Project Coordinator for Sustainable Financing

Economic Opportunity Studies (EOS) is a nonprofit national organization that will be responsible for managing projects funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) that support the activities of the local agencies that deliver the services of the federal Weatherization Assistance Program (W.A.P.).

The 2 and 1/2 year Project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will offer technical assistance and create useful tools and resources to meet several goals including:

1. Identification, analysis, and dissemination of successful local and state strategies for managing rapid expansion of the energy services delivery system and
2. Supporting local, state, and national identification and development of new partnerships to "leverage" or attract non-federal resources for investment in Weatherizing low- and moderate-income homes.

EOS has managed DOE-funded technical assistance in support of local Weatherization agency ‘leveraging' for more than a decade. Our website at weatherizationplus.org is a rich collection of data and tools to assist local weatherizers and their associations with developing partnerships and managing programs that combine multiple other resources with federal weatherization services. The primary source of the nearly $400 million in such resources yearly has been utility efficiency investments.

This new project extends the scope of the opportunities that the EOS team will be analyzing and, where possible, encouraging when appropriate to the goals and operations of the future Weatherization program. It will examine the many financing sources for residential efficiency investments and for community-wide sustainable investments for their applicability to low-income energy consumers and the communities in which they live.

Position Overview: 

EOS seeks the services of an individual to help catalog, evaluate and develop models of financing partnerships for the future low-income Weatherization Assistance Program. The right candidate will be familiar with financing for low-and moderate income housing and will understand of subsidies and incentives for residential energy efficiency investments.

The position is responsible for gathering, organizing and delivering technical assistance and information to local Weatherization agencies seeking to develop private and other local partnerships to fund expanded low-income weatherization assistance programs. The materials developed will join other resources intended for practitioners that are collected at weatherizationplus.org.

Responsibilities:

The Project Coordinator for Sustainable Financing is responsible for achieving the Project goals described in #2 above. He/she will

• Track innovations in and ideas for financing mechanisms for the energy efficient renovation and construction of low- and moderate-income housing, as well as trends in all residential energy efficiency investments;
• Track financing opportunities for clean energy and energy efficiency in public policy, including federal state and local regulation, and in private markets;
• analyze the relevant options and create reports, presentations, and tools that are useful to local W.A.P. agency networks;
• Track the results of leveraged partnerships between Weatherization agencies and other funders;
• Present materials and information to local W.A.P. agencies and their associations in formats that assist them to make decisions;
• Engage in direct outreach to potential partners for the federal W.A.P.;
• Develop support for demonstrations of new funding partnerships; and
• Provide expert direct assistance to Weatherization organizations engaged in such "leveraging" partnerships.

Job structure:

The position is designed to be a full-time job in the EOS Washington office for the life of the 2.5 year project. However, if the best applicant is interested in slightly less than full time and/or in a flexible schedule, an application indicating a reasonable plan to get the work done will be considered seriously.

Qualifications: 

The most important qualification is experience in one or more organizations that provide financing and related technical assistance for development and/or rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing. The Project Coordinator must understand the structure of financing alternatives and their benefits to each investor as well as the cost profile of affordable housing and the constraints on those who qualify to live there.

The next most important skill required for the job is understanding of the conventional and emerging sources of investment in residential energy retrofits, from utility public benefit funds to direct consumer subsidies. Applicants should be able to demonstrate the ability to acquire expertise on this subject if they do not yet have it. Many of the financial leveraging models profiled on the EOS project website.

• A Masters degree or post-graduate coursework in a field related to housing or finance is desirable, but experience will be considered as a substitute.
• The candidate must demonstrate the basic skills in financial analysis that will allow her/him to review structured partnerships and help Weatherization organizations quantify a proposal's costs and benefits to all parties.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly in writing;
• Demonstrated ability to present information in professional settings;
• Experience in analyzing quantitative program data and budgets; and
• Familiarity with MS Office products, including PowerPoint.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Familiarity with home improvement, especially energy-efficiency improvements;
• Experience with energy policy and energy economic analysis and evaluations; and
• Experience in organizational development of nonprofit organizations.

Personal Qualities:

• Ability to work cooperatively on a small team that has big assignments;
• Ability to engage others in connecting ideas across conventional categories of activity and specialization;
• Curiosity about public policy and its measured results;
• Commitment to improving low-income communities and the lives of those who live there;
• A detail-oriented approach to all assignments;
• A record of independent self-management while multi-tasking; and
• Humor, persistence and patience.

Compensation: EOS offers health insurance, a 403(b) retirement contribution, transit incentive benefits, and a typical leave schedule.

Last day to apply: November 9, 2010

To Apply:

• A detailed résumé describing the responsibilities of any positions held in the last 10 years and/or the content of academic and related coursework;
• A letter of any reasonable length describing 1) the reasons the candidate is interested in the Project and the position and 2) how the candidate meets each of the qualifications listed, if he/she does, or if not, why his/her experience or skills should be considered a good substitute;
• Samples of writing, presentations, or other material indicating the required qualities; and
• An indication of the dates a candidate could begin work and instructions on the best way to make contact for interviews.

Please send these materials by email.