We’re Hiring: Join our Consulting Team!

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We are no longer accepting applications for this position, however if you would like to be considered for future employment opportunities, you can express your interest here.

SSG is seeking to hire two new workers to join our stellar project delivery team. From these individuals, we are looking to add certain qualifications, skills, and attributes (“qualities”) to the team.

We do not necessarily expect both individuals to have all of the desired qualities. As such, SSG has elected to post a single job that describes the full array of work that these two Consultants will perform and the full array of qualities that we think will be required to do this work. Certain qualities will be required for both roles. Certain qualities will only be required for one of the roles.

With this in mind, we encourage applicants to identify which of the qualities they will bring to the role and for which of the job responsibilities they feel most suited.

Our Commitment to Equity

SSG celebrates diversity and strives to participate in restorative justice, in part by implementing just recruitment practices. We encourage applications from BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+ applicants, applicants with disabilities, and applicants from historically marginalized communities. 

ABOUT THE POSITION

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Each Consultant is responsible for leading and supporting the delivery of climate action planning projects. This typically involves:

  • Building relationships with clients and interested and affected parties;
  • Project and task management;
  • Attending meetings with SSG staff and with clients;
  • Interpreting, analyzing, and reporting on financial, energy, and emissions data;
  • Interpreting, analyzing and reporting on climate risks, vulnerabilities, and adaptation opportunities;
  • Report writing for audiences including City Councils, university and corporate leaders, as well as the public;
  • Monitoring industry progress, political perspectives, and policies that will impact climate action planning;
  • The ability to communicate about climate action in ways that encourage, support and empower clients to move forward confidently;
  • Data collection and research;
  • Preparing for and participating in engagement sessions with diverse interested and
    affected parties;
  • Quality control to ensure reports and data are accurate, precise and complete; and
  • Knowledge management.

In addition to project work, all workers at SSG contribute to SSG’s strategic and organizational development. Consultants will be expected to assist and/or lead internal projects that may relate to strategic development, organizational knowledge management, or internal organizational equity work, among other things, on an as-needed basis. SSG’s ideal candidate is looking for long-term employment, with an interest in becoming a committed member-owner of the co-operative.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

SSG Consultants work alongside a team to lead and deliver on climate action planning work. This includes Project Management, Client Relationship Management, Facilitation, Data Analysis, Data Modelling, and Report Writing.

It is expected that a Consultant will excel in at least two of the following numbered areas.

1. French-Language Project Delivery

At least one of the Consultants hired will support the delivery of projects in French-speaking Canada, most notably, Québec. The Consultant will bring technical and project delivery expertise described below, but will be capable of doing so in French and with an understanding of the Québec climate action context.

2. Project Delivery Leadership

  • Being a primary point of contact with clients;
  • Building relationships with clients while managing changes to project scope, project risks, and client expectations;
  • Combining knowledge of best-practice climate action with each client’s unique circumstances (e.g. governance structure, political constraints, their authority to enact change, etc.) and opportunities revealed by technical modelling to create a compelling strategy for each
    client’s plan or project;
  • Leading and managing interdisciplinary teams to deliver climate action plans and related projects on time and on budget;
  • Coordinating with and supporting project team members to produce excellent information and tools for clients, and to grow in their own roles;
  • Leading meetings with clients, utilities, and other affected parties
  • Answering questions regarding our work, including those from the media;
  • Liaising with policy makers at all government levels on policy and program development;
  • Attending or leading project engagement workshops in supporting or facilitating capacities; and
  • Writing reports for audiences such as City Councils, university and corporate leaders, as well as the public.

3. Energy and Emissions Policy and Analysis

  • Completing standard protocol GHG emissions and accounting inventories and understanding the principles behind them;
  • Maintaining a broad understanding of low carbon technologies, policies and case studies, and co-benefits, and synthesizing this with local information about a client, their constraints, and the modelled energy and emissions data about their community, to provide them with
    informed, long-term strategic recommendations;
  • Independently monitoring industry progress, cultural shifts and political perspectives that impact climate action planning;
  • Identifying data needed to perform GHG emissions modelling and aiding SSG technical staff with data collection;
  • Organizing and evaluating modelling data using a variety of tools including spreadsheets and Geographic Information Systems (GIS);
  • Writing and editing professional reports for a variety of audiences;
  • Completing background reviews of policies, strategies, plans, and other published documents to gain insight into communities’ energy and emissions goals;
  • Researching and briefing Project Leads about provincial/state and federal policies and how they relate to energy and emissions planning;
  • Monitoring, evaluating and verifying climate action impacts and techniques that will encourage the long-term implementation and success of climate actions;
  • Communicating about climate action in ways that encourage, support and empower clients to move forward confidently; and
  • Identifying and assessing innovative policies at the municipal/state/provincial levels.

4. Climate Change Adaptation/Vulnerability/Resilience Project Delivery

  • Working with General Circulation Models (GCM), especially RCP and SSP scenarios, to develop downscaling and integrating different climate models results;
  • Assisting SSG technical staff on data needs and collection for adaptation modelling;
  • Analyzing and interpreting modelling outputs;
  • Analyzing and researching qualitative climate hazards and vulnerabilities;
  • Developing GIS models to assess threats, exposure, vulnerability (sensitivity and adaptive capacity) and risk;
  • Carrying out financial assessments of risks;
  • Writing and editing project reports;
  • Completing background reviews of municipal policies, reports, and other published documents to gain insight into cities’ current and future risks; and
  • Researching provincial/state and federal policies and determining how they relate to climate-related risk management.

5. Climate Action Plan Implementation

  • Assessing current municipal, provincial/state, and federal urban planning, buildings, land use, energy, waste, industrial, agriculture and forestry, and transportation policies and programs;
  • Developing policies and actions for implementation across these sectors to achieve climate goals;
  • Performing energy, emissions, and financial calculations for these sectors; 
  • Understanding municipal government structures and developing system change models required to implement climate action plans in their organizations;
  • Identifying applicable and available funding mechanisms to support policy implementation; and
  • Facilitating or engaging with interested and affected parties and advisory groups to support policy development and implementation.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Successful candidates will have all the following qualifications and attributes:

  • Passion for, knowledge of, and dedication to climate action planning.
  • Demonstrated ability to think critically and creatively, and to problem-solve.
  • High degree of self-motivation and ability to work independently.
  • Proven track record of success working on project teams.
  • Entrepreneurial outlook and ability to take initiative.
  • Excellent written and oral communications skills.
  • Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
  • Comfort working virtually with a distributed workforce.
  • Commitment to social and climate justice.
  • Flexibility to adapt to different levels of workloads and schedules.
  • Ability to work in a non-hierarchical environment.
  • Kindness and a collaborative spirit.

Successful candidates will have some the following qualifications and attributes:

  • Bilingual French-English (spoken and written).
  • Municipal Government experience in Canada, US, or Latin America.
  • Experience managing projects with budgets over $100,000.
  • Excellent data analysis skills.
  • Background in financial and/or economic analysis of climate action scenarios.

The following qualifications and attributes are considered assets but are not requirements for successful candidates:

  • Familiarity with and/or enthusiasm for worker co-operatives.
  • Experience with city planning.
  • Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and GIS software such as QGIS.
  • Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) or American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) designation.
  • Project management professional (PMP) designation
  • Experience with municipal asset management planning.
  • Experience with energy utilities data.
  • Experience with corporate-scale energy analysis.
  • Experience with community-level climate resilience/adaptation planning.
  • Familiarity with energy grid electrification.
  • Excellent negotiation skills.
  • Other languages spoken.

For more information about the position, please refer to the full job posting.

We are no longer accepting applications for this position, however if you would like to be considered for future employment opportunities, you can express your interest here.