Financial Educator

About NYLAG:

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combating economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. NYLAG’s staff of over 400 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.

Job description

As part of the Youth Financial Empowerment Initiative, the Financial Educators will serve designated NYC school districts across New York City, by delivering 2Gen financial and consumer education workshops to students, families, and communities. Financial Educators will also support schools and educators integrate 2Gen financial and consumer education into classroom and school-wide activities. They will also provide one-on-one financial counseling for adults, school staff, and community members using the NYC Financial Empowerment Center Model. Additionally, Financial Educators will partner with DCWP and local financial institutions to expand access to in-school banking services at designated public schools across the city.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with District staff, school leadership, teachers, parent coordinators, and school staff to support financial and consumer protection education programming through events, activities in and outside of the classroom, including: collaborating with communities and school staff to identify ideas for programming and promotion of the program, implementing strategies that promote traditional and non-traditional learning opportunities for students, and supporting teacher professional development in financial literacy.
• Provide financial and consumer protection education workshops for students and their families in and outside of the classroom. Assist with scheduling, promoting, and recruiting for workshops. Maintain data related to workshops as required by DCWP.
• Promote the Financial Education Resource Hub to enhance the integration of financial education. Assist DCWP in vetting financial education resources and creating a repository of recommended materials, support school staff in using Hub materials, integrate financial education into classroom and extracurricular activities, and provide feedback and insights to DCWP and NYCPS to improve and maintain Hub content.
• Provide free one-on-one financial counseling and coaching sessions to eligible NYC residents and school staff, promote services in collaboration with school personnel using DCWP-approved materials, schedule in-person and remote sessions and collect data and outcomes using the DCWP-managed client portal at DCWP approved locations.
• Share information regarding in-school banking services to students and families, provide referrals, and support enrollment including through workshops that build knowledge and awareness of the banking system. Connect eligible students and families to opportunities to build financial health and assets, like NYC Kids RISE Save for College program and NYC Free Tax Prep.

In addition, project staff must:

• Engage effectively with diverse communities- particularly Latinx, people of color, and populations experiencing poverty- and for delivering services with cultural humility.
• Be comfortable traveling to partner sites to provide support to program participants. Face-to-face in-person service is an essential component of this position.
• Ensure achievement of program deliverables.
• Ensure data is entered accurately and timely in NYLAG’s case management system and in partner’s system(s), if applicable.
• Ensure client files are saved securely and fully.
• When applicable, participate in the unit’s advocacy work by collaborating on blog posts and other activities to highlight our efforts towards advancing racial equity in the financial counseling field.

Qualifications

NYLAG seeks a highly motivated financial educators with either (i) a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of two (2) years of full-time work experience, with preferred background in finance, financial education, counseling/coaching, or social service delivery; or (ii) four (4) to eight (8) years of full-time work experience in financial education, counseling/coaching, education, social or youth service delivery. Experience and maturity in working with a diverse range of partners, funders, and clients. Energy and willingness to travel to sites across NYC and work directly with clients at partner site's location. Demonstrated capacity to work independently and strong desire to develop their financial counseling & coaching skill set. This is a position that offers the opportunity to get significant in-house training and further grow your career.

All staff must be vaccinated and follow our health and safety procedures in our offices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Candidates who speak both English and any of the City’s official languages are encouraged to apply. These languages include Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Urdu, French and Polish.[1]
• Ability to explain complex financial concepts in simple terms
• Ability to teach financial skills in one-on-one or group settings
• Ability to understand diverse learning needs
• Ability to use learning management systems
• Experience with lesson planning and classroom management
• Experience with creating or delivering workshops and educational materials
• Preference will be given to applicants who have taken the Personal and Consumer Finance course endorsed by the Office of Financial Empowerment.

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Employment type:

☒ Full-time

Professional Level:

☒Entry level

☒ Professional

Salary Range: NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $66,700 to $73,823.

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.

Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter in one pdf.

Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.

This position involves working in public schools and may include direct interaction with minors. As such, candidates must successfully pass a background check and meet all clearance requirements established by the New York City Department of Education.

NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. However, please note that this role requires in-person coverage at various sites. This policy is subject to change.

[1] See Language Access Plan for more information.