College Affordability Manager

Position Type:

Full time

Remote Type:

Salary Range:

70,000 - 80,000

Job Shift:

Job Description:

POSITION OVERVIEW

The College Affordability Manager serves as Dunwoody's lead strategist and practitioner for the Finance Forward initiative-responsible for improving affordability clarity, reducing unmet need, strengthening retention, and enhancing repayment readiness for all Dunwoody students. This role provides individualized financial planning, student‑facing counseling, scholarship optimization, and data‑driven affordability insights. This position leads cross‑functional alignment and active collaboration with Academic Advisors, Career Coaches, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and Institutional Research to ensure students receive clear, timely, personalized information at every critical financial decision point, consistent with federal best practices for higher education financial education delivery. This position will serve as a bridge with our Financial Aid Counselors and as such, will have the ability to award, adjust, and interpret Financial Aid awards using PowerFAIDs and the Workday Enterprise Management System.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES/FUNCTIONS

Scholarships & Student Support

• Award federal and state financial aid and actively monitor and enhance the scholarship awards/awarding strategy.
• Conduct 1:1 financial planning meetings with students and families, creating personalized affordability roadmaps covering grants, loans, work‑study, scholarships, payment options, and expected post‑graduation loan obligations.
• Provide guidance using best‑practice principles, including accurate financial information tailored to each student's profile and decision stages.
• Support FAFSA completion and verification and assist with interpreting aid offers and total cost of attendance.
• Conduct student financial check‑ins to support retention and academic momentum.
• Curate and maintain a comprehensive internal and external scholarship library, advising students on eligibility and positioning.
• Collaborate with the Financial Aid team to align scholarship awarding with unmet‑need trends and affordability goals.
• Advise institutional scholarship strategy and scholarship administration.

Career & Financial Guidance

• Create and deliver workshops, seminars, and classroom sessions on financial literacy topics (budgeting, aid navigation, loan management, credit, financial planning).
• Develop content that reflects national evidence that financial fragility negatively impacts academic performance and that structured wellness programming improves decision‑making and stress outcomes (AFC best practices)
• Lead communication strategy for affordability messaging and financial literacy content, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and frequency.
• Coordinate with platform partners (i.e. NPC, Niche, GradReady) to integrate digital modules into Dunwoody's curriculum and advising pathways.
• Partner with Career Coaches and the Career Ready Program to connect students with early employment opportunities and industry‑preferred pathways.
• Develop financial plans that integrate potential earnings, work‑study options, internships, and early employment pathways.
• Lead Dunwoody's emergency aid process, applying the institution's decision tree, prioritizing rapid response, and ensuring rapid turnaround.
• Coordinate department referrals when situations fall outside emergency‑aid criteria.

Data, Reporting, and Other

• Own all Finance Forward KPIs, including accountability for reporting and improving performance:

• Yield Metrics: FAFSA opt‑in rates; accept‑to‑start improvement for students with financial need.

• Affordability Metrics: Unmet need; scholarship leverage; credit‑load sensitivity (<11 credits).

• Retention Metrics: Owing‑list reduction; SAP standing; term‑to‑term persistence.

• Stability Metrics: Emergency aid utilization & SLA; repeat‑crisis rate.

• Repayment Metrics: Exit counseling completion; repayment‑plan adoption; early delinquency indicators.

• Provide weekly and semester dashboard update to VP of Enrollment Management by compiling relevant and reliable KPI

• Serve as a SME and public resource for linking national evidence on the relationship between financial stress and academic interruption (e.g., inability to cover emergency expenses and high basic‑needs insecurity among students) to guide early‑warning outreach and targeted support strategies

• Serve as the central coordinator between Enrollment Management, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Career Services, Academic Advisors, Institutional Research, and Advancement.

• Train staff and peer mentors in providing culturally sensitive, clear, and accurate financial guidance, aligned with national advisor training principles emphasizing confidence, boundaries, and referral strategies.

• Represent the Finance Forward Initiative to potential donors and funders alongside the Institutional Development staff to secure funding.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Strategic Skills: Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level. Makes good decisions. Provides sound advice and problem solutions. Provides honest and in-depth analysis on problems and issues. Effectively presents creative ideas of others. Has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work.
• Communication: Student-centered approach with string listening and educational coaching skills.
• Leadership and Autonomy: Comfortable in role as self-starter. Resourceful and creative, energized by working under high autonomy and with a results-driven mindset. Collaborative leadership across multiple departments. Able to handle confidential information with discretion. Comfortable with fast-paced change and iterative implementation.
• Operating Skills: Makes decisions in a timely manner. Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments. Holds frequent development discussions. Provides individuals information so that they can make accurate decisions; is timely with information. Clearly assigns responsibility for tasks and decisions. Sets clear objectives and measures. Monitors process, progress, and results. Is committed to continuous improvement through empowerment and management by data. Creates a learning environment leading to the most efficient and effective work processes.
• Courage: Has difficult conversations as necessary. Provides current, direct, complete, and "actionable" positive and corrective feedback to others. Is a good judge of talent.
• Energy and Drive: Is action oriented and full of energy for challenging tasks/issues. Not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning. Is constantly and consistently one of the top performers. Steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
• Organizational Positioning Skills: Can maneuver through complex situations effectively and quietly. Is sensitive to how people and organizations function. Anticipates where the land mines are and plans his/her approach accordingly.
• Personal/Interpersonal Skills: Relates well to all kinds of people. Builds constructive and effective relationships. Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers. Supports equal and fair treatment and opportunity for all. Treats direct reports equitably. Creates a climate in which people want to do their best. Communicates a compelling and inspired vision or sense of core purpose. Adheres to Dunwoody's core values. Is widely trusted - Keeps confidences and admits mistakes. Practices attentive and active listening. Is personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve him/herself.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 4-year college degree in business, finance, higher education, counseling or relevant field OR equivalent experience
• Experience in student-facing financial counseling, financial aid, and/or financial wellness platforms.
• Well-versed and up to date with college access and literacy methods and delivery best practices.
• Strong understanding of federal and state student aid (FAFSA, verification, SAP, loan programs)
• Excellent communication skills and ability to explain financial concepts clearly to diverse learners
• Demonstrated proficiency creating and updating detailed files and constantly scanning for accuracy as awards and details shift.
• Data-analysis competence, including visual dashboard creation using tools such as Excel or Power Bi.
• Ability to work 40 hours per week, able to conduct in person student/family meetings, at times during evenings/weekends