Cascadia Consulting Group is a women-owned, private environmental consulting firm with 28 years of experience developing and implementing innovative solutions to today’s environmental challenges.Cascadia works with public and private-sector clients to advance sustainability through recycling and materials management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, transportation demand management, and water and natural resources management. The Cascadia team brings both established expertise and creative thinking to research and analysis, strategic planning, program design and implementation, outreach, social marketing and behavior change, and evaluation roles. From our offices in Oakland (CA), Seattle (WA), Philadelphia (PA), and Charleston (SC), we serve clients across the country.At Cascadia, we strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment at all levels of the organization. Having staff and partnerships that reflect the diverse communities we serve empowers us to shape innovative and effective solutions together with those most impacted by social, human, and environmental health challenges.Position OverviewCascadia is currently seeking a Climate and Sustainability Associate to support and lead the development and implementation of effective, community-centered strategies, plans, and policies for environmental, organizational, and behavior change. This work will span multiple topic areas, including climate, sustainability, natural resources, Puget Sound recovery, and more. Specifically, the Associate will:• Support and lead elements of strategic planning, including collecting and analyzing information; strategic visioning, identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing options; setting goals and targets; implementation planning; and/or reporting/tracking/evaluation.• Perform and support project and team management duties for climate and sustainability projects, including scoping, budgeting, planning, client communication, directing staff and/or subcontractors, reporting, and invoicing.• Communicate effectively with team members and clients prior to, following, and in between (for ongoing projects) meetings, ensuring that project elements are moving forward as planned.• Effectively write and verbally communicate using a diversity of styles and perspectives including synthesizing and translating complex information into clear, informative, and compelling materials (e.g., summaries, fact sheets, presentations, online dashboards, reports).• Develop draft content for high-stakes communication (e.g., for large stakeholder groups or high-level decisionmakers).• Support inclusive and equitable stakeholder and public engagement, including preparation and facilitation of stakeholder interviews, focus groups, briefings, and online and in-person workshops and public events.• Conduct qualitative research on policies, trends, and best practices related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy, transportation, materials management, natural resource management, and other sustainability topics.• Actively reflect and improve upon efforts to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts into client work.• Occasionally travel locally or overnight, when permissible, including for public engagement, meetings, or other activities outside standard work hours.• This position description is designed to outline primary duties, qualifications, and job scope, but not limit the incumbent nor the organization to just the work identified or assigned.
Required Qualifications• A bachelor’s, master’s, or other advanced degree in environmental sciences, environmental management, public policy, or related field and at minimum 3 years of relevant, professional work experience including, at least 1 year of experience performing project or task management duties.• Working knowledge of climate science, climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, and ability to quickly learn about climate change issues.• Understanding of, and commitment to, Cascadia’s mission to “inspire and empower communities everywhere to protect and restore our world” in an equitable and inclusive way.• A commitment to racial equity and the ability to apply racial equity principles to project work with clients, partners, and colleagues in an innovative and culturally responsible way while exhibiting emotional intelligence (i.e., culturally responsive engagement and facilitation).• Comfort making presentations to clients and presenting information in a compelling, informative, and persuasive fashion.• Experience developing, managing, and tracking project budgets and teams of different sizes and scopes.• Effective written and verbal communication skills in English with the ability to adapt to a diversity of styles and perspectives, and the ability to communicate scientific and technical ideas clearly using simple, commonly accepted language.• Demonstrate initiative and problem-solving skills; exceptional critical thinking capabilities.• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to handle challenging situations with tact and sensitivity.• Ability to manage and execute multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines with minimal guidance in a fast-paced environment.• Intermediate to advanced experience with producing deliverables with Microsoft Office 365 programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.• Experience with virtual teleconference/engagement platforms including Zoom and Teams.Desired Qualifications• Demonstrated familiarity with and expertise at developing strategic plans, climate action plans, or other similar environmental or sustainability planning documents and processes.• Knowledge of federal and state climate policies, including the latest policy developments in Washington and California.• Experience designing and administering surveys, including using SurveyMonkey.• Graphic design capabilities, including experience with Adobe InDesign or Illustrator.
