A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability (OOS) is responsible for implementing Greenworks: A Vision for a Sustainable Philadelphia, the City’s comprehensive sustainability plan. OOS works with partners to improve quality of life in all Philadelphia neighborhoods, reduce the City’s carbon emissions, and prepare Philadelphia for a hotter, wetter future. The Energy Office, housed within OOS, manages municipal government energy operations.

The team that makes up OOS works interdependently to achieve these goals by drawing upon the wide range of professional and lived experience among team members. Members often collaborate in workgroups of people with complementary skills to maximize OOS’s collective expertise.

The salary range for this position is $60,000 to $70,000.

The Program Strategist for Place-Based Initiatives will have a vital role in building community resilience through comprehensive place-based innovations. The role will advance a strategic framework that draws upon whole-of-government resources to implement community-driven interventions that rectify historic and current environmental injustice at the center of climate vulnerability.

In implementing this framework, the Program Specialist will facilitate community power building strategies that enable residents to participate as co-creators in the development and implementation of interventions to meet local needs.

In support of these strategic priorities, the Program Strategist will hone in on the following near-term objectives:

• Reduce the structural barriers that constrain the capacity of community-based leadership to define for themselves the solutions most relevant to the unique climate challenges they face.
   
• Build capacity to apply for, receive, and utilize federal funds that have been allocated to communities experiencing environmental injustice (i.e., Justice40 commitment).
   
• Establish and steward a place-based, cross-sector implementation model for delivering interventions co-created with those most impacted

This is a full-time, grant-funded position that runs through June 2023. It reports to the Place-Based Initiatives Manager. This position is supported by the Operations Transformation Fund (OTF). The OTF is a $10 million internal City fund which is investing in transformative municipal projects over the next two fiscal years (2022 and 2023). Across different City departments, OTF projects are implementing people-centered and sustainable solutions that focus on efficient and equitable service provision to benefit Philadelphians. OTF project teams receive ongoing support and assistance from the City’s Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), which manages the OTF, and participate in activities as a cohort.

Essential Functions

Strategic Alignment

• Drive the development and implementation of a strategic framework for place-based work that harmonizes government initiatives, sets shared goals, and aligns performance metrics.
• Maintain systems and resources that furthers a whole-of-government approach.
• Interface with federal and Commonwealth agencies to maximize their expertise and resource availability.
• Participate in and provide subject matter expertise to related interagency City initiatives.

Community Capacity Building

• Facilitate community power building strategies that enable residents to participate as co-creators in developing and implementing interventions to meet local needs.
   
• Assist with targeted capacity-building activities focuses on strengthening to apply for, receive, and utilize federal funding that the Biden Administration has allocated for communities experiencing environmental injustice (i.e., Justice40 commitment)

Program Delivery Support

• Implement a communications strategy to ensure target communication to report on programmatic progress.
   
• Provide strategic support to operational planning and coordination of community-based activities.
   
• Monitor and analyze trends in the equitable community-driven climate resilience work to ensure programmatic actions reflect best practices in the planning and implementation of solutions in communities experiencing historical and ongoing environmental injustice.
   
• Provide backbone support for a cross-sector collaborative focused on delivering interventions to address environmental disparities.

Data and Evaluation 

• Collaborate with the Place-Based Initiatives Manager to refine metrics of success, create a dashboard of key indicators, track progress, and report to partners on these efforts.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Planning and Evaluation - Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcome.
• Research and Data Analysis - Well-versed in sifting through a vast array of informational resources and producing products (written or digital) that harvest meaningful insights. 
• Communication - Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical information into accessible forms and adapt styles to diverse audiences and different cultural environments.
• Relationship Management - Relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences; demonstrated experience (professional or non-professional) in building and maintaining relationships with low-wealth and community of color communities and executing projects involving multiple constituencies.

Bachelor’s Degree, or a combination of 4 years of education and/or relevant experience, in public policy, land use, urban/regional planning or related fields.

At least (2) years of relevant experience planning and coordinating the development, implementation, and execution of programs, special projects, or other initiatives.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT

OOS approaches individual growth and capacity building collaboratively. Professional learning occurs in the shared context of a community where all team members collectively participate in staff development. The entire team convenes regularly to strengthen skills and competencies through knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and peer-to-peer support.

In addition to all-staff development opportunities, the fellow will further build skills and knowledge through 1:1 mentoring with members of the senior leadership team. Peer-to-peer mentoring will complement 1:1 meetings. The fellow will receive guidance and coaching from other OOS staff as well as other partners based on learning interest.

This position will be closed on Feb 19, 2022.

Successful candidate must be a City resident within six months of hire.

Vaccination status

As a condition of employment with the City of Philadelphia, employees starting employment on or after September 1, 2021 must be vaccinated.

Did you know?

• We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
• 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670

 For more information, go to the Human Relations website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx