Peer Ambassador - University of Nevada, Reno Campus - Student Union Building
This Is Not a "Bank Teller" Job
If you're looking for a job where you stand behind a counter, scan IDs, and count cash - this isn't it. There are easier jobs on campus.
Rize Federal Credit Union is opening a different kind of branch on the UNR campus. It's designed to help students figure out money - first paychecks, credit cards, apartments, student loans, the stuff nobody actually teaches you. We're hiring a team of undergraduates to help build it and run it.
This is a real job with real responsibility. You'll be trained, paid well, and treated like a professional. You'll also be doing work that genuinely matters - helping your peers avoid the financial mistakes that follow people for years.
If that sounds interesting, keep reading.
Flexible Student-Friendly Schedule
We're hiring several Peer Ambassadors. This position is designed to work around your academic commitments. Peer Ambassadors will typically work 10-20 hours per week, with scheduling flexibility to accommodate class schedules, exams, academic priorities, and school breaks. We understand that being a student comes first and will work with you to create a schedule that supports both your success at UNR and your role with Rize Credit Union.
What You'll Actually Do
- Talk to people about money. Most of your time will be in conversations with other students. Helping them open their first checking account. Walking them through what a credit score actually is. Showing them how to read a paystub or set up direct deposit. You'll be trained on all of this - you don't need to know it yet.
- Run workshops and events. First Paycheck. First Credit Card. First Apartment. Money and Roommates. NIL Banking for Athletes. You'll co-host these in residence halls, with student orgs, at Greek chapters, at multicultural orgs, at career fairs. Some you'll lead solo once you're ready.
- Be on campus, not just in the branch. Sitting in the lobby waiting for students to walk in isn't the job. The job is being out where students already are - orientation, move-in week, athletics events, late-night finals, club fairs. You'll help us figure out where else we should be.
- Help your peers when things get hard. Sometimes a student will come in stressed about a $300 emergency, a predatory loan offer, a fight with their family about money, or a paycheck that didn't hit. You'll be trained on how to listen, what you can help with directly, and when to bring in a Rize advisor or a campus support resource. You won't be expected to have all the answers - you'll be expected to care and to know who does.
- Make the branch yours. We're building this from scratch. You'll have a real voice in what events we run, what content we create, how the space feels, and what products would actually help students. If you have ideas, we want them.
What You'll Get Out of It
Beyond the paycheck, here's what this role is actually worth:
- Real financial training you'll use for the rest of your life - credit, budgeting, taxes, investing basics, how lending actually works.
- Coaching from a Branch Manager whose entire job is to develop you. You will get more 1:1 attention here than in most jobs you'll ever have.
- Public speaking and presentation experience that employers actually care about - and that's hard to get as an undergrad.
- Professional references from people who can speak in detail about your work, not a generic letter.
- A career pathway: Peer Ambassador Senior Peer Ambassador paid summer internship at a Rize office (Southern California HQ, Las Vegas HQ, or Reno) potential full-time role after graduation. If finance interests you, this is one of the strongest pipelines available at UNR.
- Networking with Rize leadership, UNR faculty, and community partners that goes well beyond the role itself.
- A line on your resume that stands out, in plain English: "Helped build and run a financial wellness program for 18,000 UNR students."
Who We're Looking For
Any major. Any year. Any background. We are deliberately not looking for only finance and business majors. A nursing student, an engineering student, a first-gen student, a journalism student, an art student, a transfer student, a returning adult learner - all of you reach corners of campus a finance major never will. We want a team that looks like UNR, not a team that looks like a bank.
What matters more than your major
- You're genuinely curious about money and how the financial system works (you don't have to know it yet - just want to learn).
- You're comfortable talking to people you don't know, including in front of a group.
- You're reliable. You show up when you say you will. You answer messages.
- You can hold things in confidence. People's money situations are private, and we treat them that way.
- You can read a room. You can tell when someone's embarrassed, stressed, or pretending to understand something they don't.
- You want to be part of building something new, not slotting into something that already exists.
Basic requirements
- Currently enrolled at UNR as an undergraduate in good academic standing.
- Available for at least 10 hours per week, including some evening and weekend hours during peak periods (move-in, finals, major events).
- Able to pass a standard pre-employment background check (we're a financial institution - this is required by law).
- Willing to complete a 4-week paid training before your first independent shift.
- Commitment to at least two consecutive semesters (we invest a lot in training; we need that investment to pay off).
- Strong written and verbal communication in English. Bilingual skills (especially Spanish) are a real plus, not a requirement.
Things that will make your application stand out (but are not required)
- Leadership in a student org, club, team, fraternity/sorority, faith community, or volunteer organization - anything where you've been counted on.
- First-generation college student perspective - we want this team to reflect students who don't have a parent walking them through money for the first time.
- Experience working with K-12 students, peer tutoring, RA work, or any role where you've taught or coached anyone.
- Athletics involvement (varsity, club, intramural) - athletes face specific financial questions we need help addressing.
- Content creation experience (social, podcast, video, writing) - we'll want help making content that actually reaches students.
- A specific reason you want this job. "It sounded interesting" is fine. "My family's financial situation taught me X and I want to help others figure it out" will get our attention.
What This Job Will Demand of You
Honest version, so you know what you're signing up for:
- Energy. You'll be "on" with people for most of your shift. If you're someone who needs quiet, focused work to feel okay, this role will wear you down. If you get energy from people, you'll love it.
- Discretion. You'll know things about classmates that are not your story to tell - their bank balances, their family situations, their debt. Ever. We'll talk about this in training, and we take it seriously.
- Showing up during the busy weeks. Move-in, orientation, finals, and graduation are peak periods. We need you there, even when your classes are also intense. We'll work around exams; we can't work around "I didn't feel like it."
- Being teachable. Some of what you'll be told to do won't make sense to you on day one. Compliance rules, conversation frameworks, certain product limitations. You'll need to learn it before you change it.
- Representing Rize well. You'll be the face of the credit union on campus. The way you behave in the branch, on social media, and at events matters - not because we're uptight, but because trust is the whole point of this place.
Your first month
Four weeks of paid training before your first independent shift. You'll learn Rize's products, basic financial coaching, compliance and confidentiality, conversation frameworks, presentation skills, and how to handle the situations that come up most often. You'll shadow your Branch Manager and senior team members before going solo.
Your first semester
You'll have a clear set of skills to build, weekly 1:1 coaching with your Branch Manager, and specific milestones to hit. You'll co-lead workshops, run tabling events, and start having full member conversations on your own.
Where this can go
- Peer Ambassador (entry, $20/hr)
- Senior Peer Ambassador (after a year of strong performance, expanded responsibilities, $22/hr)
- Lead Peer Ambassador (part-time leadership role mentoring new Ambassadors, premium pay)
- Paid summer internship at a Rize office (Southern California HQ, Las Vegas HQ, or Reno)
- Full-time post-graduation roles at Rize across operations, lending, wealth management, marketing, and member experience
To be clear: not everyone takes this path, and we don't expect everyone to want a career in finance. What we promise is that the skills you build here - talking to people, teaching, handling pressure, working with money - will help you in whatever you end up doing.
How to Apply
Send us three things:
- Your resume. One page. If you don't have a one-page resume yet, just include what you've done - jobs, volunteer work, student orgs, anything you've been responsible for.
- A short note (200-400 words). Tell us why you want this job and what you'd bring to it. Be specific. "I care about money because..." or "I want to be the kind of person who..." is more useful to us than a cover letter template.
- Two references. They don't have to be professional - a professor, a coach, an RA, a volunteer coordinator, a previous employer. People who can vouch for the fact that you show up and follow through.
We'll interview top applicants in two rounds: a 30-minute conversation with the Branch Manager and/or Director of Branches, then a working session where you'll co-design a short workshop with the team. We're not trying to trick you in the interview - we just want to see how you think and how you treat people.
One More Thing
If you're reading this and thinking "I'm not sure I'm qualified" - apply anyway. Some of the best people for this job won't look the part on paper. We care more about who you are and how you treat people than about your GPA or what you've done before.
Rize Federal Credit Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We actively encourage applications from first-generation college students, students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, veterans, and any student who has been historically underrepresented in financial services. |
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