Director, Scholarships

Department: Location: Belknap Campus Time Type: Full time Worker Type: Regular Job Req ID: R108059 Minimum Requirements: Bachelor's degree in a related field and eight (8) years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Grade 10 (Salaried) Position Description: The Director of the Office of Scholarships provides strategic leadership for the university’s donor-funded scholarship portfolio, ensuring the effective, equitable, and mission-aligned use of endowed and gifted resources to advance recruitment, retention, and student success. Serving as the institution’s chief scholarship officer, the Director establishes the strategic direction for scholarship policy, administration, and stewardship. The role builds and sustains strong partnerships across Enrollment Management, Financial Aid, Advancement, colleges/schools, and academic departments to maximize the strategic impact of scholarships and ensure fiscal responsibility, donor compliance, and operational excellence. The Director sets the vision for a modern, analytics-driven scholarship operation; leads continuous improvement efforts; and oversees the launch, development, and long-term function of the Office of Scholarships as a trusted campus partner. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Develop and implement a comprehensive university-wide scholarship strategy aligned with institutional priorities. Establish and maintain policies, procedures, governance structures, and awarding frameworks. Lead development of data infrastructure for forecasting, modeling, reporting, and impact assessment. Oversee optimization of scholarship management systems and integrations. Design efficient, transparent workflows for awarding cycles, fund reconciliation, donor reporting, and compliance. Collaborate with the Foundation and Advancement to ensure donor intent is honored and documented through consistent stewardship practices. Direct management of endowed and gifted scholarship spending plans to ensure fund health and long-term sustainability. Convene and lead campus-wide scholarship administrator networks, providing training and guidance. Serve as primary authority for scholarship exceptions, appeals, and complex cases. Provide clear, coordinated communication for students, families, and campus stakeholders. Identify and mitigate institutional risks related to awarding errors, donor restrictions, and regulatory compliance. Manage personnel functions including recruitment, onboarding, supervision, performance evaluation, and professional development. Manage office budgeting and spending. When applying to position a Cover Letter and Resume submission is preferred. III. Preferred Qualifications (what is this?) Master’s degree Five years of related experience in scholarships, financial aid, enrollment management, advancement, or student financial services. Five years of supervisory experience Experience launching or restructuring a scholarship or financial services unit. Experience with fund accounting and donor-funded resource management. Experience with student information systems, scholarship platforms, or CRM technologies. Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and web-based platforms. IV. Competencies (what is this?) Analytical – evaluating data and other information with the ability to choose the best solution and make recommendations Critical Thinking – ability to think through issues and identify appropriate solutions Systems Thinking – ability to understand and design processes that cut across departments and impact the institution at scale Detail Oriented – practice of thoroughly and concisely reviewing information to ensure accuracy Flexible – ability to change directions as needed for the good of the department or organization Interpersonal – can build effective working relationships with employees, colleagues, donors, and other campus stakeholders through trust, communication, and credibility Organized – manages time effectively, keeps tasks appropriately prioritized Proactive – anticipates and plans for problems before they arise Project Management – able to multi-task, prioritize projects, remain organized, and take initiative Service Excellence – responsive, informs staff of process, pleasant to work with, educates and provides timely, accurate information Change Leadership – capacity to steer cultural and operational shift across campus units and achieve alignment in a decentralized environment Decision Making – comfortable making judgement calls without perfect information while balancing donor intent, policy requirements, and student needs Ethical Stewardship – strong sense of fiduciary responsibility and equity in awarding funds Speaking – ability to convey ideas and facts orally using language the audience will best understand Teamwork – ability to work closely with others, serve others, help others, lead others, mentor others, take directions from others in the interest of moving process and programs forward to the desired outcome Work Ethic – motivated, diligent, industrious and persistent in the workplace, stays on tasks to completion, works at a fast pace to ensure optimal efficiency The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required of individuals in this job. Other duties may be assigned as determined by management. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this job. Compensation will be commensurate to candidate experience. Equal Employment Opportunity The University of Louisville is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The University strives to provide equal employment opportunity on the basis of merit and without unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status, or pregnancy. In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veteran Readjustment Act of 1974, the University prohibits job discrimination of individuals with disabilities, Vietnam era veterans, qualified special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans. The University acknowledges its obligations to ensure affirmative steps are taken to ensure equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. It is the policy of the University that no employee or applicant for employment be subject to unlawful discrimination in terms of recruitment, hiring, promotion, contract, contract renewal, tenure, compensation, benefits, and/or working conditions. No employee or applicant for employment is required to endorse or condemn a specific ideology, political viewpoint, or social viewpoint to be eligible for hiring, contract renewal, tenure, or promotion. Consistent with applicable law, demographic information is collected for aggregate reporting requirements. Demographic information provided through this application is not available to hiring managers/committees and is not considered in hiring or employment decisions. Assistance and Accommodations Computers are available for application submission at the Human Resources Department located at 215 Central Avenue, Ste 205 - Louisville, Kentucky 40208. If you require assistance or accommodation with our online application process, please contact us by email at employment@louisville.edu or by phone 502-852-6258. The University of Louisville is committed to being a great place to work, learn and invest. It is a place where you will thrive in a community of inclusivity, cultivate your innovative power and work where you’ll discover your purpose. Join the Cardinal Family today. Learn more about the University at our About Us page.