Financial Fitness Counselor

Job Description Financial Fitness Counselor

Coney Island / Brighton Beach Brooklyn, NY Office Location

(Bilingual - English: Russian, Ukrainian, Other- Intermediate to Advance proficiency)

About Urban Upbound

Founded in 2004, the mission of Urban Upbound is to break cycles of poverty in public housing neighborhoods by providing youth and adults the tools and resources needed to achieve economic mobility and self-sufficiency. Urban Upbound advances its mission through several integrated programs, including employment services, financial counseling, college access and mental health services, income support services (VITA Tax & SNAP), community revitalization, and access to safe and affordable banking through the Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union. Our services are rooted in the Jobs-Plus model, a proven place-based employment program designed to increase the earnings and employment of working-age public housing residents. Jobs-Plus uses a three-pronged approach, which includes: employment-related services; financial incentives that make work pay; and community supports for work, the strengthening of social ties among residents and community stakeholders to support residents' job preparation and work efforts.

Urban Upbound seeks a dedicated, professional Financial Counselor to join our robust Financial Services Team. This position sits at one of our NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Office of Financial Empowerment, Financial Empowerment Centers located at a host site in the Coney Island & Brighton Beach, Brooklyn NY area. The Financial Counselor provides a range of financial services that are tailored to the needs of individual participants, from changing participants' attitudes towards their financial futures and goal setting, to credit repair and debt management, to long-term asset building of homeownership, higher education, and retirement planning. The ideal candidate would be bilingual and have individualized financial fitness counseling experience with clients from diverse economic, cultural, and social backgrounds, including low to moderate income.

The Financial counselor is someone who is flexible, open, and caring to the greater population. You will be on the front lines of poverty alleviation, working with an innovative city organization that is constantly changing and evolving its tactics towards tackling poverty in NYC.

Responsibilities:

• Financial counseling with New Yorkers, including low-income clients with emphasis on Spanish, Mandarin, English and other languages; helping them achieve financial stability and mobility; measuring impact with specific weekly and yearly goals.
• Assist clients with complex issues of personal finance, including issues concerning medical debt, student loans, and legal aspects, such as wage garnishments, judgments, bankruptcies, etc.
• Assists clients in understanding their financial capability, including credit report analysis, budget, savings, and action plan preparation
• Conduct client intakes and individual counseling/education.
• Conduct/coordinate group education and informational seminars utilizing PowerPoint presentations.
• Respond to client inquiries, monitor progress of participants and assists participants to understand affordability and non-delinquency issues. Provide early intervention as needed.
• Provide outreach and general marketing services to the community regarding Financial Fitness and other Urban Upbound programs and services

• Maintain confidentiality of client information and provide administrative support by maintaining client records, inputting data in multiple databases, arranging for client appointments, generating status reports, and notifying clients of meeting dates
• Flexibility- you may be required to work some evenings and weekends, and occasionally at other office locations within the five boroughs as determined by the organization.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Bilingual: Russian/English, Ukrainian/English with intermediary or advanced proficiency, a strong plus
• Prior work experience with low-income communities
• Prior workshop and presentation experience
• Financial Fitness Counseling experience; preferred (You must be committed to taking a CUNY Personal Finance course, as mandated by NYC’s Office of Financial Empowerment)
• Must be based in the NYC Metropolitan area

Preferred Qualities:

• Commitment to helping social empowerment and economic development
• Genuine passion for service and working with the LMI community
• Client focus and adaptability to different personality types
• Genuine passion for money is essential, although advanced knowledge on topics may be learned on the job
• Independent self-starter with strong teamwork abilities, as you will be given a lot of autonomy in managing your clientele
• Flexibility in working towards the larger mission of Urban Upbound, as this may involve a lot of experimentation in approaches to working with clients and referrals to other programs
• Creativity in your approaches to working with people. Ideas are welcome here, including on improving client service delivery through technology, integration, and communication methods

Benefits:

• Salary, $50K - $65K yearly – commiserates with experience
• Training provided in various topics, including technical content skills, operational management, and analytical skills
• Flexible schedule, committed to work-life balance
• Provide you with challenges to develop your personal and career development skills
• We provide medical, vision, and dental insurance, a commuter pass program, and generous vacation and sick days, as well as a very nice team to work with

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $50,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Ability to Relocate:

• Brooklyn, NY: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $50,000 - $65,000