Status:  Regular Part Time

Hours:  Up to 24 hours/week

Home Campus:  Fennell

Rate of Pay: $20.56

Posting Date: April 18th, 2023

Closing Date:  Posted until filled.

We support and encourage the contributions of our diverse employees.  We are committed to nurturing an equitable, diverse and inclusive (EDI) environment for everyone who learns and works at Mohawk College. We believe the rich diversity among our students and the communities we serve should be reflected within our workforce.  As educators we believe it is important to act and show leadership in advancing the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in our community. 

Mohawk College is currently recruiting for our next

Financial Assistance Coach

As a primary point of contact for Mohawk students regarding financial assistance, the incumbent must be able to respond to, investigate and resolve a diverse number of inquiries from students, staff, faculty and other departments. The incumbent must also develop strong relationships and work collaboratively with staff in the Registrar's Office as well as with other areas of Student Services and College stakeholders.

The incumbent will deliver guidance with the highest quality support and customer service to students, staff and all associated client services. This is a key role in providing services to our clients thereby supporting student recruitment, enrolment, retention and success.  The successful candidate will be a student-focused individual that supports and instills continuous process improvements to ensure services meet the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

Student-Facing Coaching

Based on Mohawk College’s Advising Model, the scope of ‘coaching’ is defined primarily by ‘explanatory’ advising however ‘transaction and prescriptive’ advising is also defined within this model. More in-depth developmental work should be referred to the appropriate Advisors or Counsellors. Coaching also includes:

• Pre-scheduled coaching sessions – meeting with students who have booked time with the incumbent.
• Drop-in coaching sessions – allotting time each day/week to meet with students who arrive with questions who did not book a session ahead of time.
• Group coaching sessions – scheduling and promoting open sessions (or presentations) on a regular basis to groups of students on timely topics.
• Alternative coaching sessions (email, phone or online) – providing coaching to students (individual, group or drop-in) over the phone or using technologies such as conference calls, Outlook, Skype etc.
• Session notes and data capture –The incumbent keeps detailed interaction and session notes using the college’s student relationship management software (i.e. Clockwork, Banner, Contact Centre, Ministry systems) and ensures notes are in compliance with departmental and College guidelines and policies. Keeps consistent counts of advising and support activities and submits regular (i.e. monthly and annually) reports to management, as required.
• Responsible for ‘direct service’ inquiries concerning Financial Assistance programs, procedures and processes, and making appropriate and timely referrals to areas of the College as needed, in alignment with the Mohawk Advising Model and professional standards of the International Coaching Federation (with a focus on explanatory-type coaching).

Outreach and Integration in the Promotion of Financial Assistance Information, Services and Programs

• Prepares material, organizes and delivers presentations to stakeholders.
• Responds to requests within the college community to promote opportunities and student services programs by presenting to groups in the community.
• Under the direction of their supervisor, ensures the current procedures for students are accurate and reflected in practices within the Financial Assistance department and the Registrar’s Office.
• Drafts menus or checklists of activities/processes for students to complete to begin their studies successfully, and submits to his/her supervisor for revision and approval.
• As required, develops and maintains up-to-date student resource material (leveraging the online student portal when possible) for small-group sessions throughout the year.
• Collaborates with College partners to identify/resolve any issues related to students.
• When necessary, updates documentation on practices/processes, in clearly outlined and straightforward print and online material, to Registrar’s Department staff.
• Encourages clients to leverage online solutions whenever possible to ensure that in-person interactions are reserved for value-added services/transactions.

Provides Quality Customer Service to Students to Support Student Success by:

• Providing current financial options and facilitating the application process of various Institutional and Government-funded programs, including OSAP, while ensuring compliance with governmental and departmental guidelines.
• Processing OSAP consent forms in compliance with the federal and provincial regulations ensuring compliance during internal and external audits.
• Verifying OSAP applications for eligibility, accuracy, completeness and entitlement.
• Escalating cases in a timely manner when advisor review and analysis is required to fully support the student.
• Utilizing both online and in person resources to ensure students are completing the appropriate steps to navigate various applications and are supported as they start their academic career at Mohawk.
• Provides ongoing critiquing of the existing systems with the goal to reduce manual processing and enhance customer service.
• Support departmental workload redistribution during key times of the year and during employee absenteeism, ensuring that all areas of the office are covered in the most efficient way.

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have:

• Minimum 2 year Diploma in Business Administration, Business General, Office Administration or a diploma in a related field.
• A minimum of 3 years of practical experience, in a service-oriented environment within an educational setting; primarily related to supporting applicants, students and staff with some experience providing coaching/advising, including one-to-one and group/workshop formats within a post-secondary setting is required.
• Counselling Techniques Certificate, Career Consultant Certificate or certificate in related field
• Previous OSAP experience is an asset
• Event planning/project management – demonstrated experience coordinating workshops, events and managing projects

The successful candidate will also be able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and attitudes obtained through previous work experience:

• Approachable and relatable to all members of College community – ability to positively relate to applicants, students, faculty, staff, administration and the general public in a variety of situations (one-to-one and groups) is essential.
• Computer proficiency/experience – proficiency in and experience with business computer applications including MSOffice (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) plus internet researching skills is necessary. Ability to learn and adapt to new software applications is important.
• Knowledge of post-secondary education systems – knowledge of college programs, student policies, student services, student success initiatives, and corporate databases including Banner or similar student information management systems would be an asset.
• Strong organization and multi-tasking skills – ability to manage multiple student tasks, projects and issues at the same time. Knowledge or experience with project management would be an asset.
• Team oriented - demonstrated intrapersonal skills and an ability to work effectively in a team environment is essential.
• Language and communication proficiency – strong communication and writing skills. Additional certificates or designations in Teaching, Adult Education or Student Affairs would be an asset
• Demonstrated commitment and understanding of human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion with the ability to communicate and work effectively with diverse groups of students, employees and the community.