Financial Literacy Consultant - University of Alberta, Edmonton

Role overview

The Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing (OAW) within the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is seeking a dedicated, student-centered Financial Literacy Consultant to join our team. This position serves as the primary subject matter expert within the Faculty, tasked with providing specialized financial guidance to medical learners while fulfilling national accreditation requirements related to financial aid and debt management counseling.

In this role, you will deliver direct, personalized support through confidential one-on-one consultations, helping learners navigate the unique, high-stakes financial challenges of medical education, including student loans, professional lines of credit, and long-term budgeting. You will be responsible for designing and delivering engaging workshops, translating complex financial concepts into accessible educational programming, and building strong relationships with key campus partners to facilitate integrated support. This part-time position serves as a vital resource for student success, assisting medical students both on Main Campus and at the Northern Alberta Medical Program in Grande Prairie.

Key duties

The Financial Literacy Consultant undertakes a variety of responsibilities in support of student wellbeing and academic success:

• Individual Financial Counseling: Conduct confidential 1:1 consultations to address specific learner concerns including budgeting, debt management, government and provincial student loans, and professional lines of credit, providing impartial, educational guidance without endorsing specific commercial banking products or providing regulated investment advice.
• Personalized Strategy Development: Provide proactive, non-judgmental guidance to help learners develop tailored financial strategies and action plans aligned with their academic, professional, and personal objectives.
• Accreditation & Compliance: Collect, analyze, and report on data to ensure the MD Program continuously meets or exceeds national accreditation requirements for debt management counseling.
• Program Design & Delivery: Design and deliver engaging educational programming such as financial literacy workshops and seminars tailored to the specific financial realities, timelines, and stressors of medical learners.
• Resource Curation: Develop and maintain up-to-date financial literacy resources, such as online modules, tools, and educational materials, ensuring complex concepts are communicated clearly to a non-financial audience, while ensuring compliance with University policies.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Liaise and collaborate with key internal partners, including the Office of the Registrar and Student Financial Support, to align financial services, streamline referral pathways, and ensure seamless navigation across campus-wide financial resources.

What you'll bring

We are seeking a skilled professional who combines solid financial acumen and student-service excellence with the empathy, discretion, and tact needed to build trust and support student wellbeing in a demanding academic environment. Minimum qualifications include:

• Education & Experience: A post-secondary degree in a related field (e.g., Finance, Economics, Education, or Social Sciences) plus a minimum of three years of proven experience in a post-secondary student service environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Financial Guidance Experience: Demonstrated experience providing 1:1 debt management counseling, financial guidance, or personal financial planning.
• Student Service & Empathy: Proven commitment to student success; ability to listen actively, exercise sound ethical judgment, and provide supportive, empathetic guidance to individuals managing stress or complex personal/professional situations.
• Diversity & Inclusive Communication: Strong cross-cultural sensitivity and communication skills to interact knowledgeably, tactfully, and respectfully with a diverse student body across a broad range of backgrounds and financial literacy levels.
• Autonomy & Expertise: Ability to work with a high degree of independence as the Faculty's subject matter expert, leading the development and delivery of financial counseling and program initiatives.
• Confidentiality & Compliance: Strict adherence to confidentiality guidelines and records management protocols under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and Protection of Privacy Act (POPA).
• Accessible Communication: Demonstrated ability to explain complex financial concepts to audiences with varying financial knowledge, from novice to highly knowledgeable audiences.

Preferred qualifications that will be considered an asset include prior experience in a dedicated student service environment, understanding of medical learner context and professional lines of credit, in-depth knowledge of Canadian student financial aid programs, and technical proficiency with PeopleSoft Campus Solutions or learning management systems.

The team

The Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing operates within the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, which is one of the world's top academic health science centres. With 21 departments, multiple research institutes and centres, and a focus on excellence in education, research, and clinical care, the faculty trains outstanding medical and dental professionals and drives global health innovation in collaboration with partners across sectors.