Financial Aid Specialist

About the Department

DEFINITION
Under supervision of the appropriate administrator, this position will perform student services work in the areas of financial aid; plan, organize, and carry out assigned program responsibilities; provide financial aid information and advising; conduct program research and needs assessments; and values and promotes the mission and vision of the college.

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS
Under minimal supervision, the incumbent in this position provides financial aid information and advisement with a high frequency of contact with staff, students, the general public, and representatives of social service agencies and representatives of other educational institutions requiring tact and excellent oral communication. The incumbent will be required to read, write, and converse fluently in English and Spanish.

Position Duties

1. Provides financial aid advising to new and continuing students as well as outreach to local high schools and communities in the college’s service area.
2. Organizes development, planning, and implementing of financial aid workshops and outreach programs.
3. Conducts bilingual financial aid awareness classroom presentations, workshops, and information sessions for current and prospective Allan Hancock College students, and parents of students in local high schools.
4. Provides financial aid training to Allan Hancock College counselors and staff and to local high school counselors.
5. Interprets and applies financial aid regulations.
6. Utilizes multiple sources of information from outside databases and vendors to prevent and/or resolve potential student loan defaults.
7. Utilize approved resources and internet sites to obtain location/contact information for borrowers. Assist borrowers with student loans, reduce delinquency and prevent defaulting on loans. Counsel borrowers on available repayment options, forbearance, and deferment options.
8. Assists and advises students and parents in accessing online applications and information, completing forms, and understanding available sources of assistance, including scholarships.
9. Serves as the lead facilitator on the Financial Aid Appeals Committee, preview student appeals for accuracy and completeness, pre-determine student continued eligibility for financial aid; recommend alternative educational strategies and services for the committee’s review process, prepares correspondence from the committee’s recommendation; answers follow-up questions from students and staff, and implement and document the committee decisions.
10. Evaluates transcripts and student educational plans to determine eligibility and provides academic advising related to maintaining financial aid eligibility.
11. Assist students who have lost financial aid eligibility and provides support by clarifying the problem, explaining relevant policies and deadlines, problem solving, anticipating obstacles, and directing students to appropriate services, agencies, and departments on campus.
12. Meets with students individually and in groups. Hosts satisfactory academic progress workshops on varying topics specific to student success.
13. Identifies students with grade point average (GPA), unit progression and mass unit issues, and recommends appropriate action to ensure success in probationary terms.
14. Explains terms, conditions and stipulations of financial aid probation status including requirement of students to advance from financial aid probation status to the requirements of students to advance from financial aid probation status to good standing status.
15. Applies financial aid policy to determine satisfactory academic progress and develops and maintains the process to monitor academic progress of students.
16. Analyzes financial aid applications, verifies information, and resolves conflicts on applications to determine eligibility for programs, and level of financial aid assistance, and package awards.
17. Verifies information reported on the financial aid applications and resolves conflicts related to application and support documentation.
18. Develops and coordinates distribution of guides, brochures, flyers, posters, announcements, newsletters, and translates college forms and documents into the Spanish language and provides leadership for the development of the Spanish financial aid materials, including flyers, brochures, web information, newsletters, and multi-media presentations.
19. Monitors, creates, and updates the financial aid webpages and electronic displays to ensure the information remains current and accurate.
20. Ensures that the planning, reviewing, updating, and maintaining of the financial aid Chatbot account on an ongoing basis.
21. Serve as a liaison between webmaster and financial aid AHC administration to develop new pages, create new site functionality or request other changes and fixes.
22. Collaborate across teams to design and deliver all graphic design needs including but not limited to, brochures, flyers, web graphics, banners, swag, signage etc.
23. Provides services to students not meeting satisfactory academic progress including outreach by phone, letters, and electronic media to students, monitor persistence and academic performance to ensure program goals are met.
24. Writes, collects, creates data analysis, and reports data on financial aid student learning outcomes for institutional effectiveness and program review that support college mission, goals and program planning initiatives, identifying any actions and program resource requests.
25. Attends conferences, meetings, and workshops to remain current with ongoing changes to federal and state regulations.
26. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Philosophy and practices of educational advisement;
• Correct English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation;
• Written business communications;
• Rules, regulations, policies and procedures of federal, state and district financial aid programs.
• Applicable sections of State Education Code and other applicable laws. 
• Public speaking and presentation techniques. 
• Modern office practices, procedures and equipment including telephone techniques and etiquette.
• State and federal financial aid regulations;
• Socioeconomic conditions of area residents;
• Fundamentals of interviewing students;
• Methods of conducting outreach activities;
• Community resources and services;
• Basic statistics, research, and reporting methods.

Demonstrated Ability to:

• Learn, understand, interpret, and apply laws, regulations, policies, guidelines and procedures without immediate supervision;
• Plan, organize, and conduct group functions and meetings;
• Investigate and research problems, devise solutions and present recommendations;
• Plan, organize, and prioritize work in order to meet frequent and changing deadlines;
• Present oral and written reports clearly and concisely;
• Converse fluently and write proficiently in English and Spanish;
• Understand and carry out oral and written directions;
• Make arithmetical computations quickly and accurately.
• Plan, organize and implement specialized financial aid programs and activities; work independently with little direction. 
• Read, interpret, apply and explain complex laws, regulations, requirements, policies and procedures regarding student financial aid programs. 
• Adapt to complex, changing and expanding state and federal regulations. 
• Exercise sound judgment in reviewing and evaluating student financial aid applications. Interpret and evaluate financial statements, complex income tax reports, federal and state court documents, Immigration and Naturalization documents and other related documents.
• Maintain records and prepare reports.
• Relate effectively to socially and economically disadvantaged students. 
• Interview and advise students.
• Work independently with little direction.

Working Conditions:

• Duties are primarily performed in and out of the office environment.
• The incumbent will have contact, in person, on the internet, by email, or telephone with students, executive, management, supervisory, academic and classified staff, and the general public.
• Work may require travel to other offices or locations to attend meetings or conduct work.

Physical Demands:

• Operate a computer and software programs;
• Communicates over the telephone, via email, video conferencing, and in person;
• Typically may sit for extended periods of time;
• Regularly lifts, carries and/or moves objects weighing up-to 10 pounds.

Special Qualification:
A sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds of staff and students and to staff and students with disabilities.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience:
Possession of a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited university or college with a major in sociology, psychology, education or closely related fields. Qualifying experience performing duties closely related to this position may be substituted for the required education on the basis of two years of experience for one year of education. 

Other Qualifications

The desired start date is February 2026.  This is a full-time, 37-hour, classified, 12-month position. 

Work Schedule: Monday and Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

The primary work location is the Santa Maria campus. Two (2) days per week, Monday and Thursday, will be at the Lompoc Valley Center campus.

To be considered for this position, the candidate must submit the following application materials by Sunday, January 11, 2026 by 11:59 PST:

• Cover letter;
• A current and complete resume/CV of education and professional experience.

Allan Hancock College provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Allan Hancock College will not sponsor any visa applications.  

Allan Hancock College is a public community college in Santa Maria, California. It offers associate degrees at its Lompoc Valley campus and at nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base. The college is part of the California Community College System.