Job Title: Sustainability Specialist 

Start & End Date: May 13th - August 30th, 2024

Eligibility: Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements in accordance with the Canada Summer Jobs funding program:

  • Be between 15 and 30 years of age at the beginning of the employment period.
  • Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment, and
  • Have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.

Location: This position requires a combination of in-person and remote work. Evenings and weekend work will be required on occasion. Reliable transportation access is required for travel to various job responsibilities within London, Ontario.

Compensation: $18.85 / hour for 20 hours a week, with 4% vacation pay. This is a 4 month (16 week) contract.

Position Details:

The Sustainability Specialist will be responsible for assisting the Sustainability Coordinator with Thriving Communities program implementation. Some environmental events support will be required. 

The main focus areas of this role include:

  • Supporting the successful delivery of the Residential Rain Garden program, the Living Cities project, and other green infrastructure initiatives. 
  • Engaging with Londoners at events. This role will provide support for both broader organizational events as well as events organized by the Thriving Communities program. 

Thriving Communities Projects:

The Residential Rain Garden Program is a continuation of a program that the LEN has previously run with the support of the City of London. Due to its ongoing success, this program will run for the third year and assist 5 new participants with the installation of a rain garden on their properties. This role will provide support at every stage of the process including assisting participants with the physical installations as needed.

The LEN is partnering with Green Communities Canada to implement the Living Cities project. This project will transform a minimum of 250m² of underutilized land into lush green infrastructure space in an equity deserving location in London. This initiative includes important community engagement tasks including engaging with a minimum of 100 community members.

We have an exciting new initiative this year, an Urban Mini-Forest! We will be depaving unused asphalt in an equity deserving location of London, and planting 300 native trees!

The Organization:

The London Environmental Network (LEN) is a registered environmental charity in London, ON that aims to create a green, sustainable, and more resilient city. The LEN works to connect and engage individuals, nonprofits, and businesses in the community to reduce their environmental impacts. This is achieved through environmental programming and service offerings including Green Infrastructure Program, Greener Homes London, Green Economy London, Environmental Action Incubator, and more. The LEN also works to raise the profile of the environmental non-profit sector to attract and engage Londoners in growing a healthy, sustainable city. 

Our Culture:

Small but mighty is our trademark! If you are the successful candidate you will be working with a small team to achieve both your personal goals and the organizational goals. We want you to succeed just as much as we want to benefit from your work at the London Environmental Network.

Preferable Skills & Experience:

Preference will be given to candidates that have the following experience:

  • Previous experience in nonprofits, community engagement, sales, or customer service is desirable
  • Must love talking to new people and finding solutions
  • Ability to engage community members and volunteers in workshops, events, and project implementation
  • A background in post-secondary environmental studies or a related field is desirable
  • Knowledge surrounding stormwater management practices is considered an asset
  • Experience with outdoor landscape tasks including shoveling, planting, mulching and other tasks is considered an asset
  • Ability to work collaboratively and independently to meet deliverables on teams
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills 
  • Experience with collecting, organizing, and summarizing data
  • Proficient in technology, social media platforms and tools including Canva
  • Possession of a valid G class drivers license and access to a vehicle is desired

Key Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:  

Thriving Communities Program Support (80%):

  • Support the Sustainability Coordinator with the Residential Rain Garden Program
    • Tasks will include but are not limited to providing information related to stormwater management practices to participants, planning a rain garden workshop, creating relevant program resources such as native plant and local nursery guides, data collection and tracking, as well as working one-on-one with participants to assist with landscaping tasks. 
  • Support the Sustainability Coordinator with the successful implementation of the Living Cities project. This includes support with community engagement (i.e. a mix of creating social media content and volunteer recruitment tasks), as well as implementation of this green infrastructure project.
  • Assist with community engagement tasks for the program as needed. Community engagement tasks could include social media content, volunteer recruitment, and assisting with public workshops.

Other Duties (20%):

  • Maintaining a weekly log of activities and achievements. 
  • Input metrics into our systems to track events, outreach, and communications performance. 
  • Reporting project progress to the Supervisor in a timely manner.
  • Green infrastructure research tasks as required. 
  • Performing other similar and related activities as required. 
  • Support with organizational wide events 
  • Ongoing check ins with the Supervisor 

Supervision and Mentoring Plan:

The Sustainability Specialist will report directly to the Supervisor at the LEN. Orientation to the LEN and the position will be provided at the beginning of the position and will include an overview of the LEN organizational structure, mandate, policies, procedures and properties.

Project training and supervision will be provided by the Supervisor who will communicate the specific goals, tasks and expectations of individual projects. The Sustainability Specialist will work with the Supervisor directly most days and be in contact on a daily basis when working independently.

The Supervisor will meet with the Sustainability Specialist once per week to review progress on projects, update work plans accordingly, and discuss new ideas and challenges. The Sustainability Specialist will be supported with opportunities for continued learning and professional development throughout their contract term.

Our Commitment to Equity:

The London Environmental Network is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all staff, volunteers, members, subcontractors, and vendors in all our activities and operations, regardless of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), dis/ability, marital status, or sexual orientation. We welcome applications from persons with disabilities and will provide accommodations during all stages of the hiring process, upon request. 

How to Apply: 

Email Sustainability Coordinator, Joanna MacLeod, [email protected] by April 2nd, 2024 with a cover letter and resume. Use “Sustainability Specialist Application” as your subject line.