Sustainable Workplaces Manager

SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACES MANAGER

Help us teach and guide workplaces on their sustainability journeys.

Summary

Urban Green Lab is searching for a full-time sustainable workplaces manager to help us fulfill our mission of teaching communities how to live sustainably.

Urban Green Lab

We teach communities how to live sustainably. Founded in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, Urban Green Lab envisions a city where learning how to protect our planet, people, and prosperity is just a part of everyday life. To do this, we organize, train, and connect Nashvillians in classrooms, households, and workplaces so they’re within better reach of solutions – and each other – for making a difference. 

Job Summary

The Sustainable Workplaces Manager for Urban Green Lab leads the Workplaces Division, which empowers workplaces across various industries to use education to further sustainable practices. Supervised by the Director of Education and in collaboration with the education team and other staff, the manager leads the Workplaces Division's programming, which is meant to expand and deepen systemic sustainability learning within workplaces year-round. The position is full-time, exempt, and based in Nashville, with a flexible work-life balance. 

Specifically, the Workplaces Division organizes educational leadership and planning, provides basic and advanced training on Nashville-specific sustainability issues and opportunities, and connects workplaces to resources and each other so they can exchange best practices. Sustainability education allows workplaces to connect their employees, mission, and goals to city and global priorities for a thriving city and planet. Urban Green Lab frames its work around science-based solutions in the workplace that prioritize prosperity, protecting our planet, and recognizing our impact on our shared community.

Our Educational Philosophy

We believe learning how to live sustainably should just be a part of life. That means it needs to be systemic and woven into the existing fabric of who we are. Learning how to make more sustainable choices should begin with thinking “upstream” about how we can protect what we care about most in all the places where we learn, work, and live. We think these spaces can serve as laboratories for learning, taking chances, and exploring our life-long responsibilities as stewards of the earth. To us, a little change goes a long way.

Key Responsibilities

1) Leading the Workplaces Division: Execute and deepen the division's overall impact. Facilitate active learning, resource-sharing, and community-building through basic and advanced learning sessions as well as at site visits that occur every other month at different host businesses. As needed, create compelling content and resources autonomously, with the education team, or with external partners that are in alignment with the educational framework of the organization. Collaborate with the Director of Education on the evolution of the division as needed.

2) Building Relationships: Identify, build, and strengthen relationships with workplaces, professional associations and networks, and general sustainability stakeholders in the Nashville area, with an emphasis on increasing the equity, impact, and reach of the Division’s programming. Create and execute a strategic outreach plan for reaching the division's annual and long-term goals. Maintain a group of key advisors to ensure quality programming and outreach. As capacity allows, volunteer, table, or attend events with locally aligned groups to maintain visibility, support, and community-building.  

3) Managing the Workplaces Coordinator: Guide, coach, and manage the workplaces coordinator as they execute and build this supporting role. Foster a sense of inclusion and support through weekly one-on-ones and regular work times together. Help the coordinator grow by creating professional development opportunities, developing goals together, and proactively seeking out input to facilitate their continued advancement. Allow for autonomy while still providing clear direction and serving as a resource and problem-solver. Offer feedback as needed and during quarterly feedback sessions, and coach the coordinator to align their work with our mission, values, and long-term outcomes.

4) Administering the Division: Set annual and long-term divisional goals and metrics, and identify budgetary needs. Implement best practices for fee-for-service models where appropriate. Collect participant feedback to understand the opportunities for programs. Work closely with the coordinator to manage data entry, recordkeeping, and relationship-tracking through Salesforce, Google Workspace, Typeform, and other platforms as needed. Maintain updated resources, technological needs, and procedures for executing trainings and events. Oversee event invitations, registration, and attendance and provide follow-up communication. 

5) Nourishing the Community of Champions: Manage the learning community for trained Nashville workplaces to network, learn, and troubleshoot together. Continually research and update the online toolbox of community resources on Urban Green Lab’s Circle platform. Regularly investigate aligned workplace sustainability resources, certifications, and groups (i.e., LEED, B Corps, 1% for the Planet, etc.) and integrate appropriately to deepen the impact of the division for workplaces. Plan and lead supplemental trainings or networking events. Encourage online community engagement. Supervise workplaces coordinator to create and deploy a monthly newsletter in collaboration with the Communications Manager. 

6) Other Duties: Collaborate regularly with the broader education team to hone our collective sustainability lens. Contribute to the organization’s overall sustainability by collaborating with the Development Manager on fundraising and networking opportunities, and with the Communications Manager to develop effective messaging for the division and organization. Present periodically to the Board of Directors on program developments and divisional needs. Attend regular team meetings and generally represent the organization in the community. Other duties as assigned.

Personal Attributes

We’re searching for someone who is the following:

• Passionately committed to Urban Green Lab’s mission and values

• Entrepreneurial and goal-orientated with a keen sense for innovation

• Proactive, dependable, and on-time – a team player to the core

• Diplomatic with excellent community relations and listening skills

• Positive and flexible with intellectual curiosity and ability to adjust to change

• Inclusive and empathetic with an understanding of what it means to be equitable

• Humble and gracious under pressure with a high sense of integrity and humor 

Experience & Knowledge

We’re searching for someone who has the following ideal experience and skills:

• At least 3-5 years of relevant professional experience

• Comfort building relationships and trust with diverse experts, stakeholders, and workplaces of various kinds (small business, corporate, nonprofit, etc.) 

• Confidence in training, public speaking, education, and facilitating the exchange of best practices both in-person and online

• Experience collecting, analyzing, integrating, and reporting meaningful data

• Experience (ideal) supervising employees or interns

• An understanding of sustainability, the environment, public health, or related issues

• Clear oral and written communication skills

• Skilled in organization, prioritization, and time management 

Company Culture

Urban Green Lab takes pride in being a human-centric organization, and we design our policies to reflect that principle. We believe people work best when they’re treated best and are growing both personally and professionally. Examples of this include our flexible hybrid-work schedule (two days in the office plus three days working from any location); collaboratively-created goals, metrics, and performance expectations; up to 15 “silent retreat” days in which staff have permission to focus on uninterrupted work time; separate goals and budgets just for professional development; regular one-on-one check-ins with supervisors for guidance and planning; a staff-led green team; free coffee, frequent team lunches, onsite composting; and an overall collaborative and inquiry-friendly culture. We’re always learning from each other.

Salary & Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position with a starting salary in the $52,000 – $55,000 range. Exactly where a prospective employee will be paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, the candidate’s depth of experience and qualifications and the level of specialization the candidate has. Urban Green Lab reserves the right to adjust the title and salary range depending on the candidate's level of expertise. Benefits include health insurance allowance (medical, dental, and vision), Simple IRA retirement plan, cell phone stipend, team volunteering and service hours, professional development opportunities, 27 days of paid time off (which includes holidays of your choice and excludes sick leave), and 90 days of parental leave for new parents. Urban Green Lab is a Nashville Living Wage-certified employer.

How to Apply

Please email your cover letter and resume to Noah Spiegel, Senior Director of Operations, at careers@urbangreenlab.org. Combine all documents into one PDF file with your full name as the file name and write “Sustainable Workplaces Manager” in the subject line of the email. Incomplete submissions and follow-up inquiries will not be considered. Only applicants selected for consideration will be contacted. Applications are accepted until the position is filled. When a decision is made, all applicants will be notified. All correspondence is confidential. Background check required.

Work Environment

Urban Green Lab enjoys a flexible work-life balance, and all staff are responsible for managing their own schedules during the week. Staff are expected to spend reasonable time with the team at our Marathon Village office and partners in the community. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities. The employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, listen and feel, reach hands above the shoulder, occasionally stoop or crouch, and lift or move items weighing 10-25 pounds.

Equal Opportunity

Urban Green Lab is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by state or local law. Urban Green Lab welcomes applicants from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and ideas.

Disclaimer

This job description is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, requirements, or conditions. While intended to be accurate, it is not meant to exclude that other, different tasks may be required when circumstances change (such as during emergencies, personnel changes, workload alterations, rush jobs, or technological developments or advancements).

For the most up-to-date job posting, please refer to the post shared on our website. FINAL: April 1, 2024