Cascadia Consulting Group is a women-owned, private environmental consulting firm with 27 years of experience developing and implementing innovative solutions to today’s environmental challenges. Cascadia works with public and private-sector clients to advance sustainability through recycling and materials management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, transportation demand management, and water and natural resources management. The Cascadia team brings both established expertise and creative thinking to research and analysis, strategic planning, program design and implementation, outreach, social marketing and behavior change, and evaluation roles. From our offices in Oakland (CA), Seattle (WA), and Charleston (SC), we serve clients across the country.

At Cascadia, we strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment at all levels of the organization. Having staff and partnerships that reflect the diverse communities we serve empowers us to shape innovative and effective solutions together with those most impacted by social, human, and environmental health challenges.

Position Overview

Cascadia is currently seeking a Climate and Sustainability Associate to support and lead the development of climate and sustainability action plans for local government clients. These projects often include analysis of projected climate impacts, quantification of current and future greenhouse gas emissions, identification and prioritization of strategies to build resiliency and reduce emissions, and synthesis into a clear and actionable plan document. Specifically, the Associate will:

• Communicate directly and build positive relationships with clients/partners and lead project and team management duties, including scoping, developing and monitoring budgets, planning, supporting partners, delegating tasks, overseeing project teams, managing subcontractors, reporting, and invoicing from initiation to completion.
• Support and/or lead analytical tasks for project teams, such as greenhouse gas inventories and “wedge” analyses, climate vulnerability assessments, and sustainability metrics tracking and dashboards in order to synthesize and build policy recommendations from analytical outcomes.
• Support and/or lead inclusive and equitable stakeholder and public engagement, including preparation and facilitation of stakeholder interviews, focus groups, briefings, and online and in-person workshops and public events.
• Effectively write and verbally communicate using a diversity of styles and perspectives including synthesizing and translating complex information into clear, informative, and compelling materials (e.g., summaries, fact sheets, presentations, online dashboards, reports).

• Engage in business development, including formulating products and services, meeting with prospective clients and partners, and all aspects of proactive marketing and bidding on proposals (teaming, strategy, proposal-writing, budgeting, interviewing).
• Lead research on policies, trends, and best practices related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy, transportation, materials management, natural resource management, and other sustainability topics.
• Actively reflect and improve upon efforts to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts into client work.
• Occasionally travel locally or overnight, when permissible, including for public engagement, meetings, overnight stays, or other activities outside standard work hours.
• Perform other duties as required.

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor’s, master’s, or other advanced degree in environmental sciences, environmental management, public policy, or related field and at minimum 3 years of relevant, professional work experience in the climate or sustainability fields.
• Understanding of, and commitment to, Cascadia’s mission to “inspire and empower communities everywhere to protect and restore our world” in an equitable and inclusive way.
• A commitment to racial equity and the ability to apply racial equity principles to project work with clients, partners, and colleagues in an innovative and culturally responsible way while exhibiting emotional intelligence (i.e., culturally responsive engagement and facilitation).
• Working knowledge of climate science, climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, and ability to quickly learn about climate change issues.
• Demonstrated familiarity with and expertise at developing strategic plans, climate action plans, or other similar environmental or sustainability planning documents and processes.
• Knowledge of federal and state climate policies, including the latest policy developments in Washington state.
• Comfort making presentations to clients and presenting information in a compelling, informative, and persuasive fashion.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills in English with the ability to adapt to a diversity of styles and perspectives, and the ability to communicate scientific and technical ideas clearly using simple, commonly accepted language.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem-solving skills; exceptional critical thinking capabilities.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to handle challenging situations with tact and sensitivity.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines.
• Intermediate to advanced experience with producing deliverables with Microsoft Office 365 programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with virtual teleconference/engagement platforms including Zoom and Teams.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience designing and administering surveys, including using SurveyMonkey.
• Graphic design capabilities, including experience with Adobe InDesign or Illustrator.
• Ability to converse, present, and/or write fluently in any languages commonly spoken in the Seattle area—such as Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Thai, Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Oromo, Tigrinya, Punjabi, or Russian—and interest in applying these language skills professionally.

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, hourly, regular, non-exempt position based in Seattle, WA. Hourly rates are based on experience and competitive with jobs in the environmental sector; the anticipated hourly rate range for this position is $31 – $38/hour (equivalent to a salaried range of $65,000 – $78,000). The work may require flexible hours (including hours beyond the standard workday, such as weekends and evenings).

Cascadia offers a flexible workplace with the potential to work from home and the office, a generous benefit package, including health insurance for employees at or above 60% full-time equivalent, 401(k) with an employer match, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, transportation subsidies, flexible spending accounts, generous paid time off (per annum: 3 weeks’ vacation, 10 holidays, 9 sick days pro-rated for FTE equivalency), professional development opportunities, sabbaticals, and paid parental leave.

How to Apply

Submit a compelling cover letter outlining your passion for, and fit with, the position. Please also provide a complete chronological resume. Send both to jobs@cascadiaconsulting.com and indicate “WA Climate and Sustainability Associate – [Your Name]” in the subject line. Your cover letter should address your ability to meet the criteria in the Required Qualifications section and highlight relevant experience, education, and why you are interested in this position. Please state where you learned about the position. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $31.00 – $38.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Education:

• Bachelor’s (Preferred)

Work Location:

• One location

Work Remotely:

• Temporarily due to COVID-19