Job Title: Benefits Hub Director
PVN ID: PH-2506-006902
Category: Managerial and Professional
Location: CUNY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HEALTH POLICY

Job Description

General Description

The CUNY Benefits Hub will assist CUNY campuses and CUNY students, initially those on its three Bronx campuses, to learn about, apply for, and enroll in public benefits for which they are eligible. The Benefits Hub is part of CUNY CARES (Comprehensive Access to Resources and Essential Services), a CUNY initiative to assist students to meet their needs for food security, housing stability, and access to health care and mental health services to support their academic and life success.

CUNY is creating this position at a critical time. Given the current federal policy landscape and heightened threats to student support systems, CUNY students face unprecedented challenges in gaining and keeping essential benefits such as SNAP and WIC. Campus leaders, staff and students have identified the need for stronger, more effective practices and infrastructure to support benefits enrollment. The Hub and its director represents our commitment to building specialized capacity to navigate this complex and rapidly changing environment, ensuring our students receive the support they need during these challenging times.

We seek a candidate who has both experience working with city agencies on benefits programs and strong data skills and experience designing or managing data systems for benefits enrollment. Applicants should also have at least 2 years administrative or managerial experience in a public benefits agency and/or in non-profits that enroll people in benefits or conduct research and/or advocacy on benefits policy. They should be familiar with New York City benefits policy and enrollment practices, with interest and experience in SNAP and/or Medicaid highly desirable. A master’s or advanced degree in a relevant field is also expected as is detailed knowledge of benefits screening, enrollment, and advocacy policies and procedures.

We seek qualified individuals for this position to work 60-100% with an FTE salary of $120,000 and a full package of CUNY Research Foundation benefits. Funding has been secured for one year (FY 2026) as we seek additional support for the following years.

To apply, submit a curriculum vitae, letter of interest and a writing sample or other work product through the RF portal, attention to: Cristina Onea (Cristina.Onea@sph.cuny.edu) and Nicholas Freudenberg (nick.freudenberg@sph.cuny.edu) by July 15, 2025, or until the position is fille.

Read more about CUNY CARES here: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/transformation/cuny-cares/

Other Duties

  • With guidance from relevant experts, design and implement a system to screen, enroll, troubleshoot and assist CUNY students to enroll in public benefits with a focus on SNAP and Medicaid and test this system on the CUNY Bronx campuses
  • Serve as liaison on this project to CUNY Bronx campuses, city agencies, and CUNY central office staff and elicit their advice and support for the Benefits Hub
  • Convene and facilitate a CUNY benefits screening group advisory committee of relevant CUNY and city and state agency representatives
  • Assist CUNY CARES, CUNY and city agencies to create data systems for notifying, screening, enrolling and troubleshooting CUNY students for benefits eligibility
  • By July 2026, prepare a report summarizing options for creating benefits screening systems for other CUNY campuses
  • Assist CUNY CARES leadership team to strengthen roles of navigators, advocates, CUNY CARES staff and campus resource centers to screen, enroll and trouble shoot for students seeking benefits
  • Assist CUNY CARES evaluator to document and evaluate implementation and short term impact of Benefits Hub
  • Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

We seek candidates with a mix of skills and experience in several of these areas including both policy and systems development in public agencies and development and oversight of multi-agency data systems.

Desired Organizational and Policy Skills and Experience

  • Deep understanding of NYC benefits policy landscape, particularly SNAP, Medicaid, and related public benefit programs
  • Experience negotiating agreements for multi-agency systems to screen and, enroll eligible individuals in public benefits
  • Experience identifying and resolving differences in screening and enrollment practices across benefits and agencies and navigating complex regulatory environments and advocate effectively for program participants
  • Experience in identifying and capitalizing on windows of opportunity for increasing enrollment of eligible individuals in public benefits

Desired Data Skills and Experience

Candidates should have experience using or supervising users of the following:

  • SQL, Python, or R for data analysis, reporting, and managing student benefits data
  • Data modeling and integrating web applications with existing database systems
  • JSON data handling and parsing system responses
  • Connecting multiple systems including CUNY databases, city agency platforms, and benefits enrollment systems while maintaining data security and privacy compliance
  • Web technologies and APIs for building user-facing benefits enrollment interfaces
  • Building robust systems that handle technical issues and provide clear feedback to users navigating benefits enrollment processes

RFCUNY Benefits

RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

About the Research Foundation

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Key Features

Department
CUNY CARES
Status
Full Time
Annual Salary Range
$100,000.00 - $120,000.00
Closing Date
Aug 26, 2025 (Or Until Filled)
Bargaining Unit
No

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