Description

The Financial Aid Systems Specialist serves as the primary functional and technical expert for the institution’s financial aid systems, with primary responsibility for PowerFAIDS and the integration with Workday as the Student Information System (SIS). This position plays a critical role in ensuring that financial aid systems, workflows, data, and reports support student success, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.

The position is housed within the Information Technology department and reports to the Administrative Information Systems Manager, while taking significant functional direction from the Director of Financial Aid to ensure system configurations and enhancements align with financial aid policies, processes, and regulatory requirements.

The Financial Aid Systems Specialist acts as a key liaison between IT, Financial Aid, and system vendors, translating business requirements into effective system solutions and serving as a subject matter expert for financial aid system functionality. 

Job Description:

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

- PowerFAIDS Administration & Support

Serve as the primary, hands on administrator of PowerFAIDS, ensuring system configuration, stability, and ongoing optimization.
Manage PowerFAIDS setup related to packaging, awarding, disbursement, verification, SAP, notifications, and workflows.
Troubleshoot functional and system issues, coordinating resolution with IT colleagues, vendors, and Financial Aid staff.
Support testing and implementation of PowerFAIDS upgrades, patches, and regulatory updates.
Monitor data accuracy, integrity, and security within PowerFAIDS and across system integrations.
 

- Report Writing

Design, develop, and maintain standard and ad hoc reports within PowerFAIDS and related reporting tools to support:

Student Success
Operational processing
Compliance monitoring and audits
Leadership decision-making
Partner with Financial Aid leadership to define report requirements and ensure data outputs meet college and regulatory needs.
Analyze financial aid data to identify trends, anomalies, and process improvement opportunities.
 

- Liaison & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Serve as the primary liaison between Financial Aid, Information Technology, and external system vendors.
Translate financial aid business requirements into technical specifications and collaborate with IT on solution design and implementation.
Participate in cross-departmental projects related to financial aid, student systems, data governance, and compliance.
Stay current on federal, state, and institutional financial aid regulations and advise stakeholders on system impacts.

 
- Training, Documentation & Communication

Develop and maintain comprehensive system and process documentation, including user guides, workflow documentation, and standard operating procedures.
Provide training and ongoing support for Financial Aid staff on PowerFAIDS functionality, workflows, and report usage.
Communicate system changes, enhancements, and known issues clearly and effectively to stakeholders.
Support change management efforts related to new functionality, regulatory updates, or process changes.
Maintains knowledge and awareness of digital accessibility including the American with Disabilities Act and Section 508.
Produces and remediates digitally accessible materials in accordance with FLC standards.
Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

Minimum of two years supporting enterprise systems, databases, workflow-driven applications, or related work experience.
Two or more years of experience with financial aid business processes and higher education administrative environments.
Experience with report writing, data extracts, or SQL-based reporting tools.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
Thrives in a team-oriented, service-focused environment.
Ability to interact effectively with a wide variety of people, including forming strong working relationships with both internal and external constituencies.
Excellent communication skills and attention to detail.
Proven Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a collaborative team environment.
Experience creating system documentation and delivering user training.
 

Preferred Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

Experience working with PowerFAIDS.
Experience supporting Workday or other SaaS-based applications and integrations in a higher education setting. 
Experience serving as a functional liaison between IT and a business office.
Familiarity with financial aid lifecycle processes, including ISIR processing, packaging, awarding, disbursement, verification, and SAP.
Proficiency with financial aid web systems including the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG), the Common Origination and Disbursement website (COD), National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and Financial Aid Administrator Access (FAA Access).
Familiarity with object-oriented programming, system integrations, and API/web services.
 

Reports To / Supervisory Responsibility:

 This position reports to the Manager, Administrative Information Systems

Work Environment:

The Information Technology department at Fort Lewis College is collaborative, student-centered, and forward-looking. Our teams work across departments to improve services, remove barriers, and support student success. To thrive in this role, you must be adaptable, curious, tech-savvy, and committed to continuous learning. To be successful in this position you:

Must be flexible, capable of managing a demanding work schedule and be able to work independently and within a team management structure.
Can sit at a computer terminal for an extended period.
Can work on multiple tasks with frequent interruptions.
Must be adaptable to changing policies, procedures and practices.
 

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, stand, sit; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard reach, stoop kneel to install computer equipment.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work.
Ability to lift and transport light to moderate technical equipment.
 

Travel:

Less than 10% is expected for this position to travel to campus for training and/or attend conferences.

FLSA Status/ Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

Exempt | Full-Time | Permanent | Year-Round 
Remote or Hybrid – within the state of Colorado is possible
Typical Work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (mountain time). Some flexibility in scheduling is available. 
 

Compensation

 The salary range is $60,000 to $62,500, plus a comprehensive benefits package.