Introduction:
The challenges of confronting and preparing for climate change demand an inclusive, integrated, community wide response that goes far beyond what King County government alone can accomplish. King County’s 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) outlines County commitments to further engage and partner with diverse frontline communities on climate solutions, in ways that decision-making, leadership and action are shared. It is essential for the success of King County’s climate change strategies that the County develop successful partnerships with other governments and community stakeholders, Tribes, businesses, philanthropic, faith based and community organizations, and King County residents.

Summary: 
The Climate Equity and Community Partnerships Program Manager will act as King County’s lead for the Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities (SRFC) Section of the SCAP and will work across King County agencies to support implementation of the commitments in the 2020 SCAP. The SRFC Section was co-created with the Climate Equity Community Task Force (CECTF) and is King County’s first ever framework for climate justice.

King County relies on partnerships with public, private, and community-based partners to develop, communicate, and implement regional climate solutions. In coordination with other central climate and King County departments staff, this position will represent King County and lead the County’s work to develop relationships with communities most impacted by climate change and to build partnerships with a focus on those that help achieve the commitments in the  SCAP’s SRFC Section commitments.

The position will also work among and across County departments to leverage resources and develop shared strategies on climate change communications, programming, and engagement, focused on both providing resources to educate King County employees and help County agencies better communicate externally on climate related issues. This position will also support related Executive priorities such as responding to Racism as a Public Health Crisis.

Telecommuting Requirement
The work associated with this position will be performed remotely on a full time basis. Employees will also have access to shared workspaces at King Street Center at 201 S. Jackson Street in downtown Seattle. There will be situations where the employee is required to report to a County worksite. Employees must reside in WA state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection (access may be supplemented in some situations) where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.   Please note that when an employee conducts work that is likely to bring them in contact with another individual, safety precautions are required by the department in alignment with the Public Health Directive from the Seattle & King County Public Health Officer. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint.

To support employees during this time King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and dynamic team.

Work Location: Primarily teleworking and the King Street Center 201 S. Jackson St., Seattle WA 98104

Work Schedule: This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible. This full-time position works a 40-hour work week.

Primary responsibilities

• Lead implementation of the County’s climate change equity work, including serving as the lead in implementing the Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities (SRFC) section of the 2020 SCAP, and in future updates to this section of King County’s SCAP.
• Serve as a technical expert and advisor on climate justice and equity, authentic community engagement and partnerships, and climate communications.
• Support King County agencies efforts to advance climate and environmental justice commitments in implementing 2020 SCAP Priority Actions.
• Lead King County’s efforts to develop and advance regional climate justice by:
  • Serving as a technical advisor and SRFC section representative on regional collaborative groups and coalitions that are focused on climate change and community resilience.
  • Partnering and collaborating with King County agencies, other governments, research institutions, philanthropic and community-based organizations to expand and implement a comprehensive countywide plan and program to address climate justice and improve resiliency among King County community members, particularly those who are most vulnerable to health impacts.
• Lead efforts to develop, update, and implement King County policies on climate justice, starting with the actions in the SRFC section of the 2020 SCAP.
  • Develop recommendations for climate justice that maximize co-benefits for other county policy objectives, including environmental benefits, improved mobility, housing affordability, improved health outcomes, economic opportunity, emergency preparedness, and community resiliency.

• Lead, facilitate, and advocate for the Climate Equity Community Task Force, a group of community leaders who represent frontline communities and organizations across greater King County, that guide implementation of the SRFC section of the 2020 SCAP and provide guidance to King County agencies around climate action and equity.
• Present to and facilitate conversations with a wide variety of audiences (such as city and county elected officials, community members, emergency management practitioners, public health professionals, etc.) to educate and engage on climate change and integrating community priorities around climate equity.
• Develop accessible and culturally relevant written materials about climate impacts and climate equity with a focus on translating complex technical information into relevant, understandable, and actionable information.
• Build relationships and foster authentic community engagement with King County communities on climate change, climate injustices, and climate policies with a focus on communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change and face historic inequities.
• Support application of principles and recommendations from the SRFC section and King County’s Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan in partnership with County staff working on climate action, to address disproportionate climate impacts on county populations.
• Develop strategies, in partnership with communities, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preparing for climate impacts, and improving health, environmental, and economic outcomes for people experiencing disproportionate impacts.

Secondary responsibilities

• Work with County staff to develop and implement strategies that communicate regional climate change information for King County communities including the health and well-being of county residents, with a particular emphasis on King County’s most impacted populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
• Develop climate change education materials that are comprehensive and culturally relevant.
• In partnership with others, lead and participate in educational workshops and presentations with community members, youth, internal staff, and others on climate change, climate impacts, climate and environmental justice and GHG mitigation strategies. 

• In collaboration with the Green Jobs Program Manager, create career pathways, especially for BIPOC communities, to gain experience in climate related work, including to help develop and implement an expanded climate internship program funded in the County’s 2021-2022 budget.
• Act as a mentor to climate interns to support their leadership and development in climate careers and other green pathways.

Required skills of the ideal candidate: 

• Ability to work collaboratively with a multi-agency team of dedicated King County staff developing and implementing the King County’s SCAP.
• Experience building relationships and working collaboratively with/in limited English-speaking populations, immigrant/refugee communities, BIPOC communities, and culturally diverse communities.
• Strong understanding and prior experience applying climate justice, equity and social justice, and community partnerships best practices.
• Excellent communications skills; (develop and deliver multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences), build networks (effectively build formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization).
• Experience leading and facilitating discussions of focus groups, workshops, collaborative governance processes, and community-driven policy development.
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience (professional, academic, organizing, lived, etc.) related to environmental and/or climate justice; working with communities of color; equitable community engagement and partnership building; developing and implementing public policy; and/or project management of environmental, climate change, climate equity, community resilience, or related issues

Preferred skills of the ideal candidate: 

• Language skills in language(s) most common in King County other than English.
• Functional and technical knowledge and experience in one or more climate related topics such as transportation, food systems, energy, green building, consumption and materials, forests, climate impacts and preparedness, and climate and environmental justice.
• Keen analytical and strategic planning skills.
• Demonstrated ability to ethically research qualitative and quantitative data and provide recommendations on complex issues.
• Experience leading teams to solve complex challenges and managing and building consensus around stakeholder and partner priorities.
• Demonstrated success managing projects and resources.
• Commitment towards relationship building and uplifting community voices.
• Demonstrated understanding and commitment to equity and social justice, and ability to articulate climate justice connections in this work
• Experience approaching challenges by using a critical lens to understand the root causes of problems to arrive at best possible solutions and outcomes
• Successful experience synthesizing and communicating complex climate change information to diverse audience
• Ability to identify and describe relevant connections between climate equity and agency work across King County.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office software products.

Who is Eligible: This position is open to all qualified applicants. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

Location of this Position in King County Government: This position will be situated in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ (DNRP) Director’s office and will report to DNRP’s Deputy Director. DNRP works to advance sustainable and livable communities and a clean and healthy natural environment that support a prosperous and resilient economy. Because of the strongly interdepartmental nature of the role, in the future the location of the position may change.

About King County’s Integrated Approach to Climate Action: King County established an interdepartmental Climate Leadership Team (CLT) in 2014 to frame climate related policy choices, make recommendations to the Executive, allocate resources to implement priority actions, and oversee development of and now implementation of the SCAP. The CLT is made up of leadership from the Office of the Executive and County departments and has grown over the years to include more County department representatives. The CLT is a working committee that meets at least monthly and has decision-making power, including oversight of a cost-shared budget for climate action contributed to by multiple departments. The CLT will support and provide direction to the work of this position.

About King County’s Inter-Agency Climate Staff: This position will partner closely with colleagues from multiple County departments. Climate related staff are embedded in County agencies with primary responsibility for climate action and theses staff carry out activities to support the achievement and integration of SCAP priority actions across County departments. This includes a model of staff leads for each of the three sections of the 2020 SCAP. This distributed model for tackling climate change challenges in a large county government places climate work closer to daily operations, work plans, programs, and decision-making processes, and has been effective at integrating or “mainstreaming” climate change work across County departments.

Application and Selection Process: Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness including online application, cover letter and resume, and responsiveness to the list of qualifications, skills, and abilities. The most competitive candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews. Applications without the following required materials may not be considered for this position.

• King County application

• Resume

• Cover letter detailing your background and what you can bring to this position

• Briefly describe your experience working with/in or building coalitions among limited English-speaking populations, immigrant/refugee communities, and/or culturally diverse communities. (250 words or less)

• Responses to supplemental questions

Union Representation: This position is not represented by a Union

For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact:

Diana Eberly
Senior Human Resource Analyst
206-477-6899
Diana.eberly@kingcounty.gov

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Together, with leadership and our employees, we’re changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation’s best places to live, work and play. 

Guided by our “True North“, we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles–we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.