University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Job Description Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Administrative Operations, Student Services Center, the Associate Director of the Student Services Center is responsible for providing leadership related to front-line support for registration, billing, veterans’ services, and financial aid. In addition, he/she will serve as a liaison to various University departments and Centers, working to promote the capabilities of the Student Services Center and identify opportunities to enhance or extend student-centered support services. He/she will undertake a variety of special projects in areas such as overall service delivery, veterans’ services, and non-traditional student support.

The Associate Director is responsible for the successful daily operations of the Student Services Center. He/she directly supervises up to 13 Center staff, including the One-Stop Counselors/Senior Counselors and 10 student workers; and is responsible for their ongoing training and professional development, as well as ensuring the delivery of outstanding customer service to students, families, and the Penn community as a whole. He/she serves as a knowledge base for the One Stop Counselors and Senior Counselors regarding best practices in registration, billing, and financial aid. The Associate Director will also be expected to perform front-line customer-facing duties during peak periods.

Job Description

• Oversee and support the daily needs of up to13 full time staff and 10 student employees. Responsible for hiring, training, mentoring, and performance evaluations.  Establish office priorities and expectations for all team members; and foster positive client experiences by ensuring that staff are courteous, knowledgeable, and responsive to all stakeholder needs.  Remain abreast of regulatory compliance guidelines for financial aid student accounts, registration, and academic records; and ensure that Counselors understand, adhere to, and can communicate knowledgeably about these guidelines and regulations with clients. Provide continuous training and professional development opportunities for staff. Serve as an escalation point and knowledge base for Counselors to address more complex student cases and referrals from other academic or administrative units across campus.
• Continuously evaluate Center’s performance against established metrics and from direct customer feedback. Analyze results to identify trends and areas of improvement in the delivery of student services, with particular attention to the veteran, highly-aided, and FGLI populations. Develop data-driven recommendations, and lead projects, initiatives, and committees within SRFS, and across Schools and Centers as needed, to implement them. Evaluate and review performance with SRFS leadership to ensure effectiveness and compliance with University standards.
• Serve as a spokesperson for SRFS Student Service Center through the preparation and delivery of presentations to stakeholders at various levels within the Division and across the University.  Serve as the contact for the Division’s Director of Communications for media inquiries related to the Center. Represent the Center to the higher education community when needed; prepare and deliver presentations, participate in panel discussions for industry groups, professional organizations, vendor conferences, and other trade organizations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree and three to five years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, are required; five to seven years of customer service experience, preferably in an academic setting or related area, strongly preferred. Two years of previous supervisory experience required.

Required:

• Customer service affinity and skills; and the ability and desire to: help students and families resolve questions and issues; learn and retain a large volume of information and correctly relay this information to students and families; work in an environment that deals with sensitive family financial matters.
• Demonstrated experience in understanding, explaining, and applying the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing assigned unit activities.
• Effective oral, written, listening and communication skills; multilingual a plus. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills; ability to make independent decisions and to work collaboratively and productively under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• Dependability, reliability, promptness, and professional etiquette; and the ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with University stakeholders and customers in a multi-cultural environment
• Knowledge of/experience with computer applications and systems, including the Microsoft suite of products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook) Salesforce Case Management,as well as core University systems for financial aid and academic records; ability and willingness to learn new programs, applications, systems, tools, etc.
• Previous management experience in a call center industry preferred.
• Possess comprehensive understanding of call center metrics and technologies and higher education tools like Salesforce and Banner.
• Must be responsive to customer and client needs, possess a passion for quality, and have a history of strong results and ability to manage tight deadlines and multiple priorities.
• Must have compelling communication and influencing skills to win the support of various stakeholders across the University and influence strategic decisions.
• Must have strong analytical skills with an ability to coach, manage and develop employees as well as diffuse conflicts and customer service complaints consistent with the values and mission of the University.

Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Holds team accountable for maintaining customer service delivery efforts at or above goal with various stakeholders across the University including students, families, external contacts, staff and faculty.
• Reviews and analyzes one stop center metrics/statistics on a daily basis and implements corrective action when needed.
• Develops, fosters, and maintains a positive, productive, and proactive relationship with various stakeholders at the University who may be customers, partners or peers.
• Works with other decision makers as needed to ensure scripting and call handling/customer service strategies are consistent with University and Division of Finance goals.
• Leads the effort in establishing strategic goals and action plans and continuous improvement efforts to improve service delivery and delight customers and stakeholders who interact with the one stop department. Provide daily updates with production numbers and recommendations for program/process improvement.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Division of Finance

Pay Range

$50,684.00 - $91,232.00

Affirmative Action Statement 

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 

Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.