Residential Decarbonization Program Manager

Residential Decarbonization Manager

The Residential Decarbonization Manager will support the City's goal of an equitable, resilient, thriving, and carbon-negative city. The Manager will be responsible for reducing and mitigating emissions from residential buildings, the community's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Manager is expected to educate property owners and residents, reduce energy burdens, and facilitate the transition to all-electric and renewable systems through equity-centered initiatives. The employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Develop programs and policies for implementation that would help the City reach a target of decarbonizing 5 housing units per day through 2030.
• Lead innovative approaches to identify and solve for gaps towards the electrification and decarbonization of housing stock.
• Build and maintain relationships and collaborations on programs and projects with key internal and external parties, stakeholders, and public utilities. Build consensus among new programs and policies.
• Oversee implementation of programs and policies, as well as facilitate hand-offs to implementing departments. Manage projects within the scope, schedule, and budget baseline. Monitor project progress, forecast expenditures, and mitigate risks.
• Research, identify, track, create, develop, manage, coordinate, recommend, implement, analyze, execute, and evaluate both short- and long-term innovations, best practices, strategies, plans, projects, programs, and policies.
• Lead and contribute to fundraising efforts. Identify, support, and execute grants and contracts. Oversee contractor and consultant work.
• Provide professional and technical administrative approval on City processes, in accordance with local and state regulations.
• Communicate complex ideas and processes succulently in plain language. Support the development and maintenance of landing pages and materials by providing technical information and resources.
• Respond to inquiries promptly, appropriately, and accurately.

Education and Experience :

Bachelor's degree and five to seven (5-7) years' experience in sustainable development and / or practices, building decarbonization, energy efficiency strategies, energy regulation, program management, engineering, urban planning, public policy; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Possess a valid MA Driver's License, with a responsible driving record OR the ability to move independently between various job sites in one day.

Preferred :

Master's Degree in urban planning, environmental science, studies, or policy, sustainable design, climate change, architectural, mechanical or electrical engineering, or related field. Experience managing or coordinating a federally funded initiative. Previous experience working with contractors.

Experience with system design and installation for heat pumps.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills :

Knowledge : Demonstrated technical expertise in residential building science and energy efficiency. Demonstrated knowledge of applicable local, state, regional, utility, and federal programs and incentives, as well as agencies, laws, polices, and regulations. Working knowledge of the organization and operations of municipal governments. Working knowledge of permitting, financing, and construction processes. Demonstrated knowledge of and interest in subject matter areas including but not limited to landlord / renter strategies, income eligible incentives, affordable housing incentives, weatherization, energy efficiency, environmental economics, energy regulation and law, renewable energy, renewable thermal, electrification, decarbonization, public health, environmental health, environmental, social, and racial justice, equity, diversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, sustainable technologies and design and retrofitting, and municipal government. Knowledge of effective engagement and communication strategies is preferred.

Ability : Ability to carry complex projects from concept to implementation, use creative thinking to solve problems, and work in a fast-paced environment. Ability to work independently and also effectively with the City's interdepartmental staff. Ability to read and understand engineering plans and supervise implementation of projects. Ability to handle problems and emergencies effectively. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with state and federal agencies, architects, contractors, developers, owners, supervisors, employees, and the public professionally, promptly, effectively, and accurately. Ability to work with clients or stakeholders in management of compliance scenarios and with dissatisfied clients or stakeholders. Ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines. Demonstrated ability to maintain, manage, and organize records. Ability to communicate complicated ideas succinctly and persuasively. Ability to deliver feedback to staff. Ability to reliably attend outreach events, including on weekends and evenings.

Skills : Superior team building skills, including the ability to coordinate and lead diverse teams of individuals towards cooperative management goals and objectives. Exceptional attention to detail. Skilled public speaker. Excellent written and oral communication with peers, consultants, contractors, and representatives of other agencies. Strong interpersonal and critical thinking skills. Excellent computer skills for word processing, spreadsheets, and databases; excellent analytical skills; experience with virtual meeting programs such as Teams and / or Zoom. Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Project. Experience with Citizenserve and Microsoft Office 365 OneDrive are preferred.

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. Employee will be required to work beyond normal business hours to attend evening meetings, weekend events, or complete work assignments. Employee will need to be on site and in person as needed. Employee may work remotely at supervisor's discretion and when work does not require them to be on site / in person.

Physical and Mental Requirements : The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position's essential functions.

Physical demands will include lifting and wheeling up to 50 pounds at a time (for example, setting up outreach table and tent, and moving boxes of supplies), standing for long periods of time at events, traveling door-to-door, as well as periodically working outdoors in various weather conditions for most months of the year.

Physical Skills : Minimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment or photocopy paper (up to 30 lbs.).

Motor Skills : Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and / or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.

Visual Skills : Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Hours : Full-Time Salary : $90,000 annualized, plus benefits Union : Non-Union FLSA : Exempt

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action / equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees :

Overview of Total Rewards :