Part of Teach For America’s commitment to being an inclusive and diverse community is ensuring that anyone admitted to the corps has the ability to join without financial barriers. With nearly 45% of admitted applicants in 2018 identifying as coming from a low-income background, ensuring the transition from work or school is financially feasible has become a top priority. Teach For America provides need-based funding in the form of no-interest loans and grants to incoming corps members with the goal of alleviating some of the financial barriers present in becoming a first year teacher. As the Associate of Corps Member Finances, you will play an instrumental role in ensuring that incoming corps members receive the financial support they need so they can focus on having a profound impact in the classroom.
The Admissions team seeks a highly organized, detail-oriented individual with experience juggling multiple assignments, an interest in finance support, and a passion about ensuring that corps members and the teams that support them have what they need to make a successful transition to the corps.
In this role, you love working with data and creating systems to make things work efficiently and smoothly. You have an eagle-eye, catching and acting to address the mistakes that others may have missed. You are able to communicate your passion for this work and how it is critically tied to bringing new Corps Members into the movement to end educational inequity. You are a strong fiscal steward, upholding finance and organization policies while also ensuring the process is accessible and equitable for applications from various backgrounds, creating a cohesive financial experience.
- Manage the processes and make recommendations regarding transitional funding awards, repayment plans, early disbursal of funds, award appeals, and emergency funding (20%)
- Respond to and manage staff and applicant inquires through our messaging and email platforms, including our general email inboxes (20%)
- Oversee the process and technology used to review applications and make recommendations on transitional funding packages (15%)
- Manage a team of 2-5 temporary staff on transitional funding application scoring, payments plans and responding to applicant inquiries/emails (15%)
- Create resources for staff and applicants about need-based transitional funding and the financial transition to the corps (15%)
- Collaborate across teams to gather and convey information and action items critical to regional matriculation (10%)
- Act as the buyer for transitional grants and loans, executing monthly invoicing and check processing, along with other financial administration tasks (5%)
- Two to four years of work experience
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel
- Proven experience communicating effectively across teams and levels
- Experience working with large data sets or finance systems preferred
- Highly organized with proven time management skills
- Experience creating efficient systems to juggle multiple projects simultaneously
- Possesses a deep sense of personal responsibility, spirit of flexibility, a positive outlook and a strong customer service ethic
- Strong written and interpersonal communication skills
- Critical thinker who displays good judgment in prioritizing problems to resolve and opportunities to pursue
- Demonstrated cultural competence, critical consciousness, ability to work across lines of difference, and desire to engage in discussions regarding identity, race, class, and privilege
- Ability to balance process integrity and empathy to personal situations while maintaining confidentiality
Work Demands
- Ability to travel quarterly to in-person meetings in various U.S. Cities
- Some weekend or evening work hours required