Job Description

The Heat Resilience Place-based Program Manager will play a critical role in expanding the Office of Sustainability’s place-based program. The place-based program works with environmental justice communities experiencing disproportionate climate risks to build community capacity to address those risks and co-develop community-driven climate resilience strategies. This program has been exemplified in an ongoing place-based initiative on flood resilience in Eastwick called Eastwick: from Recovery to Resilience.

The Program Manager works at the intersection of intergovernmental coordination to address quality of life concerns and community power building to achieve environmental and climate justice. The Program Manager will also align with environmental justice and energy poverty alleviation strategies to more holistically address heat vulnerability. Following and building upon OOS’ Place-based Framework, the Program Manager will lead the launch of a Place-based Initiative around heat resilience in North Philadelphia. This initiative will entail:

• Listening to and honoring community priorities for heat resilience and quality of life improvements;
• Developing and strengthening relationships with community organizations in the neighborhood;
• Coordinating between City, State, and Federal agencies to streamline resources, communications, and engagement
• Working with community partners to conduct community engagement and co-develop a heat resilience strategy

This position is funded through February 2027 by an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice Government to Government grant.

Essential Functions

Strategic Alignment

• Further develop and iterate on a strategic framework for place-based work that harmonizes government initiatives, sets shared goals, builds community capacity, and aligns performance metrics.
• Maintain systems and resources that furthers a whole-of-government approach.
• Interface with federal and Commonwealth agencies to maximize their expertise and resource availability.
• Participate in and provide subject matter expertise to related interagency City initiatives.
• Monitor and analyze trends in the equitable community-driven climate resilience work to ensure programmatic actions reflect best practices in the planning and implementation of solutions in communities experiencing historical and ongoing environmental injustice.
• Collaborate with OOS’ Environmental Justice and Climate Solutions teams to align on strategy and goals.

Community Capacity Building

• Partner with community-based organization(s) to co-develop a heat resilience strategy. Specific tasks may include:
  • Developing and implementing a neighborhood-level heat vulnerability assessment and property scale survey of energy burden.
  • Co-convening community conversations and workshops around heat resilience, energy burden, and/or environmental justice
  • Codifying learnings and actions into a heat resilience strategy
• Facilitate community power building strategies that enable community leaders and residents to participate as co-creators in developing and implementing interventions to meet local needs.
• Connect community priorities to funding opportunities and support flow-through of funding to community organizations and residents for community improvement projects related to heat resilience.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Foster a whole-of-government approach through regular engagement and coordination of intergovernmental partners.
• Develop and maintain relationships with non-profit and academic partners to streamline complementary efforts.

Convene regular coordination meetings and working groups to keep all partners engaged and communicating.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Required:

• Familiarity with climate justice, environmental justice and racial equity issues. Must be able to discuss race, class, gender, and other issues of power and identity with ease and comfort
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical information into accessible forms and adapt styles to diverse audiences and different cultural environments.
• Experience and comfort with public speaking and meeting facilitation
• Strong organizational and analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and relationship management; Relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences
• Must be able to work some evening and weekend hours, as required.
• Familiarity with Philadelphia (e.g., lived or worked in the city)
• Project management experience, able to prioritize and manage multiple tasks; Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcome.
• Familiarity and proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Acrobat
• Ability to work independently

Preferred

• Experience with conflict resolution
• Experience working with GIS
• Experience working with and analyzing data
• Community organizing and coalition building
• Resides in North Philadelphia

Qualifications

Required:

• An Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, environmental science, sustainability or other relevant degree, and at least three years of full-time professional level experience working in a relevant field OR an equivalent combination of education and experience determined to be acceptable.
• Comprehensive understanding of climate science and resilience planning principles
• Extensive public engagement and facilitation experience
• Experience planning and coordinating the development, implementation, and execution of programs, special projects, or other initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience (professional or non-professional) in building and maintaining relationships with community of color and low-wealth communities and executing projects involving multiple partners.

Preferred:

• Professional experience with community development and advocacy
• Professional experience with climate resilience, heat mitigation or emergency management
• Relevant graduate-level degree

Additional Information

TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.

Salary Range: $80,000

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:

• Transportation : City employees get unlimited FREE public transportation all year long through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program. Employees can ride on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and regional rail for their daily commute and more.
• Parental Benefits: The City offers its employees 6 weeks of paid parental leave.
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents.
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
• Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!

Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

_ *The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire_

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx