Description

Southern California University of Health Sciences seeks a National Director of Financial Aid
Click here to view full position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SCU_Natl_Dir_Fin_Aid_Profile.pdf
Location: Whittier, California (Remote & Hybrid Options)

The Position:
As an expanding, multi-campus institution, SCU’s inaugural National Director of Financial Aid serves as the University’s chief financial aid officer, providing strategic leadership for all student financing activities across SCU’s national system of graduate health sciences programs and campuses. This role is responsible for aligning financial aid strategy with enrollment and net tuition revenue goals while ensuring regulatory compliance, high-touch service, and clear, transparent funding pathways for prospective and continuing students.

The National Director functions as the institution’s senior authority on student financing, including Title IV Federal Student Aid, work-study, state aid, institutional scholarships, tuition discounting, and alternative financing options in a post-Grad PLUS environment under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The role leads the redesign of the financial aid operating model (people, processes, technology, and vendor partners) to balance student support, institutional sustainability, risk management, and service excellence, including SCU’s institutional response to OBBBA and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) requirements. 

This National Director is charged with building the financial aid office of the future, one that addresses the pressures of high-tuition graduate healthcare education, reduced federal loan availability, and outdated legacy service models by delivering modern, sustainable, and student-centered financing solutions and will manage a staff of five supporting approximately 2,500 students across multiple locations.  

Remote Opportunity: This position will require building strong relationships across the campus and nationally. Candidates for this position will have the option to work on campus, hybrid, or in a fully remote capacity. Travel to the main campus in Whittier and to future learning sites to build relationships and attend key events and meetings is expected. Travel costs will be budgeted for and covered by the University. Preferred base locations include Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, or Chicago.

Responsibilities:
Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and execute a multi-campus financial aid strategy aligned with institutional enrollment, revenue, and program growth goals, including packaging and funding estimates/award processes, service and outsourcing models, and scholarship/tuition discounting practices.
• Establish a framework for policies, procedures, and data governance to ensure consistency in policies, awarding practices, services, and regulatory adherence across all locations.
• Lead SCU’s strategic response to OBBBA, including transition away from Grad PLUS, redesign of graduate aid packages, and development of private loan, employer-sponsored, and institutional financing models that optimize student yield and reduce student borrowing risk.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Admissions, Student Accounts, and Finance to align financial aid and student financing strategies with recruitment, retention, and net tuition revenue goals, ensuring coordinated messaging and a seamless student experience across the enrollment lifecycle.
• Maintain active engagement with professional associations such as NASFAA and relevant regional/state organizations and regularly participate in U.S. Department of Education and Federal Student Aid trainings and conferences to stay current on regulatory changes, best practices, and emerging trends in student financial aid and financing.
• Oversee financial aid budget, including staffing, technology, vendors, and scholarships and discounting.  

Regulatory & Institutional Compliance

• Serves as the primary compliance officer for financial aid in relation to Title IV Federal Student Aid, Department of Education (ED), accreditor, and state-level regulatory standards.
• Oversee development and maintenance of internal controls, policy documentation, audit readiness, and risk mitigation protocols.
• In collaboration with Finance and other institutional leaders, serves as the primary financial aid lead for annual financial aid and single audits, coordinating documentation, responses, and corrective action plans as needed, and representing SCU in any Title IV program reviews conducted by the U.S. Department of Education or other oversight bodies.
• Oversees monitoring and reporting requirements associated with Financial Value Transparency (FVT) metrics and other requirements of the OBBBA.
• Ensure consistent implementation of Satisfactory Academic Progress policies, verification procedures, cost of attendance determinations, awarding methodologies, and eligibility determinations across all programs and states.
• Acts as the institution’s primary point of contact with ED, auditors, servicers, guaranty agencies, and federal/state agencies.
• Prepares and submits institutional applications for federal, state, private, and scholarship aid programs on behalf of all campuses. 

Operations

• Provides oversight of the Federal Work-Study program, aligning position design and placements with SCU’s operational needs so that funds are fully utilized to students’ benefit and in support of institutional priorities.
• Oversees national operational performance metrics, including awarding timelines, packaging speed and accuracy, student service levels, and reconciliation cycles. Establishes and monitors key performance indicators to ensure continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Creates and maintains scholarship programs and strategies in coordination with Admissions and scholarship committees. Creates reporting structures to monitor scholarship awarding accuracy and effectiveness. 

Technology, Data, and Automation

• Lead modernization of financial aid systems, electronic processing, and workflow automation, leveraging platforms such as Jenzabar J1/EX/JFA or comparable enterprise systems.
• Uses data and analytics, in partnership with Finance and IT, to monitor key indicators (e.g., packaging rates, aid expenditures, discount rate, borrowing trends), forecast aid and revenue, assess OBBBA’s impact on program affordability and institutional finances, and develop predictive models that inform risk management, student financing strategies, and ongoing process improvements. 

Student Experience & Service

• Ensures best-in-class customer service and financial advisement for prospective and continuing students.
• Builds and sustains a service-first culture championed by a team trained to deliver empathetic, accurate, and timely financial support.
• Supports equitable access to aid for diverse student populations in graduate health sciences fields. 

Leadership & Talent Development

• Oversee financial aid staff and services.
• Responsible for national financial aid staffing structures and performance.
• Designs and oversees the national financial aid staffing structure and organizational design, including hiring, role definition, and alignment of resources with institutional priorities.
• Establishes clear performance expectations, accountability frameworks, and coaching practices for financial aid personnel, ensuring team accountability, high performance, and alignment with institutional goals.
• Guides professional development and succession planning for the financial aid organization, prioritizing staff skill development, continuous learning, and readiness for future leadership roles. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., higher education, business, public administration) preferred.
• Several years of progressive leadership experience in higher education financial aid administration, with substantial responsibility for strategy, compliance, operations, and team leadership.
• Experience as Director, Associate, or Assistant Director of a program of similar complexity and scope.
• Demonstrated mastery of Title IV administration at scale, including familiarity with core federal systems such as the Common Origination and Disbursement system (COD), the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and the G5 payment management system.
• Experience working with ED compliance officials, accreditors, and external auditors.
• Familiarity with Jenzabar J1/EX/JFA or comparable student information and financial aid systems.
• Proven experience leading organizational change, building or modernizing financial aid processes and systems, and using metrics and operational data to drive transformation and accountability.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to explain complex financial concepts to students, families, and senior institutional leaders.

Desired Skills and Abilities: 

• Experience in tuition-dependent, for-profit, or graduate/professional or health-sciences higher education environments.
• Experience managing multi-campus or multi-state operations and delivering virtual and online financial aid services.
• Experience managing outsourced vendors or shared-service models related to financial aid processing or student finance.

About the Institution:
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is a regionally accredited, nonprofit institution specializing in healthcare education. SCU is dedicated to its core values of integrative whole health, evidence-based practice, health equity, and inclusivity. 

Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is one of the world’s only integrative, whole health universities with a mission to educate students as competent, caring, and successful healthcare practitioners and professionals. An SCU education equips students with the necessary skills and knowledge for their chosen profession while also teaching students to blend the best of conventional medicine with proven complementary approaches, and to treat the whole person (body, mind, and spirit). Founded in 1911, SCU has been challenging convention and pushing healthcare forward for more than 100 years. Today, the institution offers graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs in a wide range of disciplines, including Chiropractic, Sports Medicine, Physical & Occupational Therapy, Genetic Counseling, Genetics & Genomics, Medical Science, Physician Assistant, Ayurveda, Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine, Clinical Psychology, Whole Health Leadership, and beyond.  

Recently, SCU and Pacific College of Health and Science (Pacific College) jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement through which SCU will assume Pacific’s Chicago and San Diego programs. In addition to SCU’s current flagship campus in Whittier, CA and its learning site in the Metro Phoenix area, SCU will also take over Pacific Center for Lifelong Learning, PCHS’s online Acupuncture Program, and Pacific Symposium, the nation’s largest and most respected Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) conference. Leaders from both institutions emphasized that this change builds on the shared strengths of two recognized leaders in integrative health education.

The strategic programmatic expansion allows SCU students, staff and faculty to benefit from expanded program offerings, enhancing access to new resources, broader interprofessional learning experiences and professional development options and a unified alumni network across the country. SCU is committed to preparing the next generation of transformative, forward-thinking healthcare professionals, ensuring a more resilient and impactful future for the SCU community and the healthcare industry as a whole. The University holds institutional accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as well as several programmatic accreditations. Click here to learn more about SCU. 

SCU’s enrollment has increased 79% since 2020. During this same period, the percentage of students from underrepresented minorities in health-related sciences increased 36% and now represents 44% of the student population. The University is at an exciting inflection point as it intentionally positions itself to become one of the leading integrative health institutions in the nation. This is an exciting time to join an institution on the move as SCU continues a trajectory of deliberate, strategic and thoughtful growth, which is unprecedented in the current higher education landscape.  

Why Consider the Opportunity:

• Create the Financial Aid Office of the Future. This inaugural role has the opportunity to build a new model of managing financial aid, providing national-level leadership syncing SCU’s strategic expansion with its commitment to integrative, whole-person health. The University has had remarkable growth, particularly unique in the current higher education landscape, while maintaining its mission of health care innovation through collaboration and defying silos.
• Location flexibility. With the flexibility to choose whether to work remotely, hybrid, or on-site, this position lends itself to a unique blend of educating with a mission and maintaining a high quality of work-life.
• Culture. The University has a collaborative, supportive and collegial environment. An Honor Roll recipient of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Best Places to Work, SCU has built a community of shared respect and welcomes a diversity of ideas, beliefs, and cultures, creating the cornerstone of an engaging and thriving academic culture.
• Generous time off. Exceptional vacation and paid time off include national holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, 3 floating holidays, 2 paid community service days, 96 hours of sick leave, and 4 weeks of paid vacation time.
• Benefits. Health care plans are paid 100% for employees. Options to enroll family members are available at a reasonable cost. 

To Apply:
Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled; parties who apply by January 18, 2026 will be given first consideration. Please submit a PDF version of your resume and cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for this position.  

To apply online go to https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su488  

For more information please contact:
Andrea Martinez
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
Direct: 919-357-8766
amartinez@summitsearchsolutions.com

Salary Range: The broad range is $145,000 to $165,000. This is a newly created position and, as such, compensation will reflect the individual’s depth of knowledge and experience.

Southern California University of Health Sciences is an equal opportunity employer. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.