Host: County of Santa Clara
Region: Bay Area
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Adaptation, Climate Mitigation, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Transportation / Mobility, Carbon Sequestration
Skills Needed: Project Management, Research, Data Analysis, Stakeholder Engagement, Critical Thinking, Teamwork

Service Needs & Plans

The Fellow will work in the County of Santa Clara Office of Sustainability (OOS). OOS seeks to build and maintain a healthy and safe County by reducing climate pollution, adapting to a changing global climate, enhancing natural resources and the environment, fostering a prosperous and just regional economy, and improving community health to ensure all people have equitable opportunities to reach their full potential.

The Fellow will support OOS staff with executing the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant for the metropolitan area of Santa Clara County and San Benito County. This will consist of providing support on regional coordination, climate action planning, technical and outreach tasks, and providing support to local partners in Santa Clara County as part of the development of a regional Priority Climate Action Plan.

Project Description

The goals of the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant for the Santa Clara County and San Benito County metropolitan area are to conduct community climate action planning, outreach, and education, coordinate development of a regional Priority Climate Action Plan, and build capacity of local governments within the metropolitan area to apply for EPA Implementation Grant funding.

The Fellow’s role will be to assist with planning, outreach, and education to support climate action planning for unincorporated Santa Clara County. The fellow will support OOS with coordination, outreach, and technical functions of the EPA grant implementation. The Fellow will support planning and coordination to build capacity of the Santa Clara County Climate Collaborative to integrate the regional climate action planning functions related to the EPA grant into the Collaborative’s structure.

The Fellow will also support development and coordination of an ad-hoc Climate Collaborative working group to bring together partners to implement this project. The working group will include cities and agencies within the metropolitan area, including those from San Benito County. The working group will meet regularly to discuss overall strategy for the Priority Climate Action Plan, provide feedback on deliverables, and discuss coordination and strategy for the CPRG Implementation Grant. Additionally, the Fellow will build capacity of cities and agencies within the metropolitan area to prepare for the EPA implementation grant application, including supporting scoping potential projects, conducting research, and other capacity building functions.

Desired Skills

For this project, a key trait is a fellow who is comfortable interacting with a wide range of people, from city staff to technical consultants to community organizations. Additionally, a fellow that can synthesize key findings from plans, studies, reports, and datasets would be ideal. Other desired traits include: someone who is able to stick to deadlines and manage their time well, and has the ability to think critically and creatively- to help brainstorm solutions that will balance multiple stakeholders’ needs and situations. Lastly, an interest or passion in one of the following topics would be helpful: building decarbonization, electric vehicles, and/or climate-friendly agriculture.

Organization & Community Highlights

OOS pursues a commitment to equity, collaborates across disciplines, applies creative approaches, and encourages all to serve as change agents to achieve the following goals:
-Effect systems change through policy and planning tools.
-Offer technical assistance and build capacity of County departments and partners to operationalize sustainability initiatives.
-Grow and foster networks and partners and secure funding to advance climate action and resilience solutions.
-Shift social norms and empower sustainable behaviors through education and engagement.

OOS is a small office with a collaborative work culture, where we encourage Fellows to contribute as core team players in our projects and programs. Our office is part of the Office of the County Executive and works directly with multiple County departments and teams, including Public Health, Facilities and Fleet, Planning and Development, etc. Our cross-functional working environment offers Fellows multiple opportunities to learn about other government functions as part of their fellowship. We encourage Fellows to attend and contribute to networking meetings during their fellowship and attend public meetings to broaden their professional network and deepen their experience in local government. Fellows will get first-hand experience in how local governments operate, valuable knowledge and experience for anyone that is considering working towards solving climate change through the public or non-profit forum.

Santa Clara County is one of the best places in the world to live and work. Where else can you visit beaches, redwood forests, and skyscrapers all in the same day? It is a diverse, multi-cultural area where you can experience food, languages, and people from around the world. The County, and the state of California in general are established leaders in support for sustainability and working to solve climate change. Santa Clara County’s population of 1.92 million is the largest in Northern California, one of the State’s most heterogeneous, rich in ethnic and cultural diversity, and enjoys access to all of the attractions of the San Francisco Bay Area. The OOS office is based in San Jose, with close proximity to public transportation via VTA light rail.

 

Remote or On-Site Placement

On-site