SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER – NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS bei City of Cleveland, OH

About the Department

Position Duties

Under administrative direction, is responsible for planning and adminstering a specific project or program for a City department. Serves as the administrative supervisor on projects or programs. Plans, assigns, supervises, and reviews activities of subordinate personnel. Monitors the project or program's operating budget and assists in the annual preparation of same. Designs, implements, and monitors procedures utilized in program evaluation. Develops and secures commitments from other City departments and agencies to provide services to program participants. Provides technical assistance or reviews program policies and procedures. Maintains current information and oversees the preparation of project status reports. Prepares financial and narrative reports and program applications. Communicates project/program status and information to municipal officials and/or public and private entities. May supervise employees assigned to the respective project. Performs other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

A High School Diploma or GED is required. A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four year college or university in Business or Public Administration, Social Sciences, or closely related field preferred. Two (2) years of full-time, paid, progressively responsible experience in program administration is required. Must be able to lift and carry thirty (30) pounds. A valid State of Ohio Driver's License is required.

Other Qualifications

Additional Minimum Qualifications
Climate change is the single greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, threatening water and food security, health, livelihoods, and the safety of billions of people together with drastic negative impact on global ecosystem balance. The City of Cleveland’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability & Climate Justice seeks to enhance their climate ambitions under the Paris Agreement, with focus on greater emissions reduction and resilience building. The next phases of the City of Cleveland’s Climate Action Plan update will focus on climate advocacy and long-term planning to ensure inclusive climate action at the speed and scale required to keep global temperature below 1.5°C. Achieving the carbon neutrality in the second half of the century by all countries is a crucial requirement set by the Paris Agreement to avoid the irreversible global climate change. Realization of this goal involves work on local, regional, national, and global levels, as well as participation of all relevant stakeholders – governments, business, non-profit organizations, and community members. The path to carbon neutrality should be just and leave no one behind, while empowering women, youth, black, indigenous and people of color, and vulnerable groups of population.

POSITION DEFINITION:
The purpose of this position is to help design, plan and implement citywide strategies and projects for nature-based solutions that advance adaptation and resilience in Greater Cleveland / Northeast Ohio (NEO) to climate change, in order to actively contribute to the goals, mission and vision of the City of Cleveland’s Climate Action Plan and Municipal Climate Action Plan. The Sustainability Manager for Nature-Based Solutions (SM-NBS) will work closely with the Decarbonization Strategist, Sustainability Managers for the Built Environment, Energy, Circular Economy and other Office of Sustainability staff and management, as well as with other City Departments. This is to foster a culture at the City of Cleveland that embraces and embeds the principles of decarbonization, carbon sequestration, restorative natural systems with equitable health benefits for community members, green infrastructure investment and other transformational sustainability innovations into the operations, services, and facilities of the City. The SM-NBS will perform research and analysis in order to contribute to city policy, as well as to the conceptual and design phases of city infrastructure projects, including but not limited to urban forestry, green infrastructure systems for stormwater management, green space and soil restoration, and master planning. The design, implementation and evaluation of these initiatives will be achieved through strategic partnerships with City departments as well as across the broader community.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The Sustainability Manager for Nature Based Solutions (SM-NBS) responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Increase awareness and encourage collaboration among departments by engaging key City department staff on the main principles of adaptation and resilience to climate change. This would be accomplished by utilizing Nature Based Solution (NBS) as a lens for improving existing and future infrastructure design, planning and implementation.
• Understand and apply to daily work, projects and programming, the tenets of equity, environmental justice and social determinants of health as they relate to sustainability initiatives, especially in terms of climate mitigation and climate change adaptation solutions.
• Engage in reviews and updates of the city’s practices and policies related to NBS for climate adaptation and resilience, especially urban forestry, green infrastructure for stormwater management, soil and native plant restoration, and other existing and developing programs related to restoration of natural systems within an urban landscape.
• Contribute to establishment and/or revision of natural systems related infrastructure and ecological restoration highlighted in the sustainability and Climate Action Plan and Municipal Action Plan goals and objectives for city operations and the larger community.
• Identify and manage opportunities for additive policy and planning that leverage natural systems related infrastructure and ecological restoration related initiatives, in order to contribute to local, regional, national and international climate action planning and implementation.
• Coordinate work with external partners who possess expertise, research development and prototype / pilot capabilities in ecological restoration, carbon sequestration, equity, and resilience through NBS, in order to explore, test and potentially implement innovative ideas on behalf of the City.
• Assist with development of federal, state, and local grant proposals and grant administration/management in support of NBS, and leverage collaborative efforts for pursuing large, multi-year federal funding opportunities.
• Develop and support implementation of various sustainability and climate action projects, policies, and programs in a variety of NBS and ecological restoration areas such as, youth employment in NBS, urban forestry, stormwater management, green spaces, green infrastructure, local food systems and planning.
• Report regularly on progress on City’s climate and sustainability related NBS related goal implementation, both internally and via public dashboards.
• Contribute to advocacy for state level policy change to enhance opportunities for NBS infrastructure projects at local and regional scale.
• Draft requests for legislation for citywide NBS policies and ordinances as needed.
• Monitor project and program operating budgets, ensuring goals are met while staying within budget.
• Work with other members of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability to execute project tasks as directed.
• Provide support at community outreach events as needed, including large-scale public facing engagement sessions and summits.
• Perform other job-related duties as required.

• Bachelor’s Degree in a scientific, engineering, environmental / ecological or related technical field; ideally with focus on sustainability.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in either a municipal or large organization’s environmental sustainability office, NBS work, or other related experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in collaborating on design of programs and/or policies that advance environmental and/or climate change mitigation and resilience strategies via natural systems / ecology.
• Demonstrated skills in translating technical information and goals into specific action steps necessary to cause public policy changes to be adopted.
• Ability to build and maintain positive working relationships and partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, and interest groups, including, but not limited to various county and/or state agencies, for-profit and non-profit organizations, and associations.
• Project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects with various project teams of peer collaborators and meet deadlines with high attention to detail.
• Demonstrated skill in written and oral communications and making presentations.
• Knowledge of and/or experience using environmental justice and just transition frameworks.
• Experience in working independently as well as collaboratively, both with co-workers and with members of the community or public.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with all levels of staff leadership.
• Dedicated to performing duties with confidentiality, where required, and to maintaining high ethical standards.
• Evaluative and reflective skills that lead to improved project / program planning and outcomes.
• Proven track record of implementing detailed initiatives that build towards the success of a larger vision.
• Familiarity with the issues affecting the City of Cleveland and the surrounding region.
• Proficiency in computer skills such as Office 365, Teams, Sharepoint, Project Management, Mapping, Computer Aid Design, and Visualization software applications.
• Ability to relate to, and work effectively with, persons of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, sexual preference or orientation, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Communicates effectively and appropriately with each while maintaining a high level of professionalism.

The City's guiding principles are as follows: Placing Clevelanders at the Center, Empowering Employees to Do Purposeful Work, Defining Clear and Pragmatic Objectives, Leading with Trust and Transparency, Striving for Equity in All We Do, and Embracing Change. All City employees are responsible for embracing and carrying out these principles in all that they do.