Financial Aid Specialist (Centralized Processing, Systems, and Data, 0080578)
Salary
See Position Description
Location
UH System Offices, Honolulu, HI
Job Type
Full-Time Permanent
Job Number
2026-02353
Department
Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges
Division
Academic Affairs
Opening Date
11/06/2026
Closing Date
11/23/2026 11:59 PM Hawaii
Position Number:
0080578
Description
Title: Financial Aid Specialist (Centralized Processing, Systems, and Data)
Position Number: 0080578
Hiring Unit: Office of the VP for Community Colleges, Academic Affairs
Location: Kalihi/Palama or any neighbor island Community College campus (Hawaii, Kauai, Maui)
Date Posted: November 6, 2026
Closing Date: November 23, 2026
Band: B
Salary: Salary Schedules and Placement Information
Full Time/Part Time: Full-Time
Month: 11-Month
Temporary/Permanent: Permanent
Other Conditions: Pending position clearance and availability of funds.
Duties and Responsibilities
(Denotes Essential Functions)
- Serve as a team member of the UH Community Colleges centralized financial aid unit responsible for administering designated financial aid functions and processes on behalf of all seven community college campuses. Apply comprehensive knowledge of federal, state, institutional, and University financial aid requirements to ensure centralized processes are accurate, timely, consistent, and compliant.
- Perform and coordinate designated centralized financial aid processes using Banner and related systems, including packaging, awarding, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), annual setup, year-end rollover, population selection, batch processing, reconciliation, and other assigned financial aid functions. Monitor processing results, identify exceptions, and resolve or coordinate resolution of issues with campus financial aid offices and appropriate University staff.
- Develop, configure, test, validate, document, and maintain authorized Banner Financial Aid configurations, rules, population selections, and processing parameters used by the centralized financial aid unit. Ensure configurations accurately implement approved financial aid policies, procedures, and processing requirements across the UH Community Colleges.
- Establish and maintain standardized financial aid processing practices across the seven community college campuses for functions assigned to the centralized financial aid unit. Evaluate variations in campus practices and configurations, identify opportunities for standardization and automation, and document approved campus-specific exceptions.
- Develop, document, and maintain SQL queries, Banner population selections, operational reports, exception reports, and ad hoc queries using Banner, ReportServer, and other relevant databases and tools. Extract, validate, summarize, transform, and format data necessary to administer centralized financial aid functions and support operational decision-making.
- Prepare, validate, reconcile, and analyze financial aid data used for awarding, fund management, regulatory compliance, operational planning, and federal, state, institutional, and University reporting. Coordinate with designated financial aid leadership to ensure required data and reports are accurate, complete, and timely.
- Analyze financial aid processing, awarding, utilization, student eligibility, and related outcomes to identify trends, anomalies, processing issues, and opportunities for improvement. Develop reports, dashboards, and other analytical products to inform financial aid operations, awarding strategies, packaging rules, workload management, and resource allocation.
- Provide technical analysis to inform awarding strategies, packaging rules, and resource allocation. Collaborate with financial aid leadership and campus staff to recommend improvements and implement approved changes based on assessment findings.
- Participate in the implementation and operational use of third-party applications integrated with Banner Financial Aid. Define financial aid business requirements, perform functional testing and validation, document operating procedures, and coordinate technical requirements or system-level changes with UH Information Technology Services (ITS) and UH System Banner-designated representatives.
- Provide operational guidance to campus financial aid personnel regarding centralized processes, Banner Financial Aid functionality, processing schedules, exception handling, and related procedures. Communicate changes in centralized processes, configurations, and operating requirements and coordinate with campuses.
- Identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness, accuracy, consistency, and efficiency of UHCC financial aid operations through process redesign, standardization, automation, improved controls, and effective use of Banner and related technologies. Develop recommendations and implement approved operational improvements.
- Maintain current knowledge of federal and state financial aid requirements, University policies, Banner Financial Aid functionality, financial aid processing practices, reporting and data tools, and emerging technologies relevant to centralized financial aid operations.
- Translate federal and state regulatory requirements, University policies, and approved UHCC financial aid business practices into operational procedures, Banner Financial Aid configurations, rules, population selections, processing parameters, and automated processes. Analyze regulatory and policy changes in consultation with financial aid leadership and implement approved operational changes.
- Monitor centralized financial aid processing activities and associated controls. Review processing results, exception reports, reconciliation results, and data quality indicators; investigate discrepancies; implement corrective actions within assigned authority; and coordinate with campuses, UH Information Technology Services (ITS), or UH System Banner-designated representatives when additional action is required.
- Coordinate and perform functional testing of Banner upgrades, regulatory releases, patches, bug fixes, new functionality, and configuration changes affecting financial aid operations. Develop test scenarios based on financial aid requirements and UHCC business processes, validate results, document findings, and coordinate correction of identified issues before implementation.
- Investigate complex financial aid processing, configuration, and data issues affecting centralized or campus financial aid operations. Determine root causes, assess operational and student impacts, implement appropriate corrective actions or workarounds within assigned authority, and coordinate system-level issues with UH Information Technology Services (ITS), and UH System Banner-designated representatives
- Develop and maintain centralized financial aid operating procedures, processing calendars, configuration documentation, business rules, control procedures, data definitions, reporting documentation, and other materials necessary to ensure consistent and sustainable operations across the UH Community Colleges.
- Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
- Possession of a baccalaureate degree in Business Administration, Education, Information Technology, Liberal Arts, Management, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field and 3 years of progressively responsible professional experience with responsibilities for financial aid administration in a post-secondary educations setting; or any equivalent combination of education and/or professional work experience which provides the required education, knowledge, skills and abilities as indicated.
- Considerable working knowledge of principles, practices and techniques in the area of financial aid administration in a post-secondary education setting as demonstrated by the broad knowledge of the full range of pertinent standard and evolving concepts, principles and methodologies.
- Considerable working knowledge and understanding of applicable federal and state laws, rules, regulations and theories and systems associated with financial aid administration in a post-secondary education setting.
- Demonstrated ability to resolve wide ranging complex problems through the use of creative reasoning and logic to accurately determine the cause of the problems and the resolution of the problems in an effective, innovative and timely manner.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and present information and ideas clearly and accurately in writing, verbally and by preparation of reports and other materials.
- Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external organizations, groups, team leaders and members, and individuals.
- Demonstrated ability to operate a personal computer, apply word processing software, and spreadsheet software.
- If applicable, for supervisory work, demonstrated ability to lead subordinates, manage work priorities and projects, and manage employee relations.
- Functional knowledge of Database Management Systems (DBMS) such as Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server or PostgreSQ.
- Functional knowledge of and demonstrated ability in coding SQL and/or PL/SQL, PL/pgSQL.
- Demonstrated ability to develop clean, structured programs and conduct thorough testing; define efficient retrieval programs for customized reports and ad hoc queries; and recognize problems, identify possible causes, and resolve routine problems.
- Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with supervisor, project staff, and other stakeholders in a team environment to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to learn and apply new technologies and new programming languages independently and in a timely manner using books, manuals, and other resources.
- Demonstrated ability to understand and apply information assurances to protect the Universitys data.
- Demonstrated ability to understand and work within federal, state, and university policies and practices such as FERPA.
- Ability to work outside of normal work hours which may include evenings, weekends and holidays.
Desirable Qualifications
- Knowledge or experience working with University of Hawaii students, course and/or financial aid data.
- Knowledge or experience with Ellucian Banner Student Information System.
- Experience in R, SAS, SPSS or other tools for statistical data analysis.
- Experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau.
- Ability to aggregate and disaggregate data using pivot table functions and use statistical software to create cross-tabulations for statistical analyses.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to see and interpret trends or patterns in large and complex data sets.
- Ability to communicate complex data analysis in a simple, actionable and appropriate manner for the target audience.
To Apply
Click on the "Apply" button to complete an application and attach the following required documents:
Cover letter indicating how you meet the minimum and desirable qualifications of the position;
Resume;
Name and contact information (telephone number and email address) of at least three (3) professional references; and
Graduate and undergraduate academic transcript(s) showing name of institution, degree and coursework to date appropriate to the position. (Copies are acceptable, but original official transcripts will be required at the time of hire). Applications lacking copies of transcripts will be reviewed based on work experience equivalency to meet minimum qualifications. Transcripts issued outside the United States of America require a course-by-course analysis with an equivalency statement from an agency having membership with the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc., verifying the degree equivalency to that of an accredited institution within the USA. Expense of the evaluation shall be borne by the applicant.
Late, incomplete or unreadable application materials will not be considered. Academic record/grade summaries will not be accepted. Diplomas and copies will NOT be accepted. Please REDACT references to social security numbers and birth date on submitted documents.
NOTE: Please create a new account if this is your first time applying for a position using NeoGov.
Inquiries
Community Colleges Human Resources Office, cchro@hawaii.edu
EEO, Clery Act, ADA
The University of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Institution and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment, including on the basis of veteran and disability status. For more information, visit: https://www.hawaii.edu/offices/eeo/policies/
Employment is contingent on satisfying employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; reference checks of previous employers; and for certain positions, criminal history record checks.
In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, annual campus crime statistics for the University of Hawaii may be viewed at: https://www.hawaii.edu/titleix/help/campus-security/, or a paper copy may be obtained upon request from the respective UH Campus Security or Administrative Services Office.
In accordance with Article 10 of the unit 08 collective bargaining agreement, bargaining unit members receive priority consideration for APT job vacancies. As a result, external or non BU 08 applicants may not be considered for some APT vacancies. BU 08 members with re-employment rights or priority status are responsible for informing the hiring unit of their status.
Accommodation Request: The University of Hawaii complies with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the EEO coordinator directly. Determination on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. For further information, please refer to the following link: https://www.hawaii.edu/offices/eeo/accommodation-request/
Employer University of Hawaii
Department Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges Address 2327 Dole Street
Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822
Website http://workatuh.hawaii.edu