Opportunity

The Culinary Institute of America
Director of Financial Aid
Hyde Park, NY

The Culinary Institute of America
Director of Financial Aid

Search Extended

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) invites applications and nominations for the position of Director of Financial Aid. Founded in 1946, the College enjoys a long history of commitment to student success, connecting the culinary arts with practice through an expansive curriculum, personalized teaching, and a wide range of opportunities designed to ensure that students are prepared for their role as engaged citizens. It is fundamentally known for its commitment to excellence and is dedicated to providing the world’s best professional culinary education. Excellence, leadership, professionalism, ethics, and respect for diversity are the core values that guide its singular vision. The CIA seeks to prepare its students for leadership and service in their personal and professional lives, fostering powerful and enduring bonds, which produce fiercely loyal students and alumni. The college’s main campus is located in Hyde Park, New York with branch campuses in St. Helena, California, and San Antonio, Texas. The college offers traditional associate and bachelor's degrees, and the world's largest staff of American Culinary Federation (ACF) Certified Master Chefs

The CIA's degree programs are fully accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. The college's Hyde Park campus also offers continuing education courses, certificate programs, and training materials for foodservice professionals. The Greystone campus offers associate degree programs in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts, as well as certificate programs, continuing education courses, conferences, and seminars including the Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival each year. The Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies offers classes on wine instruction and also features a certification program for wine professionals. The campus also operates the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, which features local, seasonal ingredients showcasing California's regional cuisine. The CIA, San Antonio was created to promote Latino diversity in the U.S. foodservice industry. The campus provides a 30-week Culinary Arts Certificate Program designed for students seeking a profession in the culinary arts. Many of the instructors are themselves graduates from the CIA.

Reporting to the Vice President of Enrollment Management, the Director supervises a full time staff of 11 including 3 direct reports and is responsible for coordinating and supervising all activities of the Financial Aid Office. Ongoing responsibilities include: obtaining authorization of all Title IV funds and the completion of reports and application; authorizing the disbursements of all federal, state and institutional scholarships, grants, loans, and work study; oversee the distribution of financial aid awards throughout the academic terms; advise students and/or parents/legal guardians on issues of affordability; attend conferences, workshops, seminars, etc., to stay current with federal, state policies, procedures; re-budget and re-package any student who makes an appropriate appeal of their financial aid award; proficient in electronic student aid processing on the institutional, federal financial aid award system. Experience with PowerFaids is preferred.

The new Director has an important and exciting opportunity to create a vision for the future that maximizes the potential of financial aid in developing strong partnerships with senior administration, faculty, students and staff to foster a collaborative and service-oriented approach in support of the mission of the institution. The successful candidate will be an innovative, resourceful, high-energy professional who is an exceptional communicator, an effective agent of organizational change, and a team builder and collaborator. The Director must be able to interpret and apply financial aid regulations and ensure ongoing federal and state compliance. He/She must have excellent computer and communications skills and the ability to understand the passion that brings students to study at the CIA. The ideal candidate must have a minimum of five years of financial aid experience with progressive responsibility. A Bachelor’s degree required and a master’s preferred.

Interested individuals should send a letter describing their interest in and qualifications for the position, a resume, and contact information including mailing and email addresses for five references. The packet should be sent electronically (Microsoft Word attachments preferred) to CIAFA@wspelman.com. The subject line in email should be CIAFA. Confidential inquiries will be received at 585.787.9742. Documents that must be mailed should be sent to William Spelman Executive Search at 667 Midship Circle, Webster, NY 14580. Confidentiality will be maintained, and references will not be contacted without prior knowledge or approval of the candidate. For full consideration, all materials must be submitted by May 28, 2010. The process will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Respect for diversity is a core value of The Culinary Institute of America, an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer committed to fostering a diverse learning and working environment.

• Printer Friendly Version of this Opportunity (PDF)

(PDF requires Adobe Acrobat,
a free reader.)