Scholarship & Finance Specialist – Hybrid

UMass Amherst; Amherst (MA); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

UMass Amherst, within the College of Natural Sciences, seeks a Fiscal Specialist to manage the CNS scholarship process and assist with financial, accounting, and operational support. The role involves reconciliation, reporting, and ensuring accurate fund balances within a roughly $6 million portfolio.

Reporting to the Finance Manager, you will handle Academic Works entries, coordinate with the Financial Aid Office, and train department staff on scholarship procedures while supporting the Dean's

Qualifications

• An associate's degree with four (4) years of finance, accounting, office administration, or related experience OR a bachelor's degree with two (2) years of finance, accounting, office administration, or related experience.
• Excellent organizational skills, independent judgement, and attention to detail; ability to prioritize and manage several projects simultaneously and successfully within provided deadlines.
• Ability to keep financial records and understand basic accounting principles.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to lead and interact effectively, work productively, and maintain professional and harmonious working relationships with diverse faculty and staff.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to credibly and authoritatively communicate with faculty, staff, and administration as well as with other constituents.
• Advanced proficiency working with Microsoft Office suite. Willingness and ability to learn new technological skills as the need arises.
• Ability to think creatively, problem-solve, and elicit cooperation from multiple offices and institutions, and build bridges. Ability to innovate practices and processes for optimized outcomes.
• Strong ability to exercise sound judgment.

Responsibilities

• Manages the college's scholarship awarding process through Academic Works.
• Review fund codes and descriptions for each award yearly; work with Senior Assistant Director, Scholarship Manager in the Financial Aid Office to enter any new scholarships.
• Work with the appropriate Associate Deans to confirm available funds for college level scholarships; start and end dates of awards and to annually review College scholarship policy.
• Work with CNS departments and programs to review their scholarship information.
• Record all award amounts, number of awards per fund, start, end, review and post-acceptance dates into the Academic Works system.
• Consult with department scholarship committees as necessary.
• Facilitate departments' and programs' submissions from review committees; work with the Senior Assistant Director, Scholarship Manager to enter in Academic Works.
• Facilitate training on scholarship process for department Chairs, UPDs and GPDs and reviewers.
• Respond to any inquiries from departments, reviewers, students and Financial Aid as required.
• Review submissions of proposed awardees; confirm reviews completed; awardee eligibility and available funds.
• Review communications for accuracy and record student awards into Academic Works.
• Review post-acceptance responses and submit reports to Financial Aid for processing.
• Monitor revenue, expenses, and fund balances in the CNS portfolio of gift and endowment accounts with a total budget of roughly $6 million.
• Perform financial operations support for the Dean and Student Success offices including processing of purchase orders, invoices, travel & expense statements.
• Facilitate departmental billing for established cost centers as needed.
• Process journal entries as needed.
• Provide reporting on other assigned funds in the College.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Microsoft Office

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Education

Associate's degree + 4 years experience

Bachelor's degree + 2 years experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

UMass Amherst, within the College of Natural Sciences, seeks a Fiscal Specialist to manage the CNS scholarship process and assist with financial, accounting, and operational support. The role involves reconciliation, reporting, and ensuring accurate fund balances within a roughly $6 million portfolio.

Reporting to the Finance Manager, you will handle Academic Works entries, coordinate with the Financial Aid Office, and train department staff on scholarship procedures while supporting the Dean's