Director, Sustainable Solutions Group

PlaceMatters is a non-profit organization that works with our partners to create and maintain sustainable and vibrant communities by improving decision-making processes. We work across the United States to bring more people to decision processes, and ensure that their decisions are based upon robust local information and models. PlaceMatters is a relaxed, team-oriented work environment.  Our office is in the Alliance Center, Denver's hub for non-profit organizations and a LEED Gold building, located in Lower Downtown. 

Do you believe that better decision-making leads to a more sustainable future? We are looking for a dynamic, energetic, go-getter who cares about improving our communities to head up PlaceMatters' Sustainable Solutions group. We need someone who can juggle multiple projects at once and meet deadlines while not sacrificing quality, someone with a sense of responsibility and a sense of humor, someone good with people and with numbers, and someone who believes that better decision-making processes are important to improving sustainability in our communities.

For the past 10 years, PlaceMatters has been recognized nationally as the "go-to" organization for innovative and effective support of community decision-making around planning and sustainability. PlaceMatters' Sustainable Solutions Group works on the ground in communities across the United States to improve decision-making. Our work means that communities are basing future decisions regarding land use, transportation, services, and policies on robust scientific, economic, and social data, as well as broad community input.

From Albany, New York to the Big Island of Hawaii, PlaceMatters services have focused on training and capacity building over the course of a decision-making process by providing consultation and support around data collection and analysis, public process design and implementation, choosing and applying appropriate tools and methods (low- and high-tech), and synthesizing and communicating complex information.

Position Overview:

We are seeking a Director for our Sustainable Solutions Group to manage our portfolio of "on-the-ground" projects and help us learn from that experience. The Director works with the President and CEO, Associate Director, and staff to determine the appropriate mix of projects for the organization, designs our involvement in these projects with partners and clients, implements our project work (with the support of other staff), and evaluates our effectiveness, helping to improve the state of the art.

This position is ideal for someone with project management skills, who is good at developing relationships with our partners and clients, who thinks both creatively and practically, and loves to learn about communities across the US, and can tailor our approach to the context of each project.

Qualifications:

Requirements:

• 2-5 years project management experience
• Master's Degree (or Bachelor's with extensive experience) in sustainability, planning, environmental management, or related field
• Understanding of sustainability principles
• Comfort with basic technical tools (including standard Office software, Google Apps like email, documents) and ability to learn new technical skills quickly (i.e., general tech-savvy-ness)
• Experience designing and implementing public engagement/participation processes
• Passion for improving community sustainability through improving public access to and understanding of civic decision-making processes
• Ability to learn quickly, and think on your feet
• Demonstrated public speaking skills
• Project evaluation experience
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Willingness to travel to work with clients and partners

Great to have: 

• Basic graphic design skills (software and theory)

We'd be thrilled, but not required:

• Experience in economic development and/or public sector planning

Compensation: Salary depends on experience and other considerations.

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume, due October 31, 2012. Please name cover letters YourLastName_Cover (.pdf or .doc) and resumes YourLast Name_Resume (.pdf or .doc.).