Employment
Current Openings as of May 29, 2009:
Land Use Program Associate
Communications Contractors
Internships - Race, Poverty and the Environment
Position Title: Land
Use Program Associate
Organizational Background and
Founded
in 1989, Urban Habitat (UH) builds power in low-income communities and
communities of color by combining policy, advocacy, research, leadership
development, and coalition building to advance environmental, economic and
social justice in the Bay Area. UH applies a critical race and class lens to
issues of transportation, housing, land use, planning, and community
development, and offers a clear vision and agenda for the equitable development
of the region.
Position Description
Urban
Habitat is creating a new staff position to help lead the organization’s
efforts to advance equitable land-use policies and decisions at the local,
regional, and state-level. Candidate will serve as UH’s primary staff on the
Great Communities Collaborative (GCC) and work with diverse partners to
influence community planning processes in priority transit oriented development
sites across the Bay Area. Candidate will
also analyze the connections between land-use, transportation, and climate
change policies and support the organization’s commitment to ensuring that the
implementation of AB 32 and SB 375 results in concrete benefits to the region’s
low-income communities and communities of color.
Candidate
must be a strategic thinker and have the ability to translate complex ideas and
research findings into concrete recommendations for land-use and climate change
policy development. In addition, he/she must have direct experience applying
technical knowledge and policy expertise to local and regional plans, such as a
General Plan or the Bay Area’s Regional Transportation Plan. Candidate must be
able to work with a diverse group of stakeholders including community groups,
policy, government, labor, and health organizations. Finally, the candidate
must be able to effectively collaborate with UH staff in a team environment to
strengthen other UH programs and priority campaigns.
Essential
Duties of the Position:
Program Management
- Serve as UH’s
Lead Staff and Site Coordinator for Great Communities Collaborative. Key
responsibilities include: 1) Play a lead role in defining, implementing,
and evaluating UH’s GCC workplan; 2) Represent UH in GCC Site Coordinator
meetings and related activities; 3) Analyze local Land Use/Transit
Oriented Development plans and identify opportunities to advance UH’s
equity agenda; 4) Work with local site partners to develop and execute
campaign plans; and 5) Participate in development of GCC Regional Land Use
policy.
- Represent UH
on ClimatePlan’s statewide network. Key responsibilities include: 1)
Identify and promote land use policies that will help
achieve California’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets while
benefiting the state’s low income communities and communities of color; 2)
Define equity goals and targets for ClimatePlan’s SB 375 Regional Targets Advisory
Committee; and 3) Provide technical support to other UH staff
in their roles on ClimatePlan’s Steering & Strategic Planning
Committees.
- Serve as UH’s in-house expert on land use
planning & policy across all programs: Climate Justice, Transportation
& Housing, Richmond Equitable Development Initiative, the Bay Area
Social Equity Caucus, and UH’s Leadership Institutes.
Policy and Research
·
Play an active role in shaping the content
of GCC’s “Sustainable Communities Strategy” platform, and work with other UH
staff to coordinate the SCS campaign across programs.
·
Play a lead role in analyzing existing
climate change policies, including SB 375 & AB 32, and developing policy
solutions that benefit the region’s low-income communities and communities of
color.
·
Work with Urban Habitat’s Transportation
Program to develop strategies and policies that reduce green house emissions
while also improving transit services for the region’s low-income communities.
Development and Communications
·
Provide regular updates and other written
materials to the Director of Development and Planning, Board of Directors, and
Media and Communications Associate in order to support UH’s fundraising
efforts, media strategy, and web-site outreach.
·
Participate in fundraising cultivation
meetings and/or provide talking points for development purposes.
·
Represent UH at conferences, workshops, and
meetings.
Qualifications
- Master's
degree in Environmental Sciences/Policy, Urban Planning, Public Policy,
Community Development, or related field.
- At
least three (3) years of experience conducting policy and research in
land-use planning, climate change, transportation or other related field.
- Experience
developing and/or analyzing land use elements of General Plans, Specific
Plans, Local Climate Action Plans, Environmental Impact Reports, Regional
Transportation Plans, and other planning documents.
- Demonstrated
understanding of Climate Change policies (SB375 and/or AB32, Waxman
federal climate bill)
- Experience
in program management, coordination, and facilitation.
- Excellent
written and public-speaking skills.
- Experience
working with a range of partners including government, business, labor,
community, and policy organizations
- Demonstrated
sensitivity and understanding of issues facing low-income communities of
color.
- Capacity
to establish goals and priorities along with the ability to manage
multiple projects to achieve deadlines.
- A
team player who works well with others as well as independently.
- Proficient
in Microsoft Office with some graphics applications.
Salary: Commensurate with experience.
Status:
Full-time position with full benefits. Position reports directly to Director of
Programs.
Application
Deadline: Open Until Filled.
Start
Date: ASAP
We
are an Equal Employment
Internships - Race, Poverty and the Environment
Web /Print Publishing
Internship
Writing, copyediting, proofreading and posting stories to the
web.
Race, Poverty and the Environment (RP&E), Urban Habitat’s journal for social and environmental justice seeks publishing interns.. The positions are on-site in Oakland one to two days a week and the schedule is flexible. Assistants will write, copyedit, proofread and post stories to the RP&E website; do research on social and environmental justice issues such as racism, green economics; and climate justice and manage email alerts to readers and constituents.
Positions require experience in updating and maintaining websites, managing and creating content for email listserves, proofreading skills, commitment to social justice, and knowledge of environmental justice issues. This is a paid internship $12-$15/hr commensurate with experience and will be 1-2 days a week with at lease 8 hours a week on site. (We also offer unpaid off site internships and stipends for reporters by assignment.)
Send resume and a cover letter describing your computer, publishing and social justice experience to editor (at) urbanhabitat (dot) org or to Race, Poverty & the Environment, Urban Habitat, 436 14th St. #1205 Oakland, CA 94606.
