Student Finance Specialist

Denver, CO

Guild is one of Denver’s fastest growing startups - increasing economic mobility for working adults in America and providing education and support to help every student survive and thrive in the economy of tomorrow. Our education benefits platform helps employers offer education as a benefit to their employees, and our network of nonprofit universities and education institutions helps provide every Guild student with the right academic pathway to advance their education and career. In order to achieve our mission to serve 1000s more students and accelerate our growth, we recently raised a $21M Series B round with top tier investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Social Capital, Harrison Metal, and Cowboy Ventures. Now, we’re looking to add a Student Finance Specialist to the team.

As the Student Finance Specialist, you’ll support our students in understanding the different ways they can pay for school. You will answer questions about the employer’s tuition benefits and process individuals tuition reimbursement. You’ll be a critical member of the team, as we develop this growing department. You will be a key player in helping us think of more creative solution to support students paying for school.

assist students as they submit the required documentation to complete their Federal Financial Aid application and seek additional financial support to start or return to school. You will be a Guild ambassador and trusted partner who believes in the power of education for students making transformational life decisions to use their education benefits and advance their professional opportunities.

A day in our open, collaborative workspace might look like:

• Processing student’s tuition reimbursement on behalf of their employer

• Analyzing tuition bills and statements to help students understand how to fund school.
• Collaborate with our product team to help make our SaaS tool better
• Taking on passion/special projects in the realm of student finance that help us develop the department

In this role, you’ll grow and expand your expertise by:

• You will become an expert in the education benefits that employers provide to their workforce
• You will learn and develop creative ways to help students understand what they are eligible for and how their benefits work
• You will help our whole department grow from ‘good to great’ by making recommendations for how to improve.

• Engage with interested prospective students during the enrollment process to help them understand Federal financial aid programs, scholarship and other grant opportunities
• Advise students regarding financial aid letters and the Federal verification processes
• Own the outcomes of these conversations as key to the students’ paths forward as well as a critical component to Guild’s long term success
• Accurately manage student billing and account information in Salesforce and other digital technology tools
• Motivate every single possible student to move quickly to complete the required steps
• Expertly navigate our internal contact strategy to communicate with students whether by phone, email or text or other communication channels
• Develop and improve your consultative conversation approaches through feedback and call coaching, training programs, and collaboration with team members
• Work with various other Guild teams every day, ensuring they have up to date information on all students and that transition processes across teams are smooth
• Support innovation, process improvement and positive change in the student experience and student billing processes
• Develop relationships with scholarship providers and resources to collect and maintain accurate database information for available scholarship programs across the United States

You’ll know if you’re successful by:

• The accuracy and speed of processing tuition reimbursement requests
• Students are educated and aware of what is needed from them to pay for school
• You are a team-player and our team is mutually supportive
• You bring ideas, prototype and think of ways that our department can grow and be better.
• Achieving established OKRs and expectations while demonstrating your passion for our mission - you'll receive ongoing feedback through your 1:1 meetings and go through bi-annual Structured Growth Conversations
• Bringing enthusiasm, flexibility, and patience to the role to a fast-paced, fun, and collaborative environment

You’ll join a team:

• Focused on our double-bottom-line mission of changing higher ed for working adults and building a successful startup in Denver
• From diverse backgrounds – from traditional higher education, to athletic coaches, to politicians, to startup leaders (and more!)
• Of learners & problem-solvers dedicated to our dual mission of changing education in America while building a successful, high-growth company
• Committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that you’d support every day
• We are all different and all bring a unique skill set and unique journey - we can’t wait to hear yours

What you’ll add to Guild – as an individual and part of the broader team:

• Passion helping people understand the best ways to pay for education.
• Enthusiasm for our products and desire to become an expert in our corporate partners benefits
• Ability to successfully manage multiple complex, priorities at the same time
• Experience using analytical approaches to managing and prioritizing your workload
• Ability to develop strong relationships and communicate effectively while under pressure - balancing confidence, humility, and diplomacy internally and externally
• Evidence of your intellectual curiosity in the space - do you blog, tweet, speak or read everything that’s out there - tell us more!
• Ability to adapt and adjust as our fast-paced business often changes dramatically from one day to the next
• Comfort working in an ambiguous environment where not every process is finalized and where goals and performance are measured and evaluated in a variety of ways
• A drive to work hard and a plan for how you can refresh and recharge while working in a startup
• Something else? Wonderful, we’re curious to learn more about you!

Guild Education believes that a diverse and inclusive team will contribute toward our ability to achieve our mission and will dedicate intentional effort to building a team that reflects that belief.