The George Washington University is an institution where students come from all over the world to connect to diverse ideas, cultures, and ways of life. Our Sustainability Minor offers students a platform to examine the critical sustainability issues, and solutions, that affect us all. Students begin with Introduction to Sustainability, a team-taught course that equips students with a strong foundation in global sustainability principles and paradigms. Students build on this foundation by further Investigating sustainability through the lenses of ecosystems, economies, communities, and practices. The capstone experience provides students with a structure for applying what they’ve learned through a semester-long research, service, and/or internship project. Students will be empowered, to consider the competing perspectives of stakeholders, the unintended consequences of decisions, and how action at different levels and scales will affect systems and their component parts. Ultimately, students will gain the tools necessary to bring us closer to achieving our supreme goal: creating healthy and thriving resource systems for all.

Our program collaborates with key faculty and staff spanning a multitude of departments and disciplines across campus. We work closely with Planet Forward, the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, the Food Policy Institute and the Environmental and Energy Management Institute. We support these partners by encouraging students to enroll in their sustainability courses, participate in research and service, and engage in their events and activities. These partners support the minor by identifying students who are committed to sustainability and are interested in pursuing the minor.

The Program Manager will manage several budgets associated with the Sustainability Program and facilitate the hiring of consultants and interns. This person will be the first point of contact for all student inquiries about sustainability GW, both in the classroom and on the campus. A main responsibility of this job is to manage outreach to students around sustainability academic program offerings, internships and career opportunities. The Program Manager will support and enhance the growth of the Sustainability Minor, and other degree programs that are developed within the Sustainability Minor program. The Program Manager will advise students interested in the Sustainability Minor and will also assist in the organization of the Culminating Experience for students in the Minor. They will also assist the Sustainability Program by managing budgets, organizing events, managing communication, and supporting the daily operations. As part of the job, the Program Manager will regularly work in close collaboration with the Sustainability faculty and staff across the university.

The purpose of these senior level positions is to provide coordination and program management on behalf of an academic program or initiative. This role will serve as a point of contact for the program, will answer typical and complex program questions from faculty, staff, and students, and will provide functional support and management for the program administration. Functional support could include answering external inquiries, enrollment guidance and basic academic advising, managing web presence and marketing efforts, drafting program materials, managing course evaluations, developing new programming, planning and executing events, tracking spending and processing payments, assisting with fellowship and grant opportunities, preparing and analyzing reports, and similar duties. Often these positions make recommendations to policy and procedure, and they are tasked with outreach to other GW stakeholders in order to assist in maintaining standard operational efficiencies. This position does not have direct reports but often schedules, trains and supervises temporary staff or student workers, or leads other program staff. Typical duties often are administrative in nature, and are under limited supervision or are independent of more senior personnel within the department, or program.

The Program Manager, Sustainability Minor will:

• Make intellectual contributions to the sustainability academic team regarding curricular development and strategy;
• Work closely with Director of the Sustainability minor on the culminating experience and course planning;
• Catalogue sustainability courses, university wide, and develops and deploys new SUST course attribute for 460+ courses;
• Keep Sustainability Program team on schedule with deadlines, coordination between projects, and action items through weekly team meetings and frequent check-ins;
• Submit budget projections, tracking, and reports for all Sustainability faculty and staff;
• Write and edit annual report and assessments for the academic year;
• Assist in website updates, weekly newsletter, sustainability program emails, and sustainability listserv;
• Liaison between student groups (Green GW, GroW Garden, Fossil Free, Student Association) and the Sustainability Program to maintain and develop partnerships and opportunities;
• Develop new opportunities for students (student mini-grants, Food Institute Fellowship, sustainability breakfast series) and oversee implementation and success of programs;
• Participate in university functions to promote the Sustainability Program and Sustainability Minor (Colonial Inauguration, Earth Day Fair, Sustainability Open House, Women’s Leadership Program, etc);
• Develop partnerships with campus departments and offices (Office of Sustainability, Office of Admissions, School of Nursing; Center for Student Engagement, Career Center, Center for Civic Engagement);
• Manage part-time staff by providing feedback and guidance for their professional development;

Performs other duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning tasks that are logically related to the position.

Minimum Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will hold a Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate area of specialization plus 2 years of relevant professional experience, or, a Master’s degree or higher in a relevant area of study. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position. Degree requirements may be substituted with an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Additional Required Licenses/Certifications/Posting Specific Minimum Qualifications:

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in student advising and working in an interdisciplinary academic program.
• Solid understanding of sustainable development, stakeholder engagement, and/or community building.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience demonstrating tact and diplomacy while interacting with diverse groups of people including executive management, faculty, staff, students, and the public.
• Ability and interest to conduct general research on sustainability issues, policies, and technologies.
• Analytical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Photoshop