Energy and Sustainability Policy
Program Office

Ursinus College seeking Sustainability Program Coordinator

Sustainability Program Coordinator (Full-Time)

 

BASIC FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Reporting to the Director of Facilities, the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator works in the Office of Sustainability (OS) and has overall responsibility for updating, strategizing on, reporting on, and working with Ursinus College employees to implement the College’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan (CSAP) in compliance with our commitment to the ACUPCC. Tasks performed with a high level of autonomy include:

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Maintains the budget for the Office of Sustainability.
  • Works closely with the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator to coordinate and facilitate work needed for compliance with the College’s commitment to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
  • Works closely with the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator on developing and implementing a strategic vision/plan for the OS.
  • Coordinates the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan (CSAP) implementation; responsible for:
    • reporting the College’s progress toward our goal of carbon neutrality and sustainability education,
    • maintaining a 3,400-entry database,
    • liaison to the ACUPCC, and
    • communicating with the Office of the President and the campus community at Ursinus about our progress. 
  • Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory:
    • Collects/compiles data for the College’s bi-annual GHG Inventory,
    • update the reporting spreadsheet,
    • write and submit the report to the ACUPCC and
    • communicate the results to the campus community. 
    • Attend and participate in Energy Committee meetings.
  • Chairs the UC Sustainability Committee (UCSC): 
    • organize and run meetings,
    • provide updates to the committee,
    • create agendas and give presentations, 
    • collaborate with members concerning campus-wide sustainability issues, suggest partnerships, and
    • generally promote sustainability on campus through the work of the committee.
  • Chairs the Campus Tree Care Committee (CTCC):
    • organize meetings of the CTCC,
    • interface with grounds staff around tree care issues,
    • track volunteer hours,
    • apply for Tree Campus USA status annually and
    • publicize committee actions.
  • Works with various staff members in Facilities:
    • Works to improve the College’s waste diversion efforts, and oversees waste data tracking.
    • Researches strategies to decrease energy usage.  Works with facilities to implement these strategies as possible.
    • Researches and writes grant applications that will fund specific sustainability initiatives on campus.
    • Researches and presents sustainable alternatives for various aspects of campus operations.  Presents these to the Facilities Director, and other administrators, as required.
  • Oversight for the College Farm:
  • Collaborates with Facilities on maintaining and running the college farm.
  • Mentors and oversees the student farm fellows. 
  • Works with Sustainability Outreach Coordinator  to coordinate relevant projects of various Fellows with projects that are current/on-going in Facilities.  For example, the energy fellow or the recycling fellow. 
  • In addition to mentoring the farm fellows, work with other sustainability fellows on an ad hoc and as needed basis, depending on their projects and relevant circumstances.
  • Student Sustainability Fellows program:
  • Co-writes the Annual Sustainability Report, collaborate with the College’s communications office to promote sustainability initiatives on campus to the broader Ursinus community and beyond.
  • Collaborates with the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator to develop a series of marketing strategies for getting campus participation in sustainability initiatives.
  • General duties include:
    • speaking to campus groups (classes, alumni, senior staff, etc.) about sustainability or the OS;
    • editing RFPs for sustainability content,
    • serving on contract selection committees (such as housekeeping),
    • being available to campus members who bring sustainability-related concerns to the OS;
    • creating partnerships when feasible;
    • brain-storming and problem-solving around sustainability issues with campus liaisons across campus; and
    • working to change campus culture to one that is more energy-conscious and sustainability-minded.
    • Annually, represent the College at outside sustainability-related conferences and organizations.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

 

  • Must be able to communicate in English, including the ability to speak in public.
  • Must be able to work collaboratively with staff, faculty, and students.

 

ATTENDANCE

 

  • This position is a full time position with flexible work hours to accommodate evening and weekend events.
  • Reports for work shifts in a dependable and timely fashion, in order to minimize the interruption or delay of regular output for the department.
  • As needed, works outside the framework of a normal work schedule in order to complete projects of heavy demand or to meet student schedules.

 

RECORDS MAINTENANCE

 

  • Maintains Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reports.
  • Maintains CSAP database.
  • Writes, with the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator , the OS Annual Sustainability Report.

 

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

 

  • Demonstrates and maintains technical knowledge of the job and of related procedures and policies in order to provide quality support to the department and its constituents.
  • Begins assignments without prompting, maintains productivity in both quantity and quality of work, and appropriately plans, organizes and prioritizes work in order to maximize the use of department resources.
  • Independently contributes ideas and process improvements, and looks for creative solutions and better ways of doing things, in order to meet the goals of continuous improvement.
  • Identifies, analyzes and addresses problems in order to resolve issues whenever possible in a way that minimizes the negative impact on the organization.
  • Makes appropriate, timely, and effective decisions in order to support the work of the department.
  • Manages budget for areas related to Sustainability.

 

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

 

  • Advanced degree in environmental studies, sustainability, or related field required, or Bachelor degree in environmental studies, sustainability, or related field and 2-3 years related work experience.
  • Must have working knowledge of social media; website programming capabilities a plus.
  • Must have knowledge of computer operations and programs sufficient to coordinate all record keeping requirements with vision sufficient to read computer screen and printed materials.
  • Must have excellent interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills and the demonstrated ability to manage timetables and detailed paper work.
  • Must possess physical mobility sufficient to tour campus, work on the organic farm, carry materials for events, etc. Must have good hearing and speaking skills.
  • A record of organizational leadership, and familiarity with institutional operations in higher education. The candidate will have strong written and oral communication and interpersonal and skills and a demonstrated ability to coordinate activities within a community of diverse participants. Grant writing experience desirable.

 

INTERACTIVE SKILLS

 

  • Adapts to new work situations, people, ideas, procedures, and organizational structures, in order to accommodate an evolving work environment.
  • Builds successful relationships with constituents and coworkers. Communicates and works effectively as a team member, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the office.
  • Exhibits maturity, reliability, composure, and stability under pressure in order to handle on-the-job challenges.
  • Understands and abides by a high standard of professional ethics in order to ensure the integrity of the organization.
  • Works successfully with diverse others and upholds the College’s commitment to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in order to help the organization realize its commitment to excellence through diversity.

 

APPLICATIONS

Please submit a letter of interest, a resume, and a list of three references via email to: hr@ursinus.edu (Human Resources Office).  We will review applications as received and will continue to do so until the position is filled. 

Ursinus College is an AA/EO Employer.  Ursinus College does not discriminate on grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, creed, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, disability, or other classification protected by applicable law with respect to all aspects of employment.