Senior Director of Scholarships and Program Operations

Classification: Exempt; Full-time

Location: Washington, DC

Reports To: Vice President, Scholar Success

About the Role

The Senior Director of Scholarships and Program Operations is responsible for leading, executing, and evaluating APIA Scholars’ Scholar Success program portfolio of scholarships and scholar grant programs and manages the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team.

This highly collaborative role operates in close partnership with the Vice President of Scholar Success and APIA Scholars’ leadership team to ensure seamless alignment and continuity between the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team and various internal and external stakeholders. The Senior Director serves as both a strategic driver and integrator, leading program portfolio execution and evaluation, while actively reinforcing and advancing the VP’s vision, priorities, and direction.

The Senior Director of Scholarships and Program Operations leads the execution of organizational and departmental strategy through a diverse portfolio of financial aid programming and serves as a trusted thought partner to the VP of Scholar Success through programmatic evaluation, impact reporting, and partner engagement.

The Senior Director will oversee programmatic planning, management, and execution of their assigned portfolio, in addition to team leadership, cross-departmental collaboration, and external partner engagement to ensure a cohesive and best-in-class experience for applicants, Scholars, and all related stakeholders. This position leads cross-functional initiatives, drives measurable results, and contributes to broader departmental strategy, modeling a balance of independent leadership and deep partnership.

Key Responsibilities

Program Portfolio Leadership & Program Evaluation (45%)

• Oversee and manage all stages of operations for a portfolio of financial aid programs which include Scholarships (undergraduate APIA Scholarship, Gates Millenium Scholarship, Data Voyage Transfer Scholarship), and Scholar Grants (Scholar Relief Fund, Career Development Fund, other scholar grants), leading annual application design and launch, applicant review and selection, award notification and fund disbursements, with the support of the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team and external administrative support vendors.
• Build and manage multiple annual programmatic lifecycle calendars and timelines, ensuring key milestones and dates are delivered on time and communicated to stakeholders in a consistent manner.
• Monitor and evaluate program performance through key programmatic health and success metrics, generating cyclical impact and outcomes reports for internal stakeholders, including the VP of Scholar Success and Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
• Tracks team Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and related goals, providing regular and consistent status reports to the VP of Scholar Success and all related stakeholders.
• Monitors and maintains annual budget for their assigned portfolio, in partnership with the VP of Scholar Success and related Finance team leaders.

Compliance and Data Management (25%)

• Maintain program compliance with related federal and state legislation (e.g. FERPA, OBBA, CCPA, etc.) and current legal guidance provided by external counsel, updating program policies as needed in a quickly changing landscape.
• Build, update, and maintain up-to-date policy manuals and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all related programming, leading training for internal staf and external vendors as needed.
• Serve as the administrative lead for the intake and output of programmatic data into, and out of, Salesforce, ensuring proper data hygiene, integrity, and security when inputting and reporting data.
• Leads and coordinates applicant and scholar survey strategy and execution, ensuring alignment with organizational and departmental strategy and organizational data policy.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement (20%)

• Supervise and direct the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team comprised of manager- and associate-level staf members, ensuring their professional growth and development through exemplary mentorship and management principles in line with organizational values and priorities.
• Serves as primary lead and point of contact for external vendors and membership organizations specific to the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team, including, but not limited to: external administrative support vendor, NSPA, NCAN, etc.
• Direct and lead annual volunteer reader processes to include annual planning, recruitment, management, engagement, and stewardship of a diverse group of volunteers from across diferent industries.
• Build and maintain community with external contacts, which include institutional financial aid ofices, community based organizations, and other related individuals who work directly with target student populations and Scholars.
• Oversee communication strategies and tactics specific to applicant and scholar populations in collaboration with MarComm and Advancement teams.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Organizational Alignment (10%)

• Consistently evaluates operational workflows for their assigned portfolio, identifies bottlenecks, drafts recommendations, and collaborates to implement streamlined and eficient processes for internal and external stakeholders.
• Partners and collaborates with the Development team for annual scholarships cohort award buildout, donor stewardship, and reporting.
• Partners and collaborates with the Finance team to track and manage scholarship awards and disbursements and serves as lead for annual reconciliation process.
• Partners and collaborates with the Advancement team on executing organizational communication and outreach strategy, as related to the assigned program portfolio.
• Serves as the primary project manager and lead for projects related to the Scholarships and Scholar Grants team.

Qualifications:

• BA/BS in nonprofit management, public administration, business administration, or a related field or equivalent experience required.
• 6+ years of progressively responsible experience in non-profit program management and program operations, scholarship or grants administration, and/or higher education access/success.
• At least 2 years of direct experience managing teams and complex program operations, including staf supervision, budgeting, and cross-departmental coordination.
• Demonstrated success leading and managing cyclical and multi-phase non-profit programs.
• Strong data management and quality assurance skills, with experience overseeing CRM systems (Salesforce preferred), application platforms, and financial reconciliation processes.
• Experience managing external vendors and outsourced administrative support.
• Exceptional project management skills with the ability to lead multiple initiatives simultaneously while ensuring high-quality execution. Familiarity with MOCHA framework is preferred.
• Familiarity with scholarships and/or grant administration, including best practices in eligibility review, equitable selection, disbursement, and student support.
• Familiarity with student privacy laws and best practices in data security and compliance.
• Proven leadership skills, including the ability to develop, support, and motivate high performing teams.
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach; able to balance big-picture planning with operational detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate efectively with diverse audiences such as students, staf, funders, university partners, and technology vendors and the ability to conceptualize and implement strategic communications campaigns focused on program participant recruitment and engagement.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and credibility across internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Deep commitment to educational equity, expanding economic opportunity, career and workforce development, and to serving historically underserved and underrepresented student populations, including AANHPI communities.
• A passion for APIA Scholars’ mission and a commitment to the success of our Scholars and larger community.

What We Offer

Salary range: $100,000-$120,000

Salary ofer will be commensurate with experience of final selected candidate.

Key Benefits: APIA Scholars provides a comprehensive benefits package including 100% premium cover for base plans of health, vision, and dental. Up to a 3.5% employer match on 401k. A disability and life insurance ofering. Generous paid leave including 15 vacation days, 10 sick leave days, and federal holidays.

How to Apply

Interested applicants must send a cover letter and resume Matthew Rosales, Vice President of Scholar Success at mrosales@apiascholars.org.