to the Associate Director of Student Financial Services (SFS), the Process Specialist is responsible for high-volume student account payment and refund processing, including tuition, third-party payments, and related financial transactions.

This role provides financial guidance to students across all campuses, supporting more than 30,000 students annually. Responsibilities include assisting with tuition and fees, financial aid, scholarships, loans, payment plans, and financial literacy while ensuring an excellent student experience.

The position requires knowledge of federal and state regulations (including DOE and FERPA), University policies, and campus procedures to ensure compliance. A strong understanding of the student lifecycle is essential, including registration, financial aid awarding, refunds, payment deadlines, sponsorships, and billing processes.

This role requires strong attention to detail and accuracy in financial processing, including identifying and resolving discrepancies in refunds, waivers, contracts, payment plans, and student account transactions to ensure compliance and institutional integrity.

Key Responsibilities:

• Process high-volume student and organizational account transactions, including millions of dollars in daily payments, refunds, wire transfers, and third-party sponsor payments.
• Execute and validate complex refund batch files across multiple systems prior to bank transmission and leadership approval.
• Post and reconcile electronic, mailed, and credit card payments, ensuring accurate application of funds within Campus Solutions and TouchNet systems.
• Process financial aid disbursements, special disbursements, MAC contracts, PhD waivers, and other institutional funding sources with strict attention to accuracy and compliance.
• Monitor and manage delinquent payment plans, returned payments, ACH rejections, and account delinquencies.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations, including Title IV regulations, FERPA, refund policies, withdrawal rules, and enrollment cancellation requirements.
• Reconcile student, organizational, and third-party accounts, including Florida Prepaid, sponsorships, departmental contracts, and returned bank transactions.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies across payments, refunds, waivers, and financial aid records to ensure accurate account balances and institutional reporting.
• Prepare, analyze, and distribute financial reports, including refund reporting, returned payment tracking, payment plan delinquency reports, and controller submissions.
• Perform monthly and daily reconciliations, including abandoned funds processing and mass payment file audits to ensure compliance with unclaimed property laws.
• Maintain and audit system interfaces (TouchNet/Campus Solutions) and payment plan configurations across all campuses.
• Coordinate communication and issue resolution with students, parents, and internal/external departments regarding complex account and payment issues.
• Provide customer support, troubleshooting, and training through multiple communication channels including phone, email, Teams, and service platforms.
• Support ad-hoc projects, reporting, presentations, and departmental initiatives as assigned by leadership.

About Us

For over 100 years, Embry-Riddle has been the world's leading aviation and aerospace university, educating more than 30,000 students across residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, as well as through a global network of Worldwide locations and online programs. With more than 165,000 alumni around the world, our impact reaches every corner of the aerospace, aviation, defense and technology industries.

Today, our faculty, researchers and professional staff are advancing innovation across aviation, space, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous systems and next-generation engineering. Working alongside industry leaders, government agencies and innovators, they are solving real-world challenges and shaping the technologies that will define tomorrow.

Whether you are an educator, researcher, administrator, technologist or industry professional, your work at Embry-Riddle will contribute to something bigger than a job. Join a community driven by discovery, purpose and excellenceand help shape the future of aerospace.

• Generous Time Off: Enjoy up to 18 days of paid leave in your first year, including 3 days granted upon hire and 15 days accrued throughout the year. You'll also receive 9+ paid holidays, including the day after Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.
• Tuition Coverage: Get 100% tuition coverage for yourself for one undergraduate and one graduate degree, and discounted rates for your spouse and dependent children up to age 26.
• Retirement Contributions: ERAU contributes 6% of your base salary to your retirement plan and offers a 4% matching contribution with no vesting period.
• Personal Leave: Relax with 15 days of personal leave for non-exempt employees or 18 days for exempt full-time employees in your first year.

Compensation

The hourly range for this role is up to $21.50. The final offer will be based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience, as well as applicable state regulations, internal equity, and business needs, and may fall outside of the stated range.

Qualifications

Required Education and Qualifications:

• Associate degree or completion of an 18-month posthigh school program in Accounting, Finance, Banking/Treasury, Business, or related field required. Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience (18+ months posthigh school) will also be considered.
• 13 years of relevant work experience in accounting, finance, payment processing, refunds, invoicing, or student information systems required.
• Higher education experience involving payment processing, refunds, or student account systems strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with strong Excel skills required.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written), customer service orientation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage high-volume, deadline-driven processes.
• Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment with diverse internal and external stakeholders.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University