Senior Manager of Community Resilience Projects

Groundwork USA seeks a Senior Manager of Community Resilience Projects to support us in undertaking an ambitious community-grantmaking and technical assistance initiative funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are seeking a dynamic and passionate Senior Manager to lead our participation in the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grant Program. This role is pivotal in driving sustainable community development, climate resilience, pollution reduction, and environmental stewardship and will serve as the lead in building, launching, tracking, and evaluating a hybridized grant-making and technical assistance program focused on disadvantaged communities in EPA regions 1, 2, and 3. 

Groundwork USA is the only network of local, people-centered organizations devoted to transforming the natural and built environment of under-resourced communities — a national enterprise with local roots, working at the intersection of the environment, health, equity, youth empowerment, and civic engagement. Through inclusive, meaningful community engagement and cross-sector collaboration, local Groundwork affiliates called “Trusts” transform neglected land and waterways into assets that under-resourced neighborhoods need to be healthy and resilient while building community capacity to improve systems. Groundwork USA supports this dynamic network and advances the field of equitable development through national technical assistance and learning network programs for local practitioners. Our work is supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, and other partners.

The Position: Sitting within the Climate, Land, and Water team, the Senior Manager of Community Resilience Projects will lead Groundwork USA’s participation in a grant intended to reduce pollution and increase climate resilience in disadvantaged communities. The program aims to build climate-resilient infrastructure in vulnerable areas, reduce pollution, enhance community governance, and advance principles of environmental justice. 

There are three key components of this role: the first is to co-develop, with our five nonprofit partners, a grantmaking process to distribute $19MM of funding to disadvantaged communities within EPA regions 1, 2, and 3, with a special emphasis on tribal and rural communities. This will include participating in the development, issuance, and evaluation of a competitive RFP process. The second is to offer environmental justice-focused technical assistance, capacity-building support, and thought leadership to the regional grant makers and grantees. The third is to collaborate with our nonprofit partners to develop and implement a tracking and evaluation process to assess the effectiveness of programming and capital projects implemented under the grant. 

The Senior Manager will provide project management and evaluation leadership, develop a framework for shared learning, ensure progress towards deliverables, deliver training, workshops, and coaching sessions, and elevate key learnings to the Groundwork USA network and the broader field. 

This is a fully remote position and travel is required. There is a preference for candidates residing in states, tribal nations, or US territories (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) in EPA regions 1, 2, or 3 and for candidates residing in our Trust cities. However, candidates in all regions will be considered. The majority of travel will take place within EPA regions 1, 2, and 3 and may include partner meetings, workshops, or conferences. Additional travel is required for Groundwork USA’s annual staff retreat and an annual network-wide gathering. 

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborating and co-creating systems, structures, and methodologies with a team of five nonprofit partners.
• Establishing systems for tracking grant-related outcomes and ensuring completion of deliverables.
• Collaborating with Climate, Land, and Water team members to expand the capacity of staff, network members, and the broader sector to engage in equitable climate adaptation, pollution reduction, and community governance projects.
• Meeting frequently with our nonprofit partners, federal grants officers, and grant recipients to review progress, assess emergent opportunities, identify project support needs, deliver technical assistance, and troubleshoot barriers.
• Uplifting best practices and new opportunities to our network and the broader environmental justice community.
• Working both independently and collaboratively to design, develop, and deliver shared resources, workshops, webinars, trainings, and tools on a variety of nature-based climate solutions, community engagement, and environmental justice topics.
• Synthesizing and communicating lessons learned from work with grantees and grant makers to external partners, the broader field, and other funders.
• Establishing active and supportive learning cohorts and learning opportunities in key areas of equity, climate adaptation/resilience, workforce development, brownfield redevelopment, and forestry.
• Working closely with the Groundwork USA communications team to uplift stories and impacts identified through data collection and impact evaluation.
• Cultivating and maintaining existing and new partnerships with public- and private-sector entities.
• Providing and assessing the effectiveness of technical assistance to communities- within and external to our network- delivered via 1:1 coaching, workshops, and presentations.
• Representing Groundwork USA in national partnerships and diverse public settings, including at conferences, webinars, workshops, and meetings with partners.
• Contributing to grant proposal development and reporting.
• Helping nurture a collaborative, high-performance culture in a geographically dispersed team.
• Contributing to Groundwork USA’s continued progress as an inclusive, culturally competent organization.

Required Qualifications: The Senior Manager of Community Resilience Projects should exhibit the following core competencies:

• Strong research, project management, and organizational skills, with the ability to independently develop transparent systems, follow through on assignments, meet deadlines, and facilitate the efforts of the full team to do the same.
• Experience leading, managing, or supporting large-scale urban forestry, nature-based solutions installations, and/or community engagement efforts in disadvantaged communities and a demonstrated ability to translate key learnings into presentations, workshops, and materials.
• Experience leading or meaningfully participating in program impact evaluation design, implementation, and communication.
• An ability to effectively build relationships with and engage individuals working on the ground in distant locations.
• Excellent coaching, communication, and relationship-building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and collaborate with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience, or at least a demonstrable familiarity, with the use of geospatial analysis to make data-informed land use decisions and lead equity-centered conversations.
• Topical expertise and at least four years of experience in urban forestry, environmental justice organizing, impact evaluation, green infrastructure development, city planning, or a related field, with a strong emphasis on community engagement and project management in diverse community settings.

Desired Qualifications:

• Proficiency in written and spoken Spanish, a plus.
• Additional professional experience, potentially including a master’s degree or certification in a relevant field such as urban forestry, arboriculture, urban planning, urban ecology, or education.
• Experience managing or applying for federal awards.

Compensation and Benefits: The expected starting salary range for this full-time position is $75,000-$85,000; benefits include:

• Health Insurance – medical, dental, and vision
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• Sustainable vacation time
• Paid holidays
• Paid wellness/sick days
• Paid parental leave
• Monthly work-from-home stipend
• Eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer
• Professional development and career advancement opportunities

Please see our careers page for more details on benefits.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications received by May 20, 2024, will be ensured full consideration. Only those selected for interviews are guaranteed to be contacted. Your understanding is appreciated.   

Groundwork USA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to maintaining and growing a diverse team, and an anti-racist organization committed to doing business in keeping with core values of relevance, equity, diversity, and inclusion.