Project Specialist, Climate Emergency

Staff - Non Union

Job Category

M&P - AAPS

Job Profile

AAPS Salaried - Administration, Level A

Job Title

Project Specialist, Climate Emergency

Department

Leadership | UBC Sustainability Initiative

Compensation Range

$5,063.67 - $7,294.50 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

September 4, 2023

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Aug 31, 2024

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

The UBC Sustainability Hub builds on UBC's position as a leader in campus sustainability, and works to reinforce the University's goal of providing an exceptional learning and research-rich environment that advances global citizenship and a civil and sustainable society.

In response to UBC’s Climate Emergency Declaration, the Climate Emergency Task Force (CETF) produced a report with 9 strategic priorities and 28 associated recommendations that span the community, academic (teaching, learning, and research) and operational dimensions of the university. Climate justice is a core theme woven throughout the Report.

The CETF Report has connections to many UBC plans and strategies including UBC’s Strategic Plan, 20-Year Sustainability Strategy, Indigenous Strategic Plan, Global Engagement Strategy, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, Inclusion Action Plan, emerging Student Strategic Plan, Employment Equity Plan, and divestment commitments, among others.

The UBC Sustainability Hub, in partnership with the UBCO Provost Office, has the role of convening, coordinating and tracking implementation of the CETF strategic priorities and recommendations. The Sustainability Hub has commenced work with respective leads to understand where the recommendations of the CETF are synergistic with work already underway, where opportunities for quick advancement exist, what further assessment is needed to enable implementation, and where gaps remain. The team is developing and implementing a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework to track progress on CETF report implementation.

This is a cross-functional one-year term position that will support CETF Report implementation and evaluation to ensure coordinated, coherent, measured change in priority areas in a manner that engages members of the community and key leaders across institutional units on both campuses.

Organizational Status

Reports to the Senior Project Manager, Climate Emergency at the Sustainability Hub. Works in close collaboration with the Sustainability Hub team and the Senior Director of the Sustainability Hub, as well as with faculties and units across campus.

Work Performed

Lead and coordinate development and implementation of the strategic measurement framework and processes to monitor, evaluate, and report on CETF progress; and coordinate regular reporting of this to the UBC community and leadership.

• Develop and facilitate implementation of methods to measure progress on the Climate Emergency Task Force Report at a campus level, including establishing monitoring evaluation and learning frameworks to track and assess progress
• Facilitate the design and implementation of climate emergency performance indicators related to the CETF report as well as tracking systems to monitor the indicators. Conduct background research to inform indicator development as required.
• Support the completion of projects identified by the Interdepartmental Climate Committee and other related bodies to ensure outcomes inform the development and implementation of UBC’s climate and related policies, plans and practices, while providing experiential learning, teaching and research opportunities with students and faculty.
• Develop project plans, objectives, timelines and manage the project lifecycle.

• Perform other related responsibilities as needed.
• Research and develop case studies to communicate the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the CETF process and prepare internal and external presentations for key audiences.
• Develop and maintain an accurate repository of projects, programming, and initiatives taking place on campus or in planning stages that feed into the Climate Emergency implementation plan.
• Prepare reports on activities, including managing and communicating progress of research and partnerships
• Develop and coordinate various knowledge exchange activities to disseminate, translate and mobilize climate emergency work to inform academic and practitioner bodies of knowledge and action to advance climate action. This may also include outreach and engagement to promote action on the climate emergency commitments made by UBC and to support advancement of campus practices that can promote climate emergency, climate action and other related sustainability and wellbeing priorities.
• Identification of trends, comparison of results to expected outcomes and assessment of variances
• Collect, analyse and summarise information from stakeholders and others on relevant project and evaluation data, and write reports and briefing notes for senior staff, UBC leadership, and other stakeholders as appropriate. Includes:
• Collection of data and research and preparation of background materials

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The incumbent is expected to operate with a high degree of maturity, while working under broad guidelines. The consequence of error in this could be very serious for the University as it concerns the public image and profile of UBC and the Sustainability Hub’s climate work. Poor decisions or lack of tact, diplomacy or sensitivity in dealing with faculty, students, staff and external partners, could potentially result in missed opportunities, damaged relationships and loss of credibility for the University.

Supervision Received

This position works independently and with considerable latitude under the general direction of the Senior Project Manager, Climate Emergency within established project parameters. This position determines priorities as necessary and makes authoritative decisions on a daily basis. Work is reviewed against the achievement of specific goals and objectives.

Supervision Given

May manage student research and program assistants. Provides advice and recommendations to program managers and other unit staff.

Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of two years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of two years of related experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in project planning, management, assessment, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Excellent, proven interpersonal and intercultural, oral and written communication skills and organizational planning abilities.
• Experience in partnership-building and public engagement processes in complex environments.
• Experience working with community input and culturally sensitive and/or confidential information.
• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, including but not limited to, climate change, public policy, geography, social justice and equity, and planning.
• Substantive knowledge of climate justice required.
• Experience developing indicators and reporting on complex topics related to sustainability and climate change required.
• Financial management experience desirable.
• Ability to translate broad goals and vision into action plans and priority projects in short-term and long-term timelines.
• Candidates should identify with UBC's vision and values outlined in Place and Promise including mutual respect and equity, advancing and sharing knowledge, academic freedom, public interest, excellence and integrity.