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Climate Action and Sustainability Fellow - AmeriCorps
Last updated: 9/10/2022 7:00 PM City of Piedmont
Job
Fellowship
City of Piedmont
Monthly Stipend $2636
End of Program Award $10000
Location
Location: City of Piedmont, Piedmont, CA
Work Environment: In Person (Remote option 1-2 days/week)
Term: September 2022 – July 2023; 1700 hours; 40 hours/week
Living Allowance Stipend: $2,636/month
Education Award: $10,000 upon program completion
Benefits: Healthcare coverage (w/dental & vision), Education Award, student loan deferment, child care allowance, CalFresh, professional development budget ($100), industry networking.
About City of Piedmont
The City of Piedmont, located in the East Bay Hills of the San Francisco Bay area with a population of approximately 11,000, is known for its beautiful neighborhoods, high-quality historic homes, excellent schools, attractive parks and urban forest, responsive City services, and small-town charm. Piedmont, which is completely surrounded by the City of Oakland, overwhelmingly consists of single-family homes and has been fully developed for more than 50 years. The City takes great pride in keeping its open spaces, natural resources, and architectural traditions well protected and kept. Piedmont is a small city and, thus, City staff is small in number. The City’s Sustainability Division is comprised of one full-time Sustainability Program Manager embedded in the Planning & Building and Public Works Departments, which has about 15 full time staff members. It is a very cordial and family-like atmosphere. City staff embody a workplace culture that is highly responsive and transparent.
Position Overview & Description
The Fellow will split their time between the following projects to increase the City’s environmental, social, and economic resilience:
Climate Action Communication and Community Engagement: The Fellow will be responsible for implementing measures of the City’s Climate Action Plan and engaging with the public on related issues. The Fellow will leverage City committees, various community groups, and local students to engage the community in addressing the climate crisis, including increasing awareness of the climate hazards affecting Piedmont and the actions residents can take to adapt and help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the Fellow will be responsible for developing a climate communications plan in efforts to raise the awareness of the impacts of climate change in Piedmont and the implementation progress of the CAP. Additionally, the Fellow will provide timely and topical updates and presentations at community events, local schools, public meetings, online, and in written format for local media outlets.
Building Climate Resiliency: The Fellow will contribute to climate resilience research, planning, and analysis, as well as policy development. In the area of buildings and energy, the Fellow will work closely with City staff, regional partners, and the public to accelerate Piedmont’s transition to a low-carbon, decarbonized community. Piedmont became one of the first cities statewide in 2021 to adopt reach codes for energy efficiency and electrification retrofit projects in existing residential buildings. The City is evaluating the effectiveness of the reach codes currently in place to inform the development of the next set of reach codes slated to take effect on January 1, 2023. In advance of this effective date, the Fellow will be responsible for policy research and community outreach. Another component of this project will involve beginning the process of developing an existing building electrification strategy to ensure decarbonization is done in a manner that is equitable in Piedmont. The purpose of this strategy will be to build on the City’s existing electrification policies and identify a roadmap to equitably electrify all existing buildings (residential, municipal, and commercial). The Fellow may also have the opportunity to explore designing and administering a pilot electrification rebate or incentive program targeted at low-income residents. The Fellow will also be responsible for completing the City’s annual GHG inventory and communicating the results to relevant stakeholders. At the municipal level, the Fellow will have opportunities to get involved with resiliency projects related to local hazard mitigation planning, fleet electrification, composting and recycling, sustainable landscape management and green infrastructure, zero net energy building design and operations, and other topics of interest to the Fellow.
Responsibilities
Communications: Develop a climate communications plan in efforts to raise the awareness of the impacts of climate change in Piedmont and the implementation progress of the CAP. This may involve developing new infographics and data sharing tools for communicating climate action data in an easily digestible way that tells the story of Piedmont’s climate action work.
Policy Research and Community Outreach: Conduct policy research and community outreach on topics related to decarbonization. This may include organizing and facilitating workshops and webinars to inform the public of the new policies, developing and distributing targeted outreach materials, and compiling accessible resources to help the community overcome cost barriers or misconceptions about all-electric or energy efficient technology.
Policy Research and Analysis: Begin the process of developing an existing building electrification strategy to ensure decarbonization is done in a manner that is equitable in Piedmont. This will entail research, community engagement, and policy development.
Quantitative Analysis: Complete the City’s annual GHG inventory and communicate the results to relevant stakeholders (e.g., City Council, City commissions, local media).
Local Outreach and Event Planning: Work to create more diverse and comprehensive public engagement and outreach, including devising ways to engage new residents and establishing relationships with regional and local jurisdictions to educate and work with the broader community.
Regional Engagement: Participate and engage with regional agencies such as East Bay Community Energy and StopWaste and develop professional relationships with their staff. Will involve taking part in monthly meetings with regional agencies and identifying areas for regional collaboration.
City Administration: Assist staff with greening the workplace, including identifying opportunities for sustainability advancements in the workplace, building sustainability awareness among City staff, helping coordinate sustainability requests, and updating the City website pages and developing content for the City’s social media handles.
Desired Qualifications
Knowledge of environmental science and climate change is necessary.
Effective Public Engagement and Facilitation Skills
Community engagement is a key element of the City’s climate action efforts. An outgoing personality that facilitates public speaking and interaction with strangers is highly valued. Similarly, the Fellow should be a good listener. An understanding of the variety of GHG emissions reduction and electrification policies that can be implemented in a highly residential community would be helpful. An active imagination used towards developing effective public engagement, in both in-person and virtual formats, is a plus.
Strong Writing, and Analytical Skills
The Fellow will need to contribute towards effective visual written community engagement collateral; technical reports and updates; and will need to help prepare an emissions inventory and presentations of the inventory to the City Council and community. The fellow should be able to communicate and translate research for various audiences in both technical and narrative/storytelling forms.
Other Skills: Project Management, Initiative and Flexibility
The Fellow will need to be able to be comfortable working with different levels of direction and interaction with staff. At times, the Fellow may have to reach out to other staff members, department heads, and/or their supervisor to move a project forward; other times they may be asked to collaborate with a staff member or work on a project more independently.
While Piedmont has local public transportation options, access to a car would be beneficial.
Fellowship Experience at City of Piedmont
City staff are approachable and professional development-oriented, and are always available to help the Fellow with training and career goals. Staff strive to be good mentors and want the Fellow to achieve their personal and professional goals over the service term. The Fellow receives a good amount of one-on-one experience with other staff members including other departments and department heads. The Fellow also engages with regional agencies such as East Bay Community Energy and StopWaste and develops professional relationships with their staff. Additionally, the Fellow will build relationships with members of the public as part of the public engagement responsibilities. More so, the fellowship offers plenty of opportunities to learn in the following areas: quantitative analysis of greenhouse gas inventories, drafting incentive programs and code changes, project management, outreach and event planning, report writing, research, policy analysis, program implementation, and city administration.
ABOUT US
Climate Corps AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a national service commitment that meets a community’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Bay Area Community Resources and SEI partner to implement Climate Corps AmeriCorps, an award-winning fellowship program that provides professional development opportunities for emerging leaders through implementation of sustainability and resiliency projects with local governments, nonprofits, and educational institutions.
Upon completion of the term, CCAC Fellows receive a Segal Education Award of up to $6,495.00 in return for your service. You can use the award to repay qualified student loans and to pay current educational expenses at eligible institutions of higher education and training programs. Fellows who complete a 1700-hour term also receive a California For All Award of $3,505.00 in cash for educational expenses.
To see a full list of climate, energy, and sustainability positions posted by Climate Corps, please visit here. We are constantly adding positions, so make sure to frequently check this site to see if there are new opportunities available.
Basic Eligibility
AmeriCorps fellows must:
Be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents
Have a high school diploma/GED
Be 17 years old or older
Pass state criminal and FBI background checks, and a national check in the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry
Test negatively for tuberculosis if working with minors
Be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing
Live in the state of California
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement
Bay Area Community Resources, the administrator of Climate Corps AmeriCorps, is an equal opportunity employer. We cultivate an environment that encourages fairness, teamwork, and respect among all employees and National Service members. We are firmly committed to maintaining an atmosphere in which people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles may grow personally and professionally. Therefore, we enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, religion or religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, marital status, medical condition, disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws or ordinances. Our management is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this equal opportunity policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment advertising, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.