Description
Position: SPECIALIST, ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE CENTER (EFC)
Grade: 3
Salary Range: $60,897 – $70,031
*Senior Specialist salary range: $74,598 - $79,166
About Us: Delta Institute
We address Midwestern environmental, economic, and climate challenges today, so that our home and region are more resilient, equitable, and innovative tomorrow.
Delta exists because environmental, economic, and climate issues hit communities—urban and rural—through disinvestment, systemic inequity, and policy decisions. We collaborate at the community level to solve our home region’s new and legacy issues, by focusing on the self-defined goals and needs of our partners.
Our work takes us to population centers like Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit; to mid-sized cities such as Gary and South Bend, Indiana; to Great Lakes coastal towns like Michigan City, Indiana and Muskegon, Michigan; and to rural communities and watersheds with tens of thousands of acres of farmland and waterways across our region. It’s quite likely that you—or someone you know—lives, works, or passes through a community that Delta has helped since our founding in 1998.
Functional Hive - Programs
All Midwest communities and landscapes thrive through an integrated approach to environmental, economic, and social challenges. Our work is organized into distinct initiatives that move our mission forward, clearly define our work, and articulate impact. The programs functional hive strives to successfully address the challenges and creatively assist in sustainable solutions. The program hive staff focuses on the implementation of projects in Delta’s three initiative areas: Resilient Agriculture, Nature-Based Climate Solutions, and Sustainability & Support Services.
The Program You'll Work Within: Sustainability & Support Services
Impact Statement: Our Sustainability and Support Services are designed to respond to invitations in community-led planning efforts and provide direct technical assistance to public and private sector partners, which include a wide array of sectors in which Delta has sizable experience. We forecast that by 2025 Delta will work with more than 250 partner communities while securing $40M in external investment and creating 100 practical tools, resources, strategies, and public plans.
Our Approach: Delta Institute prides itself on being responsive to the needs of its partners and responding to what they define as being the most important goal, activity, project, or taking a new approach to improving their local environmental and economic outcomes. We have decades of experience moving sustainable priorities forward in creative and innovative ways.
Delta supports our partners and their self-defined sustainability goals through our Sustainability and Support Services, designed to align the needs of our partners with the skills and expertise of our staff to contribute where most helpful. Beyond Sustainability & Support Services, this role will also provide technical assistance and implementation support to our Resilient Agriculture and Nature-Based Climate Solutions. For more information on our program initiatives, please visit our website:
https://delta-institute.org/what-we-do/
Core Skillset
A Specialist performs program, administrative or organizational development-related tasks. Specialists are directed in their work on a day-to-day basis but manage large work projects with some guidance from Directors and Leads. Serves as liaison with clients and stakeholders and is responsible for ensuring timely communication, consistent workflow and high-quality deliverables. Specialists represent the organization at public events and also assist in raising funds to support the organization. Other core skillset attributes are:
Work in a timely and collaboratively manner on multiple deliverables with internal and external stakeholders
Identify and lead specific organizational initiatives
Manage projects including direct project work, engaging partners and collaborators, reporting and project administration duties, and managing budgets
Developing strategies that advance Delta and its mission
Strong analytical and problem solving skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Advanced knowledge of environmental and economic issues not only in the Great Lakes region but in the Midwest
Specialist, Environmental Finance Center (EFC)
Position Specifics
The EFC Specialist will assist with the overall implementation and coordination for Delta’s U.S. EPA Region 5 Regional Water Infrastructure Environmental Finance Center. The position will provide strategic, technical, programmatic and analytical support. The Specialist will coordinate with the EFC Administrator and provide support for the successful oversight and management to Delta’s staff and partners assisting with the implementation of direct technical assistance to communities across US E.P.A. Region 5 in planning for, applying for, and implementing Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) projects. The Specialist will work directly with communities and provide drinking water and wastewater infrastructure technical assistance.
The Specialist will also support the Administrator in coordinating closely with U.S. EPA Region 5 and HQ staff, State SRF staff, other regional and national EFCs, municipalities, and other stakeholders. The Specialist will coordinate with functional hive staff to ensure the delivery of high-quality, on-time, and on-budget work scopes. The Specialist collaborates with the Administrator and other staff on a consistent basis to identify organizational issues for continuous improvement and impact. The Specialist is accountable for delivering high quality water infrastructure technical assistance on time and within budgetary and programmatic requirements.
The EFC Specialist should be at home tackling difficult environmental and social problems with often unclear paths to success or take iterative approaches with a long-term goal of seeking solutions to larger social and environmental issues. They will also need to be comfortable working by themselves, with multiple types of personalities, on tight deadlines, in ambiguous and circuitous circumstances, and have an overall positive outlook on the change that can happen in the world. The Specialist should operate with a perspective of continuous improvement andwill be expected to provide and accept feedback, welcome and adapt to change, challenge the status quo and be committed to the success of others.
As part of a truly multidisciplinary organization, the EFC Specialist will also interface and support other projects that require unique skills and knowledge; and, have a knack translating complex ideas to a variety of audiences both internally and externally.
More information on Delta’s Environmental Finance Center can be found here: https://delta-institute.org/epa-region-5-water-infrastructure/.
What you’ll be doing:
Program Development and Implementation
Assist with the implementation of Delta’s EFC program focused on providing direct technical assistance to communities
Provide direct technical assistance to communities for Drinking Water and Wastewater project development and SRF application submittals
Assist the EFC administrator in the development of business and operations plans to support the successful implementation of the EFC including tracking impact metrics.
Coordinate with Delta’s staff and partner team on programmatic deliverables, budget and development
Identify development opportunities to advance innovative new programs and services to achieve Delta’s mission through EFC activities
Conceptualize and develop proposals and engage team members in proposal development to grow the impact of the EFC
Manage and implement multiple technical assistance projects as necessary to ensure high quality deliverables and on time and on budget completion
Assist and implementthe development of work plans with tasks, timeframes, milestones, resources, and dependencies
Facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing across the programs team and entire organization
Keep informed of key policies and environmental, economic and social conditions that affect the organization. Understand near-term and long-range plans and determine how to best be positioned to achieve the mission
Staff Collaboration
Inspire, motivate and guide others toward goal accomplishments. Encourage and facilitate cooperation within the organization and with stakeholder groups
Support an inclusive environment where diversity and innovation are valued and embrace a culture of continuous learning
Create positive staff partnerships and model productive working relationships
Relationship Management
Grow and maintain key professional affiliations in support of organizational and professional development goals
Leverage talents and networks of staff, partners, and key stakeholders to build organizational support and growth
In coordination with EFC administration, communicate and manage relationships with clients and stakeholders
Requirements
What you’ll have:
Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in directly related to water infrastructure, public administration, sustainability, engineering, or equivalent field with Master’s degree desirable or equivalent experience
At least 5 years of direct project management experience in water quality and/or water quantity projects
Deep knowledge and experience working with municipalities, infrastructure projects, community stakeholders, and water utilities
Significant knowledge in State Revolving Fund programs with a preference towards experience of applying for, administering, and/or implementing DWSRF /or CWSRF funds.
Strong record of accomplishment as an effective manager and a skillful, innovative leader capable of delivering results
Ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders including community groups, government agencies, foundations, corporate sponsors, and practitioner groups
Ability to create and nurture a culture of continuous learning, personal accountability, creative problem solving, and collaboration.
Excellent written and verbal communications skills
Ability to motivate and inspire high performing staff teams, boards and committees, and partners
Knowledge of and a base of relationships with key stakeholders in the Great Lakes and Midwest
Integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed with demonstrated passion for Delta’s mission and commitment to working collaboratively with a leadership team
Be able to work in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple tasks and deadlines, and manage work in sometimes ambiguous situations
Core competencies are the values and defined behaviors that we believe are central to the ability of every employee to do the work of the Delta Institute. These core competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills and behaviors that are the mark of a good Delta employee. Core competencies are a distinguishing characteristic of Delta employees for our clients, customers and stakeholders. They are a visible demonstration of our shared values and are evident in how we work together. Individuals can be at different levels of ability on a specific core competency which is why we measure ability each year and provide feedback and development suggestions.
All Delta employees have these core competencies:
Adaptive
Cooperative
Equitable
Passionate
Pragmatic
Transparent
Tenacious
Physical Demands and Work Environment
Continually required to sit
Continually required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
Continually required to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
Continually required to talk or hear
While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate
The employee must occasionally lift and /or move up to 10 pounds
Delta offers its employees a competitive salary with a robust benefits package that includes generous paid time off, 401k, and medical, dental & vision insurance. Delta is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Please email application packet (one PDF) that includes the following:
Cover Letter
Resume
2 examples of prior communications work, such as graphics, designed materials, newsletters, and/or other types of writing samples
All as one PDF to: careers@delta-institute.org
Subject line: EFC Specialist
Application submission deadline: October 18, 2024
No phone calls, please.
