Overview

Our live online workshops and classes are very popular and we’re seeing more and more people in attendance every day.  Our customers love coming to class and getting their questions answered by our team of experienced YNAB Teachers. We’re looking for another part-time teacher with a lot (A. LOT.) of schedule flexibility. You’ll teach classes on the YNAB method, help people untangle debt and credit cards, and explain how to use the software to really change people’s lives.

It’s a part-time (20-30 hours), remote position, and you might just be a perfect fit. You’ll know you are if you’re somewhat of a YNAB wizard already, and you’re known for being helpful, patient, and awesome–particularly when it comes to explaining complicated things in a way that anyone can understand.

We love our YNAB customers, and we want to make sure they learn what they need to know in order to be successful. You’ll look forward to every workshop or class, because it’s an opportunity to help another person gain control of their money and become a better budgeter.

That’s a super-brief intro, and there’s a lot more to it. But first, you need to know if you’ll even like working with us. (We think you will.)

A Bit About Us…

We build the best budgeting software around, YNAB or You Need a Budget if you have a lot of extra time on your hands. For more than a decade, people have been buying YNAB and then telling their friends what a difference it has made in their lives. (Google us, or read some of our reviews on the app store, and you’ll see what we mean.) We love building something that has a huge positive impact on people’s lives.

We’re profitable, bootstrapped, and growing. YNAB started in 2004 and we haven’t taken any outside funding—we’re in it for the long haul.

We have one overarching requirement when it comes to joining our team: our Cultural Manifestohas to really click with you. If you’re nodding emphatically while reading it, you’ll probably fit right in, in which case, we can’t wait to hear from you!

First, let’s talk about life at YNAB and then we’ll go into detail about what we’re looking for.

How You’ll Work at YNAB

We work really hard to make working at YNAB an amazing experience. We have a team full of truly exceptional people—the kind you’ll be excited to work with. Here’s how we operate:

Live Where You Want

We’re a distributed team, so you can live and work wherever you want. Proximity doesn’t influence productivity. As I write this, Taylor (our CTO) is in, London or Brazil, or maybe back in Austin? Not all of us travel so extensively, but the fact that he does is totally okay because we’re all adults. Just make sure you have a reliable internet connection.

Take Vacation (Seriously)

We want you to take vacation. It’s important to get out and do something. We’ll look forward to seeing pictures of your vacation in our internal chat room, creatively named #office_wall.

Education Team Meetups

We meet each other in person sometimes to work on big tasks or get started on large projects (we like each other, so this part is fun).

If You’re Stateside…

We have a Traditional and Roth 401k option. YNAB contributes three percent whether you choose to throw any money in there or not. Yes, even for part-timers. It vests immediately.

Other Tidbits

  • Once you start, we DEMAND (in a friendly, ALL CAPS IS YELLING way) that you fill out your “Bucket List” spreadsheet with 50 items. (That’s harder than it sounds!) Good things then follow.
  • The bucket list also really helps in deciding what we should give you for your birthday and Christmas. No gift cards here. We tried that. Super boring.
  • We have a bonus plan. You’ll be in on that from day one. YNAB wins, you win. That kind of thing.
  • Did I mention we make a huge, positive difference in people’s lives? You may not think that matters much, but then a few months down the road you’ll realize it’s made your job really, really enjoyable. Don’t underestimate this one!

If this sounds like your ideal environment, read on because now I want to talk about you. You will play a big part in helping people succeed at budgeting with YNAB. You will change lives. I’ll only say that six more times.

Now, back to you, our new Teacher…

You’re a teacher, right down to your toes. You can’t imagine anything more rewarding than helping people learn.  You also love YNAB, and the thought of combining those two passions has you super excited.  You’re also a fan of technology and the idea of teaching online and reaching people across the globe fascinates you.

You will be the face of YNAB. You don’t mind answering the same question multiple times in the same day, because it’s a different customer each time–another chance to make someone’s day. You manage to exceed expectations even when you deliver a different answer than the customer was hoping for.

You’re also technically quite savvy. You know your way around the Mac and Windows operating systems, you’re very comfortable with smartphones, and you’re always looking for new ways to make your job more efficient and effective. You even run YNAB on your mobile device. (You’ll need to display that in class.)

You play really nicely with others. You’re flexible. You adapt and adjust. You can give constructive feedback and embrace it to improve your own skills.  When we decide to try a new class, it’s your best week ever.

You love to learn. You love constructive feedback because it helps you improve.

You’re our person if:

You’ve got a really flexible schedule.  

This is the big one for us with this hire. We’ll start you out around 20 hours a week, but some weeks it could be as much as 30.  We need someone who is available weekends (in particular Sunday), weeknights, and weekdays. Don’t worry, once you’re teaching, you’ll have a set schedule, but we need some flexibility so we can run classes when our users need them.

You love teaching and helping people learn. 

You enjoy breaking down complicated problems so people who are struggling can understand them easily. You have experience explaining things to people and you love doing it!

Your delivery is dynamic, energetic and engaging.

You can hold the room with the sound of your voice.  You’re simultaneously passionate and calming.  You never met a question you couldn’t handle with ease.

You use YNAB and know it very well.

You’re a YNAB success story.  Since YNAB changed your life, you’re excited at the possibility of helping others reach their goals.

You can multi-task and don’t mind being put on the spot.

Since you’ll be teaching online, you’ll need to understand how to navigate and access information from different programs behind the scenes. Teaching a live online workshop requires running a web conference and teaching at the same time–all while being asked multiple questions about budgeting and YNAB. What we’re saying is, you’ll need to be quick on your feet and have fun doing it!

You can work from home (or anywhere it’s quiet), as long as you have a fast, broadband connection (DSL or better*), a second monitor and an iphone.  (You’ll need to display our iphone app in workshops!)

*1 Mbps or better (broadband recommended) is the minimum bandwidth for simultaneous screen sharing, video and audio conferencing. Faster is better.*

A Day in the Life…

You’re scheduled for specific days, and specific windows of time. We’ve worked with you and the other teachers to make sure the schedule is maintainable and fits with your life.

Let’s say you’re scheduled for three workshops on Tuesday night starting at 8pm.  You’ll get set up before class starts by pulling out the presentations you need and opening the budget templates you’ll use for demos in class. You’ll log into Gotowebinar a little before the start time so you can be ready for the attendees as they arrive.  Once the clock hits 8, you’re off and running, delivering an engaging presentation and answering questions as they come up.  You know YNAB inside and out, so you’re not stumped at all.

You’re the one we’re looking for if:

  • You can commit to a set schedule of 20 hours per week to start. At least five of those hours will be on Sunday. (We don’t run workshops on Sunday mornings, so this will be afternoon and evening.)
  • You value excellence and continuous improvement. At the same time.
  • You understand that every question you answer in class is an expression of the YNAB culture and brand.
  • Other people consider you a stellar communicator.
  • You love making people happy.
  • People thank you when you deliver difficult news. You’re that good.
  • You enjoy trying things you haven’t ever done before.
  • You aren’t afraid to ask questions.
  • You are wildly productive and independent, but a team-player at heart.

Hours

Hours will vary depending on how many classes we are running, but we are looking for someone who can work about 20 -30 hours a week. You need to be available on US weekdays,  weeknights and weekends.  We really need someone with schedule flexibility. Did we mention that already?

You can take a look at our current schedule to see when classes run, but we are hoping to expand those hours with this hire.

Pay

Pay will be determined based on experience. However, we like to hire awesome people and pay them well. 🙂 If you’re looking for a range, it will be somewhere between $22 and $26 per hour.

Sound like a great fit?

How to Apply

  • The deadline for applications is 11:59PM EST on Sunday, November 19th. As you see below, there’s some homework to do, so you won’t want to wait until the last day. It’s a real deadline.
  • Write a cover letter (attach pdf) introducing yourself and explain why this position interests you and why you would be a great fit. Cover letters are meant to sell, so sell us!
  • Attach a pdf resume. If you don’t have one prepared because you weren’t expecting to apply for a new job right now, then be sure to describe your work history in your cover letter.

Please complete the following questions, and include them with your cover letter.

  1. Why do you want to help teach people about YNAB?
  2. What’s the most important quality for a teacher to have? Why?
  3. Run a speedtest of your internet service here: http://speedtest.net and share the results with us.
  4. We’d like to see you teach, so please create a screencast video demonstrating on the screen how you would use YNAB to answer this question:

You’re teaching an Overspending Workshop with 19 people in attendance.  Joanne comes on the mic to talk to you about her question which is, “I overspent my transportation category and now it’s red.  How do I fix that?”

In a workshop, you’d be able to talk back and forth with Joanne, but for this demonstration, you won’t be able to. You have no drawing tools, web cam, or presentation materials, just the software. Please make us a video demonstrating how you would answer her question in the workshop.

Please use Jing for your video which can be downloaded for free. Please do not attach SWF files. Use the jing feature that allows you to send videos as links.

We look forward to hearing from you!

P.S.  If you’re not interested in or available for this position, but know someone who is, we would really appreciate it if you passed this along!