Program Manager I (Climate Engagement)

Program Manager I (Climate Engagement), Grade 23

Montgomery County Government

Department of Environmental Protection

2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, Maryland 20902

Salary Range: $74,507 to $119,032

Start Date: 11/05/2024

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is a nationally recognized and award-winning agency with the mission to enhance the quality of life in our community by protecting and improving Montgomery County’s air, water, and land in a sustainable, innovative, inclusive, and industry-leading way while fostering smart growth, a thriving more sustainable economy and healthy communities. DEP is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and values diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and cultures. DEP encourages BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

DEP is seeking a Program Manager I to join the Energy, Climate, and Compliance Division to engage the community as partners in climate action. This position will lead a range of climate-related engagement and communication activities, with a particular focus on efforts to involve underserved community members who are likely to feel the impacts of climate change most acutely.

The Program Manager will have considerable knowledge of, and experience in, community engagement, particularly participatory approaches that integrate climate resilience, health and racial equity. The individual will serve as a thought leader, helping to catalyze a paradigm shift from conventional, non-inclusive outreach to a community engagement process that centers BIPOC and frontline community members in the co-creation of solutions to climate change. The individual must be a systems thinker who sees, and helps to forge, integrated solutions that cut across departments and sectors.

The ideal candidate will have considerable experience in program development and management; community engagement with and/or grassroots organizing in low income, under-represented and BIPOC communities; and convening and facilitating inclusive group meetings. The successful candidate will be culturally competent, empathetic, and collegial, with a demonstrated ability to effectively work with people from diverse backgrounds on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and lived experiences.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich unveiled the Climate Action Plan (CAP) that will guide the County toward its goals of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and by 100 percent by 2035 compared to 2005 levels. The CAP, which will also increase resilience in the face of climate hazards, is one of the most ambitious climate plans in the nation for a local government.

The primary responsibility of this position will be to help shape a new community engagement process -- one that is premised on community empowerment, amplifies under-represented voices, and cultivates community-driven civic leadership. The Program Manager will help the County create and implement a process in which program development is centered on the needs, desires, wisdom, and insights of County residents, tailored to meet their specific needs, and co-created through authentic collaboration. Such a model is premised on a “participatory action research framework” in which solutions are devised through the participation and lived experiences of stakeholders.

The Program Manager will be involved in meeting facilitation; partnership building; training and program design; “appreciative inquiry” in which community-based assets and strengths are identified and leveraged; community decision-making; outreach and communications; and accessing resources and funding to support initiatives conceived and generated in collaboration with community members.

Key duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Assisting with the development and management of the County’s equitable and inclusive community engagement climate initiatives. For example, in partnership with community-based organizations and community members, supporting the ongoing development and success of the Climate Justice Co-Creation Initiative (CJCI) by engaging in collaborative strategic planning to determine program structure, governance, funding needs, and activities of the CJCI, and managing a subset of those activities.
• Ensuring that relationships built with community partners are nurtured and sustained.
• Building internal and external support and helping to institutionalize and identify funding for program(s) flowing from community-based collaborations.
• Administering contracts with community-based organizations with whom the County partners.
• Conducting trainings, workshops, and communication/outreach campaigns and facilitating meetings with internal and external stakeholders.
• Supporting the County’s pursuit of grant funding, including developing proposals, managing grant awards, reporting on milestones, outcomes and outputs, and developing and managing those related contracts.
• Promoting and measuring the results of equitable and inclusive community engagement climate initiatives.
• Supporting other actions that advance the priorities and needs of BIPOC, frontline, and other communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Bilingual applicants in the Spanish/English languages are encouraged to apply. If the candidate selected for this position possesses multilingual skills, they will be required to successfully pass an examination assessing oral communication, reading comprehension, and interpreting skills. For Advanced proficiency, the candidate must also pass an examination requiring translating text from Spanish to English and vice versa.

This position requires possession of a valid driver’s license and the ability to drive a County vehicle to attend meetings, engagement events, and perform work at locations outside the office. This includes traveling to and transporting outreach and event materials to various meeting and event locations throughout Montgomery County, as well as travel to a variety of County neighborhoods in support of programmatic activities. Travel locations will vary and are likely to include locations not served well by public transit.

Occasional evening or weekend work outside of normal business hours may be required.

To ensure a positive workplace and to comply with federal, state and County laws, the incumbent is responsible for completing mandatory trainings within the first three to six months or within the specified timeframe.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Experience: Considerable (3 years) of professional experience in program development and management focusing on community-based climate change and/or sustainability initiatives and stakeholder engagement.

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree.

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

License: Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid Class “C” (or equivalent) driver’s license from the applicant’s state of residence.

PREFERRED CRITIERIA, INTERVIEW PREFERENCES

All Applicants will be reviewed by the Office of Human Resources (OHR) for minimum qualifications. Those applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be rated “Qualified,” placed on the Eligible List, and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade or higher will be placed on the Eligible List as a “Transfer” candidate and may be considered for an interview.

Preference for interviews will be given to applicants with experience in the following. Please address this information in a separate section of the resume.

• Expertise in community engagement, especially involving direct engagement with low-income, immigrant and/or BIPOC communities.
• Experience convening and facilitating inclusive group conversations.
• Experience integrating and promoting issues related to climate change, health, racial equity, and/or environmental sustainability in community engagement processes and project design.
• An understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English or advanced proficiency in Spanish. **Please indicate on your resume**
• Familiarity with actions to address climate change, particularly building community resiliency to climate hazards.
• Experience in coalition building across sectors and between local government and community-based organizations and networks

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Government offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits.

To view the complete job announcement and to apply, please visit our website at www.work4mcg.com, click on “Search Jobs and Apply” and enter Program Manager, Climate Engagement in the search field.

The job number for this recruitment is 2024-00318.

Interested candidates must create an online account in order to apply.

This Recruitment Closes December 2, 2024.

If interested in other DEP job opportunities, please filter by “Department” and click on Department of Environmental Protection.

All resume submissions must address the preferred criteria for the position, preferably in a separate section of the resume.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Resume Preparation Tips listed under the “Career Resources” tab on the Office of Human Resource’s Work4MCG webpage EOE. M/F/H.