CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY SUMMER INTERN
Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.
Position in Seattle (WA), Oakland (CA), or Charleston (SC)
www.cascadiconsulting.com

Cascadia Consulting Group is a women-owned, private environmental consulting firm that develops and implements innovative solutions to today’s environmental challenges. Founded in 1993, Cascadia works with public and private-sector clients to advance sustainability through recycling and materials management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, and water and natural resources management. The Cascadia team brings both expertise and creative thinking to research and analysis, strategic planning, program design and implementation, and outreach and evaluation. From our offices in Seattle (WA), Oakland (CA), Charleston (SC), and San Marcos (TX), we serve clients across the country and abroad. Our mission is to inspire and empower communities everywhere to protect and restore our world.

Cascadia aspires to be a multicultural organization and seeks to hire individuals who contribute to our cultural fluency. We value employees who are aware of their own cultural lens, along with the impact it has on their interactions and work, and who can effectively connect across culture and difference, including race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, and physical ability. Additionally, we hire individuals who value a collaborative, fast-paced work environment, who think creatively and communicate effectively, and who work hard to get the job done well. Consulting is about taking initiative, solving problems, and serving clients, so we seek staff members with skills in those areas.

Position Overview

We are offering a summer internship to one individual to support our climate, sustainability, and natural resources analysis and planning work. Key aspects of the work will include researching policies and best practices, analyzing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts, facilitating workshops and meetings, conducting interviews, preparing literature reviews, and distilling and translating complex information into clear, compelling materials for diverse audiences. The distribution of work among these key aspects will vary based on project load and applicant skillset. We are seeking applicants with excellent written and oral communication skills and strong quantitative and creative problem-solving capabilities as well as an interest in public and stakeholder engagement. Examples of work include the following:

  • Support analytical tasks, such as greenhouse gas inventories, climate vulnerability assessments, and sustainability metrics tracking and analysis efforts.
  • Conduct desktop research and interviews, analyze information and data, and synthesize findings into clearly written informative summaries, fact sheets, presentations, and reports.
  • Research and track trends, issues, and policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, renewable energy, water resource management, habitat conservation, and other sustainability and conservation topics.
  • Generate external-facing materials on climate change and sustainability topics for stakeholder meetings, public events, and websites and online dashboards.
  • Produce high-quality work products and deliverables—such as polished written reports, fact sheets, tables, graphs, and other presentation pieces—that uphold Cascadia’s “brand” and reputation for exceptional quality content and appearance.
  • Support facilitation of multi-stakeholder meetings, workshops, task forces, and committees dedicated to a range of environmental topics.

Required Qualifications

This position requires a candidate with the following qualifications:

  • A minimum of one year of professional experience working on climate, sustainability, and/or natural resource management issues.
  • Demonstrated understanding of climate change issues, including greenhouse gas inventories and climate vulnerability assessments.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills and demonstrated ability to communicate complex issues clearly using simple, commonly accepted language.
  • Intermediate to advanced skills in Microsoft Excel.
  • Excellent organizational and documentation skills, along with great attention to detail.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks or projects, balance competing demands, set priorities, and meet deadlines.
  • Willingness and ability to work effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced work environment.
  • Patience, empathy, and a sense of humor.
  • Ability to work independently, with minimal guidance, as well as an ability to work effectively in a team.

Work Schedule

Demand for this work can vary as it occurs throughout the summer. It is anticipated that this role will offer at least 20 hours per week (50% FTE), with the potential for additional hours, and will last 10-12 weeks, likely starting in May or June. This work may require flexible hours, or it may have designated hours. It can also have short periods of intensive work. Internship positions are considered part of Cascadia’s roster of on-call employees, and as such Cascadia does not guarantee that you will receive a specific number of work hours. Our goal is to determine work schedules at least 1-2 weeks in advance of planned work, so you can plan your schedule accordingly.

Compensation

This is a temporary, hourly, non-exempt position. Cascadia will compensate this role with an hourly wage of $20+/hour, dependent on experience. Temporary staff are not immediately eligible for health benefits. The location of this internship could be in Seattle (WA), Oakland (CA), or Charleston (SC).

How to Apply

Please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@cascadiaconsulting.com and indicate “Climate & Sustainability Intern – [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 11:59pm (Pacific) on April 14, 2019.

Cascadia Consulting Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diverse perspectives and life experiences. People of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.