Welch Environmental Innovation Fellowship

~ The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 1.4 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. ~

NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws. Today, our staff of more than 450 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy and communications experts, and others, work out of offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Livingston, Montana and Beijing. For further information about NRDC, please visit our website. 

The Center for Market Innovation (CMI) is team of private sector-trained, market-focused professionals within NRDC's Urban Solutions Program that works collaboratively with private sector, as well as public sector and other NGOs to help demonstrate the potential for market based solutions that offer both strong profit potential and better outcomes for people and the planet.

CMI focuses on energy, shelter, water, and food because these are the building blocks of life and also hold the greatest potential for transformative environmental market opportunity.

Position Overview 

CMI is seeking a two-year fellow who will be a critical part of our team, with a focus on advancing the business case for a comprehensive approach to new development and retrofits of existing multifamily residential building that benefit both residents and owners.

The selected candidate will receive a two-year fellowship with CMI commencing in June 2015. This will be a full-time staff position based in NRDC's New York office. 

The selected candidate will play an integral part of priority initiatives at NRDC on sustainable affordable housing, including the Affordable Multifamily Demonstration Project, with a goal of advancing and accelerating the development of this asset class.

This Project will demonstrate a scalable model emphasizing replicable financing mechanisms, making the economic case to developers and building owners, stakeholder engagement and decision making processes for energy efficiency, renewable energy and resiliency investments and financing, which in addition to financial savings, also provide environmental, resiliency and social benefits.

The Affordable Multifamily Demonstration Project works in closely with NRDC's Energy Efficiency for All initiative which targets affordable multifamily housing with a 12-state campaign to secure at least $80 million in additional utility investments, empowering state and national networks of advocates, and engaging building owners in the fight for an equitable share of funding resources.

This is an opportunity to contribute to a comprehensive strategy covering publicly and privately owned properties to help drive greater investment and support for efficiency and other environmental and quality of life improvements in the affordable multifamily housing sector.

Through the Project we are working with a set of private and public partners to: 

• facilitate a comprehensive process to suggest potential indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and energy conservation measures (ECMs), providing return on investment (ROI) and payback period analyses;
• develop a baseline energy usage model and cost estimate for hypothetical business as usual code-compliant build-out;
• apply market best practices for quantifying investment return with property owners pursue an integrated building approach to incorporate a high performance retrofit of the building's central systems;
• develop replicable models that present residents and owners with compelling business opportunities in, and a blueprint for executing advanced measures for energy efficiency and renewable energy;
• produce case studies showcasing economic and environmental returns from the high performance measures, and in the case of build-outs undertaken in high performance buildings, quantify and emphasize the added economic benefit that flows through to the resident from the building's more efficient central systems; and
• work with "the capital stack", including CDFIs, tax credit investors, impact investors, PRI and commercial capital, to design, identify and implement effective financing mechanisms.

Responsibilities

The Welch Environmental Innovation Fellow will:

• Work with both internal and external team members to develop an Integrated Energy Retrofit Project, and provide detailed analysis of cost effective energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality opportunities, and a financing assessment to report the project recommendations and provide final documentation;
• Develop guidance to be used by the real estate industry as a blueprint for incorporating energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality as an integral part of affordable multifamily capital improvement and comprehensive urban solutions plan;
• Coordinate and review modeled baseline energy consumption, the expected reduction in energy consumption from installing efficiency measures;
• Calculate the projected ROI of various packages of ECMs for whole building and resident spaces, and refine and update a tool to determine the investment return of various efficiency measures;
• Develop case studies from executed affordable multifamily financing transactions to identify market best practices and solutions to market barriers; and
• Assist with the execution of other initiatives of the CMI building efficiency team, with an emphasis on landlord/tenant collaboration opportunities, and development of various energy efficiency and clean energy financing mechanisms. 

Qualifications    

We are looking for a real estate or financial sector professional with strong quantitative and writing skills, an understanding of energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality practices and a passion for triple-bottom line (people, profit, planet) approach to effecting positive and scalable change. In addition, the ideal candidate would have:

• At least three years of relevant work experience in real estate management or finance (including at CDFIs), with experience in underwriting affordable housing transactions and knowledge in affordable multifamily housing programs (focus on NYS preferred) and tax credits;
• Knowledge of multifamily architecture typologies and building science;
• Superior quantitative skills with advanced excel modeling skills;
• Demonstrated excellence in both verbal and written communication, including ability to transform complex analytics into a simple, visual story to influence decision makers;
• Demonstrated knowledge of the real estate industry, particularly the affordable multifamily housing sector;
• Familiarity with energy efficiency and renewable energy financing mechanisms and strategies for multifamily buildings is a strong plus;
• Familiarity with LEED / high performance retrofit processes with a focus on energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality is a strong plus;
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to prioritize and manage multiple issues;
• Passionate about data and metrics. Quantitative reasoning skills, including the ability to work with numbers and to summarize data into graphical and tabular forms;
• Strong presentation skills. The ability to present, explain and discuss results of analyses to effectively drive fact-based decision making within all levels of the organization;
• A flexible, can-do attitude with demonstrated ability to excel in a dynamic and fast paced environment, working both independently and as part of a time, to meet tight deadlines while maintaining superior quality;
• Masters Degree in Business Administration with a focus on Real Estate or Finance, Master of Science in Real Estate, or equivalent experience; and
• Familiarity with and passion for environmental and social equity issues are a strong plus.

To Apply 

• Please click below: "Apply Here!" to create a profile and upload your resume and cover letter.
• Please include salary requirements in your cover letter.
• Please no phone calls, emails, faxes or in-person resume drop-offs.
• Please reference where you saw this posting.  

Note:  The deadline is May 29, 2015, but applications will be considered on a rolling basis so apply soon. Late applications will not be considered. Candidate must be available to start in early July. 

• If you are having technical difficulty while applying, please email us. 

~ NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NRDC is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are equal opportunity employers and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a pleasant working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with experience. ~