Climate Justice Engagement Manager
Advanced Professional Temp. | Exempt | 27-Hour Work Week
Two-Year Grant Funded Position
$8,497 - $13,182 per month*
Excellent benefits and work-life balance
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Apply by Friday, November 8, 2024, for first consideration
THE CITY is focused on enhancing our community members’ quality of life through well-designed services and a positive workplace culture. San Rafael is the economic and cultural heart of Marin County, and its high quality of life is centered on its commercial districts, engaged neighborhoods, active lifestyle, and natural environment. San Rafael, with a population of approximately 60,000, is a full-service city with a City Council/City Manager form of government with 12 departments, more than 400 employees, and an annual budget of $172 million. The City’s vision is to be a vibrant economic and cultural center reflective of its diversity. The City Council is engaged and seeks to strengthen the urban and commercial areas as well as sustain the beautiful natural environment.
San Rafael’s Organizational culture framework is an initiative called “Together San Rafael.” City employees are our greatest asset, and we seek talented individuals with diverse backgrounds who are creative, curious, and excited about a challenge. We are a results-driven team focused on the needs of community members. The Together San Rafael initiative is focused on modernizing City services and increasing the engagement of employees. This initiative recognizes the interconnectedness of the customer and employee experience.
THE DIVISION
The Sustainability Division is a division of the City Manager’s Office and is primarily geared toward addressing climate change through greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation and resilience efforts. The Division oversees development and implementation of the City’s Climate Change Action Plan, development of plans and programs to respond to sea level rise, and community engagement efforts to ensure communitywide participation. Current projects include an Equitable Low Carbon Economy project, a Sea Level Rise Collaboration and feasibility study, and exploration of long-term climate financing. Learn more about the Division’s priorities on the City’s website.
THE POSITION
The City’s Sustainability Division is seeking a leader with strong project management skills who is collaborative, adept at building relationships internally and within the community, and who will be successful in planning, overseeing, and reviewing the City’s projects from a climate justice and community engagement lens.
This grant-funded and limited-term position is responsible for planning, developing, organizing, and implementing all activities of the City’s community engagement and project coordination efforts as they support Marin Community Foundation’s Climate Justice Initiative in the Canal neighborhood and other priority areas of the City.
This is an exempt, mid-management level position that will support the City’s Sustainability division and will be expected to coordinate with various other City departments. Under the general direction of the Sustainability Program Manager, the Climate Justice & Engagement Manager exercises independent judgment in the planning, overseeing, and reviewing the City’s projects from a climate justice and community engagement lens.
Major task areas include:
- Auditing plans and projects serving the Canal neighborhood and mapping out synergies and timelines
- Identifying opportunities for collaborative engagement between projects and timelines
- Identifying opportunities to incorporate climate justice - including equity, workforce development, sustainability, and resilience goals – into projects and deliverables of various projects
- Developing a roadmap for community engagement that weaves together these projects, deliverables, and engagement needs, and coaching staff to use it.
- This would include best practices for engagement, including cultural competency, language access, creating feedback loops to inform community members of progress, and integrating important feedback into plans and projects.
- Supporting departments in their engagement efforts
- Making sure outside agency projects serving the Canal neighborhood are also aligned in terms of engagement, timing, and inclusion of climate justice
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (including but not limited to)
- Audit City plans and projects related to the Canal neighborhood to identify community engagement goals and needs as well as opportunities to elevate climate justice, resiliency, and sustainability.
- Work with various City departments to identify and include climate justice program objectives and work plan activities in current projects and planning efforts affecting the Canal neighborhood.
- Act as a liaison between City departments, the City manager’s Office and the Sustainability division to understand operational needs around engagement with the Canal neighborhood and other priority areas in the city.
- Work with community groups and nonprofits working with and representing constituencies in the Canal neighborhood and in general the City’s priority equity communities to understand the needs of the residents and businesses, and ensure that community engagement is strategic, effective, and non-extractive while also leading to measurable outcomes.
- Support the City’s goal to build engagement practices that provide equitable access to City services and information.
- Develop and helps to implement engagement strategies and plans that are culturally competent and address the needs of persons with access and functional needs and persons that are non-English speaking.
- Oversee Canal neighborhood engagement operations in coordination with the City Manager’s Office and Communications Team.
- Help to develop and execute both strategic and implementation plans for communications and engagement services, programs, and projects to support City departments in projects and planning efforts affecting the Canal neighborhood.
- Performs related duties as assigned.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate has experience in bridging community and government and a demonstrated ability to connect across organizations to build collaborative partnerships. The candidate should have significant experience with government processes and be able to identify connections between plans. This person should have strong project management expertise, communications skills, and be a flexible, but strong leader. This candidate should also be skilled at communicating with people from different cultures, professional backgrounds, and different languages. Ideally, this person would be fluent in Spanish and English.
KNOWLEDGE OF
- Climate justice principles and methods for measuring accountability
- Strategic planning and project management
- Culturally competent community engagement strategies and best practices, that include communities of color and Spanish language communications
- Digital engagement services, technologies and emerging trends
- Principles and practices of user-centered design
- Change management
- Methods for monitoring, analyzing, and evaluating programs
- Business process improvements
- Communications, marketing, social media messaging and strategy
- Correct grammar usage, spelling, syntax, punctuation, and the principles of effective written communications
- Video communications
ABILITY TO
- Establish and maintain a working environment conducive to positive morale, individual style, quality, creativity, and teamwork.
- Identify challenges and emerging issues faced by the organization.
- Work with management team and staff to recognize internal and external communications opportunities and solutions and define and execute appropriate strategies to support them.
- Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
- Facilitate teams and lead decision-making processes in a collaborative environment.
- Manage interdepartmental committees and work programs.
- Mentor and develop staff using a supportive and collaborative approach on a consistent basis.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
A typical way to meet the minimum qualifications for this position is listed below. Any combination of education and or experience equivalent to the minimum qualifications will be considered.
- Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university with a degree in environmental science, public policy, sociology, digital engagement, communications, community engagement, marketing, public relations, public administration, or closely related field.
- Three years of progressively responsible experience in related field, including at least one year in a management capacity.
- A Master's Degree is preferred.
- Ability to communicate in Spanish and/or Vietnamese is preferred.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
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 essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk and/or hear and is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee is frequently required to use hands to handle or feel and to reach with arms. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee will somewhat regularly need to drive to off-site meetings and events. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to video displays and regularly works in inside environmental conditions. The employee is occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions, occasionally works in the evenings or on weekends and may travel occasionally. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The Climate Justice Engagement Manager (Advanced Professional Temp.) position is a two-year, grant funded position, with a salary range of $8,497 - $13,182 per month, *pro-rated for .72 FTE (27-hour work week), and enjoys many of the benefits of the City’s San Rafael Mid-Management Employee Association (SRMMEA), including:
- City group health, with the City paying a fixed dollar amount toward the cost of the monthly insurance premium. The 2025 monthly flex dollar allowance is (pro-rated based on FTE %):
- Employee only: $950.00
- Employee plus one: $1,900.00
- Family: $2,400.00
- Opt-out of City coverage and receive $950 cash-in-lieu (if eligible)
- Dental: Premium fully paid for employee plus eligible dependents
- Vision: Premium fully paid for employee plug eligible dependents
- Vacation: 15 days annual leave Vacation leave (hours accrued each pay period, range increases up to 25 days depending on years of service)
- Administrative leave: 10 days annually (applied every January – pro-rated based on date of hire)
- Sick leave: 12 days annual leave (hours accrued each pay period)
- 12 paid holidays, plus 1 paid floating holiday
- City-paid Life AD&D policy - $300,000
- City-paid LTD policy - $7,500
- Gym membership reimbursement – up to $198 per year
- In lieu of participation in the City’s MCERA pension program, Advance Professional Temp. positions are enrolled in PARS retirement plans, with employer contribution of 3.75% and employee contribution of 3.75% of their salary to the retirement plan.
SEARCH SCHEDULE
This position is open until filled with a first resume review date of Friday, November 8, 2024.
Preliminary interviews will be held in person (preferred) on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
Finalist interviews will be held in person on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
It is recommended that you plan your calendar accordingly.
APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
City of San Rafael application is required. Resumes do not substitute for the City application. Candidates should detail related education and experience on the application since this information will be used to determine who will be invited to participate in the next phase of the examination process. The examination process may include any or all of the following: Application appraisal, oral board examination, and written examination. The passing point for the oral and/or written examination final score will be 70%. Prior to appointment, candidate must pass a background check, DMV check, pre-employment physical/drug screen, and fingerprinting. To file an application, go to www.calopps.org. Select “Member Agencies.” Select “City of San Rafael”. For more information on the City of San Rafael, go to www.cityofsanrafael.org.
