Green Work Force Fellow

The mission of The DC Project is to advance economic and environmental justice by creating clean energy careers for people
who need them most.  Founded in January, 2009, by former leaders of the Obama for America campaign, The DC Project applies cutting-edge organizing tools and tactics to mobilize community interest in weatherization, creating economic savings, environmental benefits, and new green jobs. The DC Project is a “think + action tank,” implementing theories in real time to create tangible benefits for the Washington, DC community, with the goal to replicate these solutions on a national scale.

Grassroots / Local Initiative:

The DC Project's community-based demand creation methodology is increasingly recognized as one of the nation’s most promising models for igniting the home energy efficiency jobs market. The crafters of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2009 national “Retrofit Ramp-up” program were influenced by The DC Project’s methodology in designing its national program, and a number of national environmental, labor, and service groups already have expressed interest in adopting this model.

Position Overview:

The purpose of the fellowship is to develop leaders in the economic and environmental justice movement and to bring new perspective to The DC Project from outstanding thinkers with a broad range of skills.

The convergence within The DC Project of workforce development, policy work, the development of the nascent residential
energy efficiency industry, and innovation in data- and new media- driven community organizing puts the organization in a
unique position to serve as an intermediary that can organize stakeholders around the vision of equitable green job creation.

The Fellowship program operates during the summer and academic fall and spring semesters. The DC Project is committed
to offering Fellows leadership and professional development; in addition to receiving feedback from staff on their work,
Fellows will participate in brown bag lunch conversations with leading thinkers in the field (past speakers include Van Jones
and Robert Egger), and will be exposed to events with high-impact networking opportunities. 

Responsibilities:

To complement their specific department projects, Fellows will be exposed to all of these diverse components of The DC Project. On any given day, a newly graduated weatherization trainee will be going to his first job with one of The DC Project’s partner contractors, while the policy team will be meeting with municipal government epresentatives to discuss wage standards for laborers in the green job sector.  At the same time, under the coordination of the Field team, 50 volunteers
will be canvassing homeowners, recruiting them to community energy meetings to learn about weatherizing their homes while the media team will be out to film it all for a new YouTube video that tells the story of green job creation.

Back at home base, the innovation team will be looking at different business models to streamline the weatherization process while
the operations team is piloting new modes of intra-organization communication. The Fellows, working under the direction of their respective department, will execute effective programs and continually improve the functions of the organization, adding yet another important component to this multi-faceted organization.

Green Work Force Fellows will play an integral role at the forefront of The DC Project team, uncovering needs and opportunities on the local and national level with the aim of meeting those needs with a fully functioning green workforce.  Fellows will interface regularly with partner training programs and contractors, will research best practices of training programs, and monitor local policy affecting weatherization laborers.  

Overall Expectations of Fellow:

• To draw on experience in economics, labor, law, workforce development, social work, and/or community in order to assess, summarize, and explain emerging local policies
• To identify and communicate the most important elements of meetings with partner organizations or graduates of training programs
• To research and draft position papers best practice in training programs
• To interface with the policy team to help in matching program trainees with contractors
• To exercise extremely strong verbal and written communication skills in working with Green Workforce and community members
• To effectively advocate for members of the Green Workforce
• To work independently, take initiative, and work within a team

Qualifications:

Graduate students in public policy, community development, workforce development, and social work are strongly encouraged to apply. Individuals who hold a BA or BS in similar areas along with graduate degree candidates in other programs may also be qualified.  Exceptional undergraduates with relative academic focus will be considered.  

Compensation:  Fellows are expected to work 5 days per week between the hours of 9:30am – 5:00pm.  Start and end dates are somewhat flexible with a preference for a June 1 or June 15 start date and a commitment of 2.5 months, e.g., June 1 – Aug 15 or June 15 – August 30.  Please include your availability in your cover letter.

Fellowships with The DC Project are unpaid. If you are not from the Washington, D.C. area, please explore housing options with relatives or friends as soon as possible. If you are unable to find and fund housing, precluding you from participating in the Fellowship Program, please inform The DC Project via email.

To Apply:

Applicants should send submit the following via email: 

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Writing sample
• 2 or 3 references

Use your application materials to explain your interest in WeatherizeDC and its mission; please highlight any exposure you
have to the Washington, D.C. community and the dates of your availability over the summer.  Your cover letter should explain the skills, experience, and interest that qualify you to fulfill the expectations outlined above.

If you are applying for more than one fellowship with the DC Project, please be sure to indicate which position you are most interested in, which you are next most interested in, and so on.