Manager, Service and Operations- Financial Services

Company Description

Walden
More than 50 years ago, Walden University was founded to support adult learners in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and communities. Students from across the U.S. and more than 115 countries are pursuing a certificate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree online at Walden.

We offer more than 100 online degrees and certificate programs. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org). Visit WaldenU.edu for more information, and follow Walden on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday–Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

Job Description

The primary focus of this role is to serve as a key leader within the Student Success department, overseeing financial vendor management, data and insights, and operational innovation across the student financial journey. This role is accountable for aligning financial services initiatives to operational KPIs, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving continuous improvement for both the student and staff experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for student financial services vendors, managing day-to-day relationships, escalations, and performance against contractual SLAs and operational benchmarks — ensuring accountability, continuous improvement, and alignment to compliance, security, and institutional standards in collaboration with internal stakeholders  
• Analyze contact center data for inbound and outbound channels to develop reporting frameworks, identify trends and gaps, and deliver data-driven guidance to the Sr. Manager that informs strategic planning, backlog prioritization, and continuous operational improvement 
• Drive ongoing enhancements to contact center operations that increase accessibility and self-service resolution, while maintaining an auditable knowledge base and actionable training resources that ensure accurate, consistent, and Title IV-compliant information for student-facing interactions — including federal aid programs, verification, R2T4, disbursement, and regulatory disclosure requirements 
• Identify and lead large scale process improvement efforts in the delivery of support to students while monitoring performance and usage metrics to assess operational impact. 
• Provide guidance to the Sr. Manager with a focus on the student success teams, while demonstrating strong knowledge of the business and expertise in financial services.  
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including sales, support, service, business development, change management, regulatory, and IT, as well as various business units. 
• Performs other duties as assigned  
• Complies with all policies and standards  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree Required  
• Master’s Degree Preferred  
• 4+ years of experience in higher education or relevant field  
• 2+ years of required experience in a complex, regulated, or compliance-driven environment such as financial services, healthcare, or related field 
• Knowledge of regulations related to higher education including Title IV, academic policies, auditing procedures  
• Technical knowledge and acumen using MS Office, Azure, Salesforce, Banner, Agile Methodology, and relevant systems  
• Ability to influence peers, superiors and indirect reports in a matrix organization  
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills  
• Support and handle a variety of ad hoc projects within the team as they arise  
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced environment and successfully manage multiple deadlines 
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to change 

Additional Information

In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $70,000.00 and $80,000.00. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.

Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
• Participation in Covista’s Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• 12 Paid Holidays
  
  For more information related to our benefits please visit:
  https://careers.covista.com/benefits

Equal Opportunity – Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation