Climate and Sustainability Associate

Cascadia Consulting Group is a women-owned, private environmental consulting firm with 28 years of

experience developing and implementing innovative solutions to today’s environmental challenges.

Cascadia works with public and private-sector clients to advance sustainability through recycling and

materials management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, pollution

prevention, transportation demand management, and water and natural resources management. The

Cascadia team brings both established expertise and creative thinking to research and analysis, strategic

planning, program design and implementation, outreach, social marketing and behavior change, and

evaluation roles. From our offices in Oakland (CA), Seattle (WA), and Charleston (SC), we serve clients

across the country.

At Cascadia, we strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment at all levels of the organization.

Having staff and partnerships that reflect the diverse communities we serve empowers us to shape

innovative and effective solutions together with those most impacted by social, human, and

environmental health challenges.

Position Overview

Cascadia is currently seeking a Climate and Sustainability Associate to support and lead the development

and implementation of effective, community-centered strategies, plans, and policies for environmental,

organizational, and behavior change. This work will span multiple topic areas, including climate,

sustainability, natural resources, Puget Sound recovery, and more. Specifically, the Associate will:

• Support elements of strategic planning, including collecting and analyzing information; strategic

visioning; identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing options; setting goals and targets;

implementation planning; and/or reporting/tracking/evaluation.

• Support inclusive and equitable stakeholder and public engagement, including preparation and

facilitation of stakeholder interviews, focus groups, briefings, and online and in-person

workshops and public events.

• Communicate effectively with team members and clients prior to, following, and in between (for

ongoing projects) meetings, ensuring that project elements are moving forward as planned.

• Develop draft content for high-stakes communication (e.g., for large stakeholder

groups or high-level decisionmakers).

• Conduct qualitative research on policies, trends, and best practices related to

climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy, transportation, materials

management, natural resource management, and other sustainability topics.

• Effectively write and verbally communicate using a diversity of styles and perspectives including

synthesizing and translating complex information into clear, informative, and compelling

materials (e.g., summaries, fact sheets, presentations, online dashboards, reports).

• Support project and team management duties, including scoping, developing and monitoring

budgets, planning, supporting partners, delegating tasks, overseeing project teams, managing

subcontractors, reporting, and invoicing from initiation to completion.

• Actively reflect and improve upon efforts to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion

concepts into client work.

• Occasionally travel locally or overnight, when permissible, including for public engagement,

meetings, or other activities outside standard work hours.

• Perform other duties as required.

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor’s, master’s, or other advanced degree in environmental sciences, environmental

management, public policy, or related field and at minimum 2 years of relevant, professional

work experience in the climate or sustainability fields.

• Understanding of, and commitment to, Cascadia’s mission to “inspire and empower

communities everywhere to protect and restore our world” in an equitable and inclusive way.

• A commitment to racial equity and the ability to apply racial equity principles to project work

with clients, partners, and colleagues in an innovative and culturally responsible way while

exhibiting emotional intelligence (i.e., culturally responsive engagement and facilitation).

• Working knowledge of climate science, climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, and ability

to quickly learn about climate change issues.

• Comfort making presentations to clients and presenting information in a compelling,

informative, and persuasive fashion.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills in English with the ability to adapt to a

diversity of styles and perspectives, and the ability to communicate scientific and technical ideas

clearly using simple, commonly accepted language.

• Demonstrate initiative and problem-solving skills; exceptional critical thinking capabilities.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to handle challenging situations with tact and

sensitivity.

• Ability to manage and execute multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines with minimal guidance in

a fast-paced environment.

• Intermediate to advanced experience with producing deliverables with Microsoft Office 365

programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

• Experience with virtual teleconference/engagement platforms including Zoom and Teams.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated familiarity with and expertise at developing strategic plans, climate action plans,

or other similar environmental or sustainability planning documents and processes.

• Knowledge of federal and state climate policies, including the latest policy developments in

Washington state.

• Experience designing and administering surveys, including using SurveyMonkey.
• Graphic design capabilities, including experience with Adobe InDesign or Illustrator.
• Ability to converse, present, and/or write fluently in any languages commonly spoken in the

Seattle area—such as Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Thai,

Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Oromo, Tigrinya, Punjabi, or Russian—and interest in applying these

language skills professionally.

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, hourly, regular, non-exempt position based in Seattle, WA. Hourly rates are based on

experience and competitive with jobs in the environmental sector; the anticipated hourly rate range for

this position is $25-$30/hour. The work may require flexible hours (including hours beyond the standard

workday, such as weekends and evenings).

Cascadia offers a flexible workplace with the potential to work from home and the office, a generous

benefit package, including health insurance for employees at or above 60% full-time equivalent, 401(k)

with an employer match, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, transportation subsidies, flexible

spending accounts, generous paid time off (per annum: 3 weeks’ vacation, 10 holidays, 9 sick days pro-

rated for FTE equivalency), professional development opportunities, sabbaticals, and paid parental

leave.

In accordance with Federal, State, and County regulations, Cascadia employees are required to be

vaccinated as a condition of employment and show proof of vaccination, such as their CDC COVID-19

Vaccination Record Card or the vaccination record maintained by their health care provider unless

requests for medical or religious accommodation are submitted and approved.

How to Apply

Submit a compelling cover letter outlining your passion for, and fit with, the position, and please also

provide a complete chronological resume. Submit both to the following link:

https://cascadiaconsulting.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0s276?cjb_hash=O_inws56&apply_now=true. 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 the position is filled.

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