Financial Counselor, Financial Empowerment

Location: Akron, OH

Job :433

# of Openings:1

PURPOSE OF POSITION:
This position works within UWSM’s Bold Goal of Financial Empowerment by providing encouragement, accountability, resources, tools, and information to foster long-term financial stability and self-sufficiency among low- to moderate-income clients and families within Summit and Medina counties. The Financial Counselor provides direct services to low- to moderate-income individuals who are enrolled as Financial Empowerment Center clients. Financial counseling requires the ability to understand, engage, and motivate clients, a strong understanding of personal finances, and the ability to teach and motivate clients with various opportunities and challenges.

Financial counseling services are primarily conducted through one-on-one in-person and virtual counseling sessions. Additional duties involve data tracking, case management, community outreach, and support of the overall UWSM mission.

work with clients to assess their present financial situation, address financial concerns, and set financial goals with a focus on proactive financial management. Provide clients with a holistic approach to working through their finances; engage the client in a long-term relationship while focusing on retention, building rapport, and earning the client’s trust. Develop strategies and action plans to assist clients with creating and maintaining a budget, increasing savings, reducing debt, building and rebuilding their credit, legacy planning, and accessing safe and affordable banking.

Provide tools, resources, and accountability to help clients meet their goals and achieve financial empowerment. Use Unite Us to connect clients to other services offered by United Way of Summit and Medina County and other community agencies, such as public benefit screening, legal aid, and workforce development.

Track the stories and successes of program participants. Utilize FECBot, a cloud-based client management system, to document client demographics, client progress, service plans, and outcomes in a timely manner. Assist in the convening and development of community-level data systems measuring progress around Financial Empowerment. Provide feedback and recommendations. Annually, request and gather two client success stories. Financial Counselors are required to meet established annual performance standards based on tenure, including completion of 600 counseling sessions, service to 200 clients, and achievement of 80 measurable outcomes during years 1–2;

and 650 counseling sessions, service to 200 clients, and achievement of 225 measurable outcomes during years 2–4. For counselors with more than four years of service, session targets will be increased as determined by management. Counselors are also required to support client retention by maintaining consistent engagement, with the expectation of conducting a minimum of five sessions per client to promote sustained financial progress and measurable outcomes.

Attend IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) certification to support program needs and strengthen collaboration across departments, while increasing counselors’ knowledge of tax laws and procedures that support their work as a financial counselor. Provide support to VITA operations as needed, which may include preparing tax returns, serving as a site coordinator, conducting final reviews, managing rejected or in-progress returns, and completing client call-backs, particularly during periods of client no-shows or cancellations.

Assist with outreach initiatives and financial empowerment programming, including Bank On, VITA, and Wellness at Work, dedicating approximately 10-25% of work activities toward client engagement, outreach and program participation efforts.

Maintain current knowledge of financial industry trends, including student loan policy changes, Fin Tech developments, and credit scoring models. Complete required…