Herc-Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

       The Sustainability Fellow provides direction and support to achieve targeted sustainability goals and will report to the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Facilities. The position will support the college’s goals of improving environmental sustainability primarily in the college’s operations, but with secondary goals related to student academic experiences, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, and community outreach.  College housing is provided. 

Essential Job Functions:

• Work with multiple campus leaders and stakeholders to create, implement, and explain sustainability measures on campus, including at least the following offices and departments: Finance, Facilities Management, Faculty and Academic Affairs, Admissions, Student groups, Student Life, Development, Communications, Athletics;
• Track and audit the College’s Sustainability measures, including:
  • Annually: Complete Centre’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG Inventory) as part of Centre’s Climate Action Plan in collaboration with student researchers/workers.
  • Every 3 years: Complete the AASHE STARS assessment (or equivalent) in collaboration with a student team of student researchers/workers.
• Develop and support Centre’s on-going sustainability initiatives, including such things as:
  • Support Centre’s new plans for a campus farm (collaborative agreement with Kentucky School for the Deaf, KSD, in town)
  • Promote and Implement more sustainable energy use on campus (Solar installations, energy reduction policies, behavior changes, efficiency improvements)
  • Support best practices for grounds maintenance, including landscaping, plantings, mowing, and other activities
  • Support Centre’s farm-to-table operations, working with Food Service Provider
  • Support and collaborate on Centre’s food waste reduction strategies (Dehydrator, Composting) and other waste reduction strategies (recycling, reuse)
  • Promotion of sustainability activities (work with student groups including the Centre Environmental Association, Centre Garden Club, etc.) and develop and promote stories of sustainability on campus (work with Communications on the website and web stories, social media)
  • Support the writing of grant proposals and reports related to campus and community sustainability
  • Perform quantitative assessments and analyses for reports on energy and efficiency (electricity and natural gas usage, RECs, etc.), water (single-use plastic reduction, water use efficiencies), food (farm-to-table, food waste), buildings (design, commissioning, utilization), waste streams (including recycling)
  • Develop proposals for Green Revolving Fund projects.

• Engaging the Community
  • Support the Sustainability Committee (currently called the Presidential Climate Commitment Advisory Committee).
  • Develop shared goals with connections to other campus priorities and initiatives being developed in Centre’s Third Century Conversations
  • Support and foster student leadership and engagement.
  • Network with peer institutions in order to understand the evolving best practices and look for opportunities for collaboration to forward common goals.

• Appreciation of, a sensitivity to, and respect for a diverse academic environment, inclusive of students, faculty and staff of many social, economic, cultural, ideological, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

 Education and Experience          

Bachelor’s degree with campus experience (or similar combination of degrees and experience), including developing and coordinating broadly defined sustainability initiatives in collaboration with colleagues across the college. The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills and abilities:

• Strong ability to work as part of a team as well as to work independently.
• Demonstrated ability to develop positive collaborative relationships and experience in facilitation of collaborative processes to achieve consensus outcomes.
• Experience developing long-term strategic initiatives and in implementing, assessing and engaging communities in them.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple concurrent projects, and demonstrate effective time management skills.
• Demonstrated adaptability and initiative, including a willingness to seek and integrate information from multiple sources, to respect differing positions, to adapt to change, and to take initiative to anticipate programmatic needs.
• Sound and mature judgment in decision-making and ability to think strategically, listen carefully, and to advise senior leadership effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and promote inclusive programs that engage all members of the community.
• Exceptional oral and written communication capacities with experience communicating with multiple diverse audiences.
• Strong human relations and interpersonal skills including an ability to interact professionally and communicate in a clear and courteous manner with a diverse community in order to maintain effective, professional, and cooperative working relationships across all levels on campus and with external audiences.
• An awareness of and commitment to liberal arts education and leadership and fostering of just, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable communities.               

Physical Requirements

            Limited pushing, pulling, lifting.  Lifting would not exceed 20 lbs.

            Mobility on campus necessary.