Workforce Specialist

Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY).

The team at RFCUNY is made up of dedicated, talented professionals committed to providing the services that allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries.

We are pleased that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join RFCUNY.

Primary Location:

Bargaining Unit:

Yes

The Division of Adult and Continuing Education at LaGuardia Community College invites applications for the position of Workforce Specialist, Financial Aid Liaison. Reporting to the Director of Workforce Pell Implementation Initiatives and working closely with the Director of Enrollment Management, the selected candidate will support the implementation of financial aid policies for workforce programs. This grant-funded position is contingent upon the availability of federal funding and satisfactory performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with the implementation of financial aid policies related to Workforce Programs.

• Review workforce programs for compliance with federal and state aid eligibility requirements.

• Assist in the process of verifying student eligibility and aid disbursement.

• Serve as liaison between Financial Aid and the ACE Division.

• Assist with compliance reporting and documentation.

Other Duties

• Provide frontline advising to prospective and enrolled workforce students on financial aid options, Workforce Pell eligibility, application steps, and key deadlines, and refer complex cases to the Director or Financial Aid Office as needed.

• Coordinate financial aid information sessions, orientations, and workshops for workforce programs (both in-person and virtual) in collaboration with ACE program staff and the Financial Aid Office.

• Maintain accurate student financial aid records for Workforce Programs in CUNY student information systems and tracking tools; assist with file audits, data clean‑up, and preparation for internal and external reviews.

• Monitor changes to federal, state, and institutional financial aid regulations (including emerging Workforce Pell guidance) and flag potential impacts on ACE Workforce Programs for the Director and Financial Aid leadership.

• Assist the development and documentation of standard operating procedures, workflows, and communication templates to ensure consistent, compliant financial aid processes across Workforce Programs.

• Assist with training ACE staff and frontline advisors on basic financial aid concepts, Workforce Pell parameters, and referral protocols to the Financial Aid Office.

• Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying process gaps or bottlenecks in workforce financial aid operations and recommending practical solutions to the Director.

• Other duties as assigned.
   

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in financial aid administration or higher education compliance.

• Knowledge of NYS and Federal Title IV financial aid regulations.

• Experience working with financial aid or student information systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience administering Federal Pell Grant programs.

• Experience working with workforce training or continuing education programs.

About LaGuardia Community College

Founded in 1971 in Long Island City, Queens, LaGuardia Community College is one of seven community colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). LaGuardia offers more than sixty associate degree programs and more than fifty workforce training, ESOL, GED, and pre-college programs. In 2023, LaGuardia served approximately 24,000 students. More than one-third of LaGuardia’s degree-seeking students are born outside the United States; they come from 136 countries and speak 43 heritage languages. Sixty percent are first-generation college students.

Virtually all LaGuardia students are ethnic minorities (89 percent), 58 percent are women, 27 percent are over the age of 25. Forty-six percent of associate degree students are Hispanic. Upon graduation most students transfer to four-year colleges, typically in CUNY, to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Graduates of career programs such as Nursing, Computer Technology, and Veterinary Technology enter the workforce. LaGuardia ranked fifth among U.S. community colleges in economic mobility – moving low-income students into the middle class and beyond – in studies by Stanford University (2017) and the Brookings Institution (2020).

Pay Range:

$70,000 - $85,000

RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals (link to https://www.rfcuny.org/RFWebsite)

About the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.