Senior Sustainability Specialist

Join the County of San Mateo - join a progressive county. 

Contribute to innovative programs and services, and make a real difference in the community. Knowing that employees are our greatest asset, the County of San Mateo conducts an annual employee engagement survey. In 2014, 78% of employees ranked their experience working for the County as "very good/good" and 85% stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work. 

• Are you passionate about sustainability and environmental issues, leading a team of enthusiastic professionals, and especially being part of the changing ways in which local governments can develop and implement programs to address these issues and serve the San Mateo County community?
• Do you have a knack for identifying and working with the right people in organizations to effect change?

Position Overview

The County of San Mateo's Office of Sustainability is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Senior Sustainability Specialist. We want "sustainability champions" to lead initiatives and support department staff in empowering our departments, employees and our community members to take meaningful actions on sustainability.

The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability (OOS) has four working groups: Waste Reduction, Energy and Water, Livable Communities, and Climate Change. Each working group will have a Senior Sustainability Specialist to support all the staff, programs and projects of each of these work groups. To learn more about each of the OOS workgroups, please click here.

Note: At this time, we will be hiring for one permanent Senior Sustainability Specialist position for the Office of Sustainability Energy and Water working group. This recruitment may also be used to fill future vacancies, so those interested in the Senior Sustainability Specialist position in one or any of the other working group(s) are encouraged to apply in this recruitment.

Responsibilities

As a Senior Sustainability Specialist, you will:

• Provide staff direction, training, assignment and review of work completed, lead complex projects and leverage grant opportunities
• Serve as technical expert, researching, analyzing and interpreting complex technical data
• Participate in goal and strategy development, and develop procedures and policies for new and existing programs
• Identify and implement equity and social justice opportunities at work and in the community
• Identify and coordinate collaboration opportunities across program areas
• Provide input on staff selection and evaluation of opportunities to enhance engagement
• Assist the Program Manager with program planning, budget development and goal setting

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have the skills necessary to:

• Provide leadership and promote teamwork while planning, directing and coordinating staff activities
• Define difficult problem areas, research them and provide valid alternatives and recommendations
• Integrate equity, race and social justice in both internal and external initiatives
• Represent the work group and the department on boards, committees and in community groups
• Speak effectively, make public presentations and conduct outreach, training and/or public education as necessary
• Be comfortable in a fast-paced, people-focused environment
• Prepare and edit comprehensive reports, letters and other written materials
• Effectively frame and communicate complex concepts for different audiences, orally and in writing
• Track changes in and compliance with existing contracts, grants, laws, codes and rules

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess: 

• A broad knowledge of trends and technical information on municipal Energy- and Water-related programs, especially in the fields of stormwater management, but also groundwater management, water conservation, residential and commercial energy efficiency, zero net energy and zero net carbon buildings, distributed energy resources, fuel switching initiatives, smart grid and transition to Electric Vehicles
• Knowledge of LEED, energy auditing, energy modeling, water efficiency, energy efficiency retrofits and/or zero net energy
• Ability to track and monitor developments in pertinent state mandates, laws, codes, rules and regulations related to energy and water
• Experience preparing written materials such as narratives or Board reports, technical charts, strategic plans and publications
• Experience developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating comprehensive outreach, website, surveys, consultant contracts, public education, training and media activities
• Skill in developing rapport, training staff and enhancing engagement of the energy and water team
• Skill in integrating race, equity and social justice into energy and water programs
• Knowledge of principles and practices of program planning, implementation and evaluation
• Knowledge of pertinent federal, state and local laws, codes and regulations related to any of the program areas listed above or below

In the future, each Specialist position will seek candidates with these specific knowledge areas:

• For the Solid Waste Senior Resource Conservation Specialist, knowledge of principles of waste source reduction and reuse, recycling, composting and solid waste management
• For the Climate Action and Adaptation Senior Resource Conservation Specialist, knowledge of principles of climate adaptation, including sea level rise, fire, heat island and other risks, and climate action planning, including emission inventories, forecasting and emission targets, measure development and stakeholder engagement for adaptation risk and climate planning initiatives.
• For the Livable Communities Senior Resource Conservation Specialist, knowledge of active and alternative transportation, affordable housing, commute alternatives, and community engagement.

Note: A typical way to qualify is three years of program coordination experience in the field of sustainability and/or resource conservation.

Compensation: This position with the County of San Mateo pays a range of $7,524-$9,407/Month. A competitive benefits package is associated with this position. For complete information regarding benefits please click here.

To Apply

• To learn more about the position and to apply online, visit our website. 
• Applications are only accepted online.
• Final Filing Date: January 22, 2019.

EOE