Senior Sustainability Specialist

Join the County of San Mateo - join a progressive county. 

Contribute to innovative programs and services, and make a real difference in the community. Knowing that employees are our greatest asset, the County of San Mateo conducts an annual employee engagement survey. In 2014, 78% of employees ranked their experience working for the County as "very good/good" and 85% stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work. 

Livable Communities: 

• Are you passionate about sustainability and environmental issues, leading a team of enthusiastic professionals, and especially being part of the changing ways in which local governments can develop and implement programs to address these issues and serve the San Mateo County community?
• Do you have a knack for identifying and working with the right people in organizations to effect change?

Position Overview

The County of San Mateo's Office of Sustainability is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Senior Sustainability Specialist for the Livable Communities working group to focus on active and alternative transportation and housing. We want "sustainability champions" to lead initiatives and support department staff in empowering our departments, employees, and our community members to take meaningful actions on sustainability.

The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability (OOS) has four working groups: Waste Reduction, Energy and Water, Livable Communities, and Climate Change. Each working group has a Senior Sustainability Specialist to support all the staff, programs, and projects of each of these work groups. To learn more about each of the OOS workgroups, please click here. 

At this time, we will be hiring for one permanent Senior Sustainability Specialist position for the Office of Sustainability Livable Communities working group. A competitive benefits package is associated with this position. For complete information regarding benefits please click here.

The Senior Sustainability Specialist for the Livable Community working group will be tasked with the following initiatives:

• Empower people to walk, bike, carpool or take transit rather than drive alone.
• Promote housing and transportation policies and programs that encourages walkable and sustainable communities.
• Track transportation policies, programs and activities at the state, regional and local levels.
• Empower County employees and community members to use resources more efficiently regarding active and alternative transportation.
• Research creative solutions for our community that address the housing-transportation nexus.

The Senior Sustainability Specialist will manage a variety of active transportation programs focused on public outreach and education as well as policy development; enhance coordination of the active transportation program by organizing events, conducting outreach and supporting a variety of ongoing projects; and assist in the implementation and marketing of the Commute Alternatives Program (CAP) to County employees.

The Senior Sustainability Specialist will oversee the implementation of various active transportation Caltrans grants. The first grant is to develop a Bicycling and Pedestrian Master plan for unincorporated San Mateo County. The second grant is to assist the San Mateo County Office of Education in developing Safe Routes to Schools curriculum for schools to use throughout the County. The Senior Sustainability Specialist will manage various tasks outlined in the grant, provide technical and administrative support, and ensure that protocols and reporting requirements are met.  

Toward these initiatives assigned to the Senior Sustainability Specialist position, the selected candidate will enhance multi-departmental coordination for transportation and housing initiatives throughout the county and the cities of San Mateo County. This will occur particularly through the Home for All San Mateo County Initiative, a community collaborative aimed at promoting innovative housing and transportation solutions to produce housing at all income levels.  

In brief, the Senior Sustainability Specialist is a full-time member of the Office of Sustainability and reports directly to the Livable Communities Program Manager; and will work in effective collaboration with County and city officials, community stakeholders, multiple county departments, and local jurisdictions.

The ideal candidate will have the skills necessary to:

• Provide leadership and promote teamwork while planning, directing, and coordinating staff activities.
• Define difficult problem areas, research them and provide valid alternatives and recommendations.
• Integrate equity, race, and social justice in both internal and external initiatives.
• Represent the work group and the department on boards, committees, and in community groups.
• Speak effectively, make public presentations, and conduct outreach, training and/or public education as necessary.
• Be comfortable in a fast-paced, people-focused environment.
• Prepare and edit comprehensive reports, letters, and other written materials.
• Effectively frame and communicate complex concepts for different audiences, orally and in writing.
• Track changes in and compliance with existing contracts, grants, laws, codes, and rules.

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess: 

• Knowledge of active and alternative transportation, affordable housing, commute alternatives, and community engagement.
• Ability to track and monitor developments in pertinent state mandates, laws, codes, rules, and regulations related to housing and transportation.
• Experience preparing written materials such as narratives or Board reports, technical charts, strategic plans, and publications.
• Experience developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating comprehensive outreach, website, surveys, consultant contracts, public education, training, and media activities.
• Skills in developing rapport, training staff, and enhancing engagement of the Livable Communities working group.
• Skills in integrating race, equity, and social justice into housing and transportation programs.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
• Knowledge of pertinent federal, state and local laws, codes and regulations related to any of the program area. 

Note: A typical way to qualify is three years of program coordination experience in the field of sustainability and/or resource conservation.

Compensation: $7,901 - $9,877 / Month.

To Apply

• To learn more about the position and to apply online, click "Apply on Company Website" below or visit our website. 
• Applications are only accepted online.
• Final Filing Date: August 15, 2019

EOE