Washington Climate and Sustainability Associate

Cascadia Consulting Group is a women-owned, private environmental consulting firm with 27 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, lead, and expand our

sustainability and climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in Washington. Specifically, the

Associate will:

• Support and/or lead the development of climate and sustainability action plans for local

government clients. These projects often include analysis of projected climate impacts,

quantification of current and future greenhouse gas emissions, identification and prioritization

of strategies to build resiliency and reduce emissions, and synthesis into a clear and actionable

plan document.

• Support and/or lead equitable and inclusive public engagement around climate and

sustainability issues (e.g., online and in-person workshops, pop-up events, briefings at

community meetings, focus groups, social media).

• Support and/or lead facilitation (e.g., draft presentation slides, prepare meeting materials, guide

discussions, and take notes) of stakeholder interviews, focus groups, meetings, and workshops.

• Research policies, trends, and best practices related to climate change mitigation

and adaptation, energy, transportation, materials management, natural resource

management, and other sustainability topics, with a focus on these issues within the

Washington political, economic, and technological context.

• 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).

• Communicate directly and build positive relationships with clients/partners and perform project

and team management duties, including scoping, developing and monitoring budgets, planning,

supporting partners, delegating tasks, managing subcontractors, reporting, and invoicing from

initiation to completion.

• Engage in business development, including formulating products and services, meeting with

prospective clients and partners, and all aspects of proactive marketing and bidding on

proposals (teaming, strategy, proposal-writing, budgeting, interviewing).

• Synthesize and build policy recommendations from analytical outcomes, such as from

greenhouse gas inventories and “wedge” analyses, climate vulnerability assessments, and

sustainability metrics tracking and dashboards.

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

concepts into client work.

• Occasionally travel, when permissible, including for public engagement, meetings, overnight

stays, 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 4 years of relevant, professional

climate-related work experience.

• 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).

• Demonstrated experience planning and implementing comprehensive public/stakeholder

engagement strategies, including virtually.

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

to quickly learn about climate change issues.

• 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, with a focus on Washington.
• 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.

• Demonstrated 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 multiple concurrent projects and deadlines.
• 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, Teams, and

Webex.

Desired Qualifications

• 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 $31 – $38/hour (equivalent to a salaried range of $65,000 – $79,000). 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.

How to Apply

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

provide a complete chronological resume. Send both to [email protected] and indicate “WA

Climate and Sustainability Associate – [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 the position is filled.

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