Graduate Intern, Youth Financial Empowerment

Graduate Intern, Youth Financial Empowerment

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) protects and enhances the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities. DCWP licenses nearly 45,000 businesses in more than 40 industries and enforces key consumer protection and workplace laws that apply to countless more. By supporting businesses through equitable enforcement and access to resources, DCWP protects the marketplace from predatory practices and strives to create a culture of compliance. DCWP empowers consumers and working families by providing the tools and resources they need to achieve financial health and work-life balance. DCWP also conducts research and advocates for public policy that furthers its work to support New York City's communities. Within DCWP, the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) focuses on initiatives that support New Yorkers and communities with low incomes in building wealth and improving their financial health. OFE is the first local government initiative in the country with the mission to educate, empower, and protect New Yorkers and neighborhoods with low incomes so they can build assets and make the most of their financial resources. OFE uses data and research, policy, partnerships, and convenings to advance its mission. Using this model, OFE is able to develop, offer, and advocate for innovative programs and products for all New Yorkers. To further its mission, OFE launched in January 2026, the Financial Literacy for Youth Initiative with the mission to connect NYC Public School students and their families to financial and consumer education programming to help them learn how to spend and save money so that they have a head start on being financially empowered adults. The City has committed funding to this initiative which will be overseen by DCWP, in collaboration with NYC Public Schools, to offer every student access to quality financial and consumer education by 2030. OFE designed the Financial Literacy for Youth Initiative with the goal to cultivate financially savvy youth by collaborating with educators, banking experts, and community partners to provide hands-on financial empowerment and consumer protection programming and services to youth and their families, while providing real-life professional development opportunities in school. This initiative launched in January 2026 with Financial Educators in 15 districts to lead the charge and deliver core programming, including 2Gen financial and consumer education workshops for both students and their families; on-site financial counseling; build school districts and schools capacity to integrate financial literacy inside and outside classrooms, and promotion of the Financial Education Resource Hub. OFE is seeking a Graduate Intern to join the Financial Counseling and Coaching team, with the primary responsibility of supporting the implementation of this new youth financial empowerment initiative. The Graduate Intern is, ideally, a graduate student studying instructional design and learning technology, and will work closely with the Senior Program Officer and Program Officer responsible for leading the implementation of the initiative, supporting the creation of the 2Gen financial education workshops for students and parents/caregivers and their alignment with NYS Education's 2026 change to require personal finance education in all grade levels. The Graduate Intern will collaborate with other stakeholders, such as the DCWP External Affairs & Communications Division, NYC Public Schools, and OFE's contracted providers, through the implementation of a youth initiative with the mission to cultivate financially savvy youth by providing hands-on financial empowerment and consumer protection services and real-life professional development opportunities in school. The Graduate Intern is an organized project manager with a strong commitment to supporting New Yorkers and communities with low incomes in building wealth and improving their financial health and a passion for financial education. The Graduate Intern will report to the Senior Program Officer for Financial Counseling and Coaching Programs. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting the Senior Program Officer with research on youth financial education and/or youth financial empowerment programs to inform the design and implementation of financial empowerment services focusing on youth and their families including developing metrics, assessment tools, touchpoints for service integration, and operational strategy;
• Supporting the Senior Program Officer in liaising with the DCWP External Affairs & Communications Division, NYC Public Schools, and MWBE vendors to coordinate and monitor the design and develop age-appropriate, engaging workshop curriculum materials on financial literacy topics (e.g., budgeting, savings, banking, credit, paying for college education, and consumer protection) and ensure that workshop content is culturally-relevant, inclusive, and accessible to diverse student populations.

Liaising and coordinating with the DCWP External Affairs and Communications Division and Division of Technology and Strategic Solutions, as well as MWBE vendors, to recommend instructional design models to guide the creation of digital and in-person learning experiences.

Under the supervision of the Senior Program Officer, and in coordination with the Policy and Research team, developing formative and summative assessment tools (e.g., pre/post surveys, quizzes, reflective prompts) to measure knowledge gains and shifts in attitudes or behaviors.

Working with OFE's Policy and Research team to understand and document the success of programs and assist with data analysis to inform iterative improvements to content and delivery methods and provide timely updates to OFE and DCWP leadership; Maintaining clear documentation of curriculum frameworks, learning objectives, digital tools used, and impact metrics. Providing general administrative assistance, including drafting, proofreading, and/or editing a range of materials, including but not limited to reports, program documents, and presentations. Support and contribute to broader team projects as needed as a Financial Counseling and Coaching team member.