Climate Corps Fellow

~ If you are passionate about addressing climate change, committed to making a difference at the community level, and want an exceptional opportunity to develop real-world skills to build a career in the environmental sustainability field, SEI's Climate Corps Fellowship Program may be for you. ~

Rising Sun is searching for an individual to support its clean economy initiatives. There are multiple exciting projects that fall under Rising Sun's Clean Economy Initiatives that each exist to promote access to training and support to open up new pathways for entry into careers related to building a cleaner, greener, more sustainable built environment for individuals from disadvantaged communities.

Fellowship Overview

The SOMAH Climate Corps Fellow in this role will have the opportunity to support each of these and be part of crafting a program that truly has positive impact on the environment and supports individuals to find careers with a good wages and benefits. The primary role of the fellow will be supporting Rising Sun's work with the California Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program.

The California Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program is a statewide program that provides incentives for owners of multi-family, affordable housing to install solar photovoltaic systems on their properties. The installation is done by contractors that work with property owners to bid projects through an open market process. The SOMAH program has job training and workforce development goals baked into its design, and each SOMAH project is required to hire at least one worker that is currently enrolled in, or has recently completed a SOMAH eligible job training program. Rising Sun is primarily engaged in this portion of the program.

Rising Sun supports the SOMAH Program Administration (SOMAH PA) Team (A collaborative of four other organizations) as a subcontractor in four main ways:

1. Support the execution of the local/targeted hiring plan;
2. Conduct outreach to job training organizations (JTOs) to ensure participation of disadvantaged workers and engagement of JTOs representing regions across California;
3. Manage and facilitate the SOMAH regional JTO Task Force; and
4. Creating content and resources to facilitate SOMAH job training goals.

Responsibilities

As a key member of Rising Sun’s SOMAH team, and in support of these four goal, the SOMAH Climate Corps Fellow will have responsibilities including, but not limited to, the following:

Local/targeted hiring plan support:

• As needed, promote SOMAH job training position vacancies across California.
• Facilitate connections between SOMAH eligible job seekers and hiring managers throughout California.
• Provide remote support to job seekers in understanding the SOMAH program and the application process and overcoming challenges in navigating it. This may include initial outreach to individuals when they first sign up for the SOMAH job portal to orient them to the process.
• Build and maintain relationships with job training organizations and community-based organizations (CBOs) to support connections to job seekers, particularly tenants of affordable housing properties participating in SOMAH.
• Collaborate with SOMAH contracted CBOs to support the development of resources and best practices for overcoming employment barriers to support job seekers in accessing SOMAH job training opportunities. This may include developing a localized resource guide for job seekers to help identify resources for overcoming barriers to employment.

JTO Outreach and Engagement:

• Conduct research to identify JTOs and pre-screen them for SOMAH eligibility.
• Reach out to and engage Job Training Organizations to inform them of the SOMAH program, verify eligibility and secure their participation.
• Work with verified SOMAH eligible JTOs to have them a complete organization and program profile to be listed on the SOMAH Job Training Organization Directory.
• Update database and tracking tools to monitor outreach activities and JTO engagement.
• Support the continued engagement of verified SOMAH eligible JTOs by promoting webinars, resources, and providing periodic updates regarding the SOMAH program and the related job training opportunities. These may include resources for JTOs to work more effectively with solar contractors and other employers.
• Support the maintenance and updating of information on the SOMAH JTO Directory, JTO profiles, and the underlying database.
• Support the implementation of an annual survey of JTOs to determine the satisfaction with and effectiveness of SOMAH job training opportunities and the SOMAH PA’s support of JTOs and their students.

Regional JTO Task Force Facilitation and Support:

• Support the planning, preparations and facilitation of Quarterly JTO Task Force meetings. This may include communications with task force members, logistics planning, scheduling, and notes/minutes taking.
• Lead the planning and facilitation of one to two task force work groups related to priority focus areas of the task force.
• Beginning in April 2021, support RFA development, outreach planning, and application evaluation design related to recruiting and selecting JTO Task Force for the second term beginning in 2022.

Creating content and resources to facilitate SOMAH job training goals:

• Support the identification of job seeker, JTO, and solar employer needs related to the SOMAH programs workforce development goals.
• Collaborate with Rising Sun staff, SOMAH PA, and other partners to develop content and resources to support job trainee success in both accessing SOMAH opportunities and subsequently leveraging them into career advancement opportunities. This may include workshops, guidance, tips, or other tools to support job seeker success.

Note: If you are a creative thinker with a passion for, or interest in, participatory engagement, meeting facilitation, collaborative problem-solving, and driving continuous program improvement for maximizing positive impact, this is the opportunity for you!

Additional Information

Climate Corps is a program facilitated by Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI), which is a non-profit organization based in San Rafael, Marin County. SEI is committed to actions that sustain our planet. We achieve this goal by partnering with community groups that are integral to local climate and energy solutions, such as housing providers, schools, colleges and universities, and municipal governments through funding from diverse federal, state, municipal, and foundation sources.