ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.

They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now.

Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

Our mission is not going unnoticed. CNN described ALU — which has campuses in Mauritius and Rwanda — as “The Harvard of Africa;” Fast Company ranked ALU one of the 50 most innovative organizations in the world and the most innovative endeavor in Africa; and The New York Times recognized ALU as one of the eight places in the world “where history is being made.” Join us.

HOW WE WORK

As a high-growth start-up, the ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.

ABOUT THE ROLE

In this role, you will support the Financial Aid office within the Student Life Team to ensure smooth running of the end-to end scholarship experience. This means that you will assist the Financial Aid Associate or any designated person within the Team to keep track of students’ academic progress, help in the communications with scholars, collaborate with the team to address scholars issues and ensure that process is being followed. This is a student-facing role based in Rwanda, however the expectations is to serve for both ALC & ALU Campuses.

You will be working very closely with various teams (admissions, finance, academic and Campus Life teams) to ensure alignment in our processes. You will be assisting the Financial Aid Associate in keeping track and managing the scholars data and reports. This position reports to the Student Life Manager.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Scholars communication and coordination

• Help in communicating with the scholars which involves answering their inquiries, providing information about the Financial aid Office support process and providing clarifying information as and when required.
• Assist the Financial Aid office to plan for post-arrival logistics including scholarships orientation & onboarding.
• Respond to student email queries on scholarship-related matters

Travel Logistics

• Support incoming scholars with both local and international travel planning
• Support scholars immigration processes to the Campuses and hubs
• Provide support for travel requirements (medical, administrative, etc.)

Financial support

• Relay petty-cash request to the Financial Aid Associate
• Manage the petty-cash reconciliation process

Holistic and academic support

• Assist with scholars’ orientation planning and logistics
• Assist the team to plan and implement scholarship-related programs & events to ensure scholars' engagement, give back activities and support
• Help the team to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to provide specialized support and facilitate integration for the refugees and people living with disabilities

Processes and data reporting

• Draft, review and implement various operational processes and policies guidelines, under the guidance of the Financial Aid associate
• Work with the relevant teams to update scholars' data regularly
• Collecting feedback and information needed for various reports
• Ensure that the established processes and procedures are followed consistently to maintain the integrity of the financial aid program.

Problem Solving

• Collaborate with the team to address any issues or challenges faced by a scholarship recipient. This includes providing guidance and finding appropriate solutions to ensure that the scholars’ needs are met.

Support Financial Aid Office

• Provide general Administrative support to the Financial Aid office as needed. This includes maintaining documentation, scheduling meetings, preparing reports and assisting with other administrative tasks to facilitate the smooth running of the office.

Any further tasks or duties as assigned by the team Manager.

REQUIREMENTS

Required

• A Bachelor's degree (minimum)
• At least 1 year work experience in a similar role: within a financial aid office, or working directly with students, or in a customer-service oriented position
• Impeccable attention to detail
• Excellent people management and relationship building skills
• Project management skills, particularly strong work planning, prioritization, time management, scheduling and organization skills
• High level of competency with Google Suite
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to follow directions and complete workload independently and accurately, accept supervisory input
• Ability to manage stress and work under pressure while multitasking under deadlines
• Ability to help in decision making during periods of crisis and problems
• Ability to work in a wide array of circumstances and do multiple jobs simultaneously

Preferred

• Creative thinking and practical problem solving
• Systems thinker with data and analytics orientation
• Experience working with Salesforce
• Experience working at a higher education institution in Africa
• Strong passion for succeeding, contagious energy, and a desire to have fun in the process
• High comfort level working within a self-directed culture and navigating ambiguity
• Openness to constructive critique and curiosity to learn from other perspectives
• Passion for Africa and education