SSDN Director of Federal Technical Assistance @ Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN)

Application Info

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Description

Title: SSDN Director of Federal Technical Assistance

Classification: Regular, Full Time, Exempt

Reports to: Director of Federal Programs

Location: Remote position based out of the Southeast region of United States (AL, AR, LA, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN and VA)

Compensation: $90,000-$105,000, depending on experience + robust benefits package; including 100% employer covered health, dental, disability, and life insurance, flexible leave policy, generous paid leave, and 401(k) Program. This is a fully remote, work-from-home position. SSDN has no central office but staff collaborate extensively via video call meetings and through periodic in-person convenings. employees must furnish their own quiet office space for conference calls. SSDN provides an IT stipend to cover internet and phone use, computer, software, and other home office supplies. Approximate work hours: 9am-5pm Eastern or Central Standard Times (flexible); 40 hours/week.

SSDN Federal Programs include three core programs :

• The Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center
• Multimedia Environmental Finance Center for EPA Region 4
• The Local Infrastructure Hub Cohorts for the Southeast

See more about our Federal programs at the end of this notice.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position is responsible for directing SSDN’s technical support under the Multimedia Environmental Finance Center (EFC) for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN). SSDN’s EFC is resourced to help communities access federal funding for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects alongside environmental justice efforts. SSDN’s technical support as part of the EFC will support communities in accessing federal funding including EPA Community Project Funding.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will manage and direct SSDN’s Technical Support via its Federal Programs, outlined above, which are focused on providing assistance to Southeastern local governments to be more competitive for national funding opportunities.

This position will support a coordinated engagement process, and will assist SSDN’s membership and other communities in the region for the purposes of enabling more funding to flow into the Southeast for sustainability and resilience projects. The goal is to support communities that have limited resources, such as smaller and/or rural cities and counties, and communities of color.

This position will lead and direct collaborative efforts with SSDN’s members, their community members, elected officials, state and federal agencies and partners, nonprofits, business organizations, and other appropriate entities as defined by the members’ interests, to produce ideas and proposals that create innovative and equitable sustainability and resilience solutions at the regional level.

This position will also coordinate with SSDN’s national partner and fiscal sponsor, USDN, on ways collaborative approaches to this work can be scaled.

Program Management

• Work with SSDN’s Federal Programs Director to provide management and oversight of SSDN’s direct support programs:
• Responsible for program management and direction planning, scheduling, and facilitating frequent meetings and adhering to structured schedules.
• Provide 1:1 and small group cohort support to communities on EPA community grants
• Work closely with EFC Director to support the EFC programming
• Work in a collaborative environment with SSDN’s Federal Programs team to continuously improve program development
• Create program design that reflects a deep understanding of and commitment to equity and Justice40
• Track progress metrics and data to monitor progress, and adjust as needed.
• Liaise with funders that support SSDN’s Federal Programs including EPA, other federal agencies and philanthropy.
• Support ongoing data analysis needs using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Technical Expertise

• Provides high level expertise and guidance and support to communities for NEPA review requirements
• Provides grant expertise to local governments to help access federal funding
• Helps communities navigate challenges with grants.gov workspaces, application submissions, federal standard form submissions, and provides expert insight responsive to community grant recipient requests. Technical expertise might include: Project Identification, NEPA Reviews, Build America Buy America Requirements, Grant Management Lifecycle (Application, Tracking, and Reporting), Federal Procurement

Communications & Partnerships

• Direct the development of communications materials, including presentations, and tools tailored to diverse communities as needed.
• Build relationships with Congressional and/or intergovernmental POC’s to identify project leads as necessary
• Build relationships with SRF coordinators and direct contact to update
• Develop relationships with state agencies and local governments
• Develop communications to stakeholders about this program and resources available; contribute to SSDN’s Federal Programs communications (ex. Blog, biweekly, etc)
• Resources: direct the creation of a resource library to support communities

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree or 5 years’ work experience equivalent.
• Experience with and/or familiarity with federal funding opportunities and technical processes.
• Experience working with local governments.
• Experience with GIS strongly preferred.
• Experience with drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, or water management projects.
• Ability to travel as part of this job and as needed, up to 20%.

Desired Knowledge & Skills

• A developed understanding of communities in the Southeast, and the specific needs they have in the development process.
• A creative thinker who is able to work in different communities, assessing and adapting to diverse community and local business needs and desires.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct oneself in a calm and professional demeanor when dealing with multiple stakeholders.
• An ability to translate complicated information and/or processes into simple, easy-to-understand information.
• An ability to identify cultural differences and adjust communication and relationship development appropriately.
• Interpersonal relationship development, coaching, or mentoring skills.
• A capacity to manage multiple projects with different deadlines.
• Proficient in Active Listening.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tie projects to grant requirements and tell a compelling story.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Self-motivated and driven.
• Highly organized and systems-driven.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Suite, Zoom.
• Willingness to adjust hours to accommodate the needs of the position.
• Ability to work productively in an unstructured environment.
• Ability to work independently and with team members.

The SSDN Director of Federal Technical Assistance will be employed by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), SSDN’s Fiscal Sponsor. USDN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to equal treatment of all employees without regard to race, national origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, physical or mental disability or other basis protected by law.

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More about SSDN & SSDN Federal Programs:

The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN) is a collaborative community that develops solutions to the South’s unique sustainability challenges. SSDN’s membership includes sustainability and resilience staff from across the South, who build knowledge and learn from colleagues in other areas about best practices to meet their community’s needs. Communities located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia working in all stages of sustainability implementation join the network to scale, accelerate, and implement sustainable best practices so that our region’s communities are equipped to adapt to and mitigate climate change. For more information please visit www.southeastsdn.org.

The Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center : The Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center (SSRC) will support SSDN members by eliminating barriers to accessing federal funding. The SSRC will coordinate with partners, aggregate funding opportunities, tools, and resources, provide guidance and information about opportunities, and communicate strategically to maximize the opportunity for federal investments in Southeast communities’ sustainability and resilience priorities. The goals of the SSRC include:

1. Develop a Southeast-specific economic recovery support mechanism that can consistently serve Southeast communities to access funding to support their local sustainability and resilience outcomes.
2. Provide focused tracking of Federal stimulus opportunities and bring them to local sustainability leadership as opportunities for Southeastern innovation to serve communities who are most impacted by climate change.
3. Build capacity building among local government sustainability and resilience staff, government liaisons, development teams, and others to successfully access and implement sustainable economic recovery programs;
4. Bring together partnerships to support equitable, efficient, and effective post-COVID recovery by weaving together Federal, State, and Local dollars and tools to increase the impact of equitable investments in human capital, innovation, and sustainable and resilient infrastructure.

The SSRC will provide a flexible service to fill gaps and help our members in the Southeast compete more successfully for funding opportunities via the following services, which will be narrowed down via an application process.

SSDN Multimedia Environmental Finance Center : The SSDN EFC works across EPA Region 4 to help communities build capacity to effectively access and manage multi-media environmental federal funding opportunities. The SSDN EFC covers funding opportunities across EPA media offices, with particular focus on activities under the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and environmental justice activities that directly support EPA’s Strategic Objectives and Cross Agency Strategies including Tackling the Climate Crisis and Strengthening Local Partnerships.

The SSDN EFC supports the following outcomes:

• Local governments develop greater capacity to apply for and manage federal funding.
• Federal funding is more accessible to communities due to improved project quality.
• Best practices are developed for scaling sustainability best practices and financing.

How to Apply

Applications (including resume and cover letter) will be accepted through our application tracking system, Breezy and reviewed on a rolling basis. Preference will be given to those who apply by 12/08/23. When you apply, you will be invited to complete an optional demographic questionnaire. This information is confidential and kept seperately from your applicatoin and helps to ensure we reach a wide diversity of candidates in our recruitment efforts. Apply Here

Location

Anywhere

Category

External

Posted

2023-11-08 00:00