Fast Facts

WGU is seeking a Director of Financial Aid Strategy and Pathways to lead strategic financial aid initiatives, enhance training, and ensure quality assurance across financial services, all while contributing to the university's mission of expanding access to higher education.

Responsibilities: Key responsibilities include leading financial aid projects, developing training strategies for financial aid staff, ensuring quality assurance in financial services, and collaborating with university stakeholders to improve processes and student outcomes.

Skills: Candidates must have in-depth knowledge of financial aid regulations, experience leading complex projects, strong analytical skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders.

Qualifications: A Bachelor's Degree and at least 10 years of experience in student financial aid programs are required; a Master's Degree and experience with specialized access programs are preferred.

Location: This is an in-office position located in Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Compensation: $113200 - $203800 / Annually

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Management_Executive 609Pay Range: $113,200.00 - $203,800.00

Job Description

The Director of Financial Aid Strategy and Pathways is responsible for leading university-wide strategic initiatives related to financial aid delivery, serving as the primary liaison between the Financial Aid department and cross-functional partners for complex, high-visibility projects such as Prison Education Programs (PEP), Workforce Pell, First Year Experience (FYE), and other emerging pathways and initiatives.

This position provides leadership for the consolidated Financial Aid Training and Quality Assurance team, ensuring high-impact onboarding, continuous training, policy and system updates, and a robust quality assurance program supporting both Financial Aid and Financial Services. The Director champions innovative solutions that drive regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and a student-centered experience across the learner journey.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Strategic Financial AidLeadership & University-Wide Coordination

Acts as the primary Financial Aid lead and subject-matter liaison for cross-university strategic projects, including Prison Education Programs, Workforce Pell, First Year Experience, andadditionalpathway or access initiatives.
Creates vision, strategy, and goals for assigned initiatives and champions a culture of innovation while aligning strategies to university mission and student success outcomes.
Develops project plans, milestones, and deliverables supporting launch, implementation, and expansion of strategic initiatives, ensuring key stakeholders are aligned and engaged.
Works closely with Academicleadership, Enrollment, Strategic Partnerships, Legal,Compliance,-EdTech/Data, Student Services, and other units to solve complex issues, improve processes, and ensure operational readiness.
Aligns financial aid processes, policies, and communications to support access, persistence, and completionforpopulations served through special initiatives.
Leads post-launch evaluation of project performance, including KPIs, operational impacts, financial implications, and lessons learned.
RepresentsFinancial Aid in university-wide strategy and leadership meetings.

Training Strategy & Delivery

Overseesthe development and implementation of a comprehensive training strategy supporting Financial Aid and Financial Services employees, including new hire pathways, role-based training, cross-training, and refresher/upskill training.
Ensures training programs are scalable, efficient, and aligned with current federal and state regulations, institutional policy, and system/process changes.
Collaborates with functional leaders and subject matter experts to build andmaintainhigh-quality training content, learning modules, job aids, and knowledge assets supporting consistent execution and service.
Implementsmethods to evaluate training effectiveness, including QA trends, error rates, feedback loops, and operational performance data.
Champions best practices and policies that support the goals of increasing student satisfaction, retention, and graduation.

Quality Assurance Leadership

Leads theconsolidatedTraining & Quality Assurance team to deliver coordinated QA functions for both Financial Aid and Financial Services.
Develops and administers quality evaluation frameworks, monitoring, scorecards, and feedback mechanisms to ensure accuracy and consistency.
Partners with leaders to assess risk trends,identifyroot causes, and implement corrective action plans that improve service quality and compliance outcomes.
Aligns QA activity with trainingstrategyto reinforce learning and promote continuous improvement.
Maintains up-to-date knowledge of federal and state regulations and collaborates to manage compliance across departments.

Strategic Leadership & Reporting

Works closely with senior leaders to review performance, track service levels, and measureimpactof strategic initiatives.
Defines performance metrics and reporting for assigned projects, training programs, and QA programs to ensure transparency and informed decision-making.
Developsobjectivesto achieve long-term goals within the applicable budget, aligning resourcing to strategy.
Creates a data-driven environment, translating observations into insights that improve student outcomes.
Conducts briefings with senior leadership to gain approval on recommendations, policies, and major decisions.

Leadership & Talent Management

Manages a team of professionals responsible for special projects, training, instructional design, and quality assurance.
Creates workforce and staffing plans that support planned growth and program expansion.
Overseeshiring, performance management, coaching, development, and other personnel decisions of significance.
Fosters an inclusive, collaborative environment focused on operational excellence, compliance, and student impact.
Invests in the development of staff, buildingcapabilityand expanding professional pathways for training and QA disciplines.

Other

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge,Skillsand Abilities

In-depth knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations, policies, and procedures.
Experience leading complex strategic initiatives involving multiple departments, timelines, and technical systems.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; ability to interpret complex data and drive decisions aligned to business goals.
Excellent communication and influence skills; ability to present complex information clearly, in multiple formats, and gain executive alignment.
Proven ability to develop best-in-class training and quality programs for large-scale, distributed teams.
Knowledge of Student Information Systems (Banner), CRM systems (Salesforce), and document imaging systems (OnBase).
Well organized and attentive to detail; strong judgment and decision-making ability.
Ability to lead through change,influencingwithout direct authority and building consensus across divergent interests.

Competencies (Director Level)

Organizational Impact

Developsandrecommendsplans that align division responsibilities with departmental goals.
Work requires extensive knowledge of the University to recognizeimpactof decisions.
Responsible for developing budget portions to support training, QA, and strategic initiatives.

Problem Solving & Decision-Making

Responsible for making significant improvements to processes, programs, and systems that enhance outcomes across multiple departments.
Problems faced arenumerousand undefined and require detailed information gathering and prior experience.
Leads policy recommendations within the scope of responsibility.

Communication & Influence

Represents Financial Aid as the primary internal contact for special project operations.
Influences others to accept new practices and approaches; conducts briefings with senior leadership.

Leadership & Talent Management

Managesateam professionals; responsible for hiring, development, performance management, and workforce planning.
Achieves goals primarily through leading a team rather than completing functional tasks.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degreerequired.
10 years’ experience in student financial aid programs, including experience with training, quality, or major Title IV project implementation.
5 years’ experienceresponsiblefor direct supervision of staff members.
Demonstrated experience leading complex projects across multiple departments.
Extensive knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations.
Experience writing and implementing policies and procedures.
Experiencewith Financial Aid Management Systems
This is an in office position and will be reporting to the Salt Lake City office.
Preferred Qualifications
Master’s Degree.
Experience using Banner preferred.
Experience implementing specialized access programs (PEP, Workforce Pell, etc.).
Experience leading centralized training and quality organizations across large, distributed environments.
Experience working in competency-based ornonstandardacademic models.

Physical Requirements

Prolongedperiodssitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able tolift upto 15 pounds at times.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

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Director, Financial Aid Strategy and Pathways, Salt Lake City, UT