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Sustainable Procurement and Circularity Fellow - AmeriCorps
10/17/2020 7:00:01 PM San Mateo Community College District
Job
Fellowship
San Mateo Community College District
Monthly Stipend $2115
End of Program Award $6195
Location
Position Title: Sustainable Procurement & Circularity Fellow
Term of Service: Full-time, October 2020 – August 2021
Time requirements: 40 hours/week; 1,700 hours in 10.5 month span
About Climate Corps AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a national service commitment that meets a community’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Climate Corps AmeriCorps partners with local government, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations across California to provide full-time service opportunities in the Bay Area supporting communities’ critical needs in building climate resilience. Climate Corps AmeriCorps fellows dedicate 1,700 hours of service in exchange for leadership and career development, and a living stipend supported by our AmeriCorps grant. Climate Corps AmeriCorps is an exciting opportunity for service-minded individuals who are passionate about building climate resilience for communities. For more information, please visit www.americorps.gov.
About San Mateo County Community College District
The Sustainability Team at San Mateo County Community College District is highly collaborative, close knit and integrated. We thrive on innovation, creativity and practice what we preach. We are deeply committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a team and organization. Over the past seven years, SMCCCD has hosted over a dozen Fellows. Each has contributed substantially to our success and each has been supported with additional personal and professional development opportunities throughout the Fellowship period.
The Sustainable Procurement and Circularity Fellow position is supported by a grant from the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability. The successful candidate will be part of the Fellowship in Community College Sustainability (FiCCS) cohort. FiCCS presents a distinct opportunity to shape sustainability strategy at San Mateo County Community College District and well beyond.
At the core of the FiCCS Program is developing the next generation of thinkers and doers to help address sustainability issues in educational settings. Roles as energy, resource conservation, and sustainability managers are needed to meet these issues head on. Roles in educational sustainability require a distinct combination of aptitudes including project management, data analytics, communications and community development. In addition to the Climate Corps Bay Area training, this position offers professional development opportunities and customized mentoring designed to build the core competencies necessary to execute sustainable programs or practices long after the Fellowship is complete.
As a FiCCS Program participant, the Sustainable Procurement and Circularity Fellow will work on pressing climate and sustainability problems and be relied upon to work toward replicable, system-changing solutions. A customized mix of on the job training, field work and class time will help the FiCCS Program participants hone marketable skills and draw important professional connections while making a marked difference in the community.
Position
The Sustainable Procurement and Circularity Fellow will be engaged in a critical effort to reduce waste before it starts across San Mateo Community College District (SMCCCD). The Fellow will be responsible for working under direction of the Energy and Sustainability Manager, and as a key member of the Sustainability Team, to help refine tools, systems and metrics for materials reuse and waste reduction. This vital role will require an interest and passion for the the technical aspects of circularity and engaging diverse audiences in behavior change for sustainability. The ideal candidate is detail oriented, a systems and design thinker and someone who is willing to dive deep into our procurement, surplus and waste management processes to improve and measure performance. Along the way, the successful candidate will be expected to effectively communicate intervention opportunities and leverage existing and new systems to measure positive impacts.
Description of duties:
- Engage students, staff, and faculty remotely, and potentially in person, in the Zero Waste Program through outreach, waste audits, sorting games, and other Campus as a Living Lab opportunities.
- Partner with the County of San Office of Sustainability and other agencies in promoting 4Rs actions.
- Reach a persistent diversion rate of 80% district-wide.
- Update the Zero Waste Program goals, timelines, methodologies, and tools to reflect progress made and future direction.
- Update SMCCD zero waste infrastructure inventory. Work with students, staff and faculty to ensure bins are properly located, identified clearly, and promote zero waste behaviors.
- Share updated plans, documents and general learnings with other Community Colleges, educational organizations, and community partners.
- Continue documenting and benchmarking existing Zero Waste and Sustainability practices including fair labor, ethical origin, recycled content, reduced carbon footprint, and other materiality analyses in the life cycle of commonly used goods and materials.
- Apply theory of Circular Economy to identify opportunities to refuse, reduce, and reuse items, materials, equipment, etc. within SMCCD processes and materials flow. Create a roadmap for purchasing less and reusing more materials throughout the organization.
- Reassess waste streams including, landfill, recycling, compost, construction & demolition (C&D), Haz Mat, and e-waste. Categorize and align tracking systems to better measure diversion and waste reduction efforts with an eye toward future Life Cycle Assessment methods
- Effectively collaborate with the Purchasing Department and others to improve vendor selection according to sustainability indicators; work with current vendors on building sustainable procurement processes and options, and; educate SMCCCD staff on the new policy.
- Reduce total waste stream by 10% district-wide
Basic Eligibility
AmeriCorps fellows must:
- Be US 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 able and willing to commit to the 10.5-month service term
- Be able and willing to work remotely if needed due to ongoing COVID-19 public health considerations and shelter-in-place orders.
Desired qualifications/characteristics:
- Experienced with conducting waste audits and categorizing waste streams • Coursework in environmental management, sustainable business and/or organizational behavior
- Experienced in customer service and collaboration for change
- Insatiably curious and hungry to learn
- Driven to make education accessible to all
- Intrinsically motivated, innovative and flexible but also collaborative, detail oriented and systematic
Benefits of service
- Receive a living allowance stipend of $2,115 per month
- Receive free MEC healthcare, child care support, and qualifying federal student loan deferment throughout your term of service.
- Upon the successful completion of your 1,700 hours and term of service, receive a Segal Education Award of $6,195.
- Receive ongoing training & support, including a 4-day orientation, monthly trainings, a 2-day retreat, and personal professional development support.
- Benefit from the robust, ever-growing Climate Corps network of partner organizations and alumni.
- Develop sustainability skills, implement impactful climate change resiliency projects, and build partnerships in your community.
BACR 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.