Transit Energy Coordinator #2208-253800-02

The City of Charlotte is the largest municipality in North Carolina and the 17th largest city in the United States, with a total population of more than 872,498 citizens. A major commerce center, Charlotte hosts several of the nation’s largest banks and technology companies.

Also known as the Queen City, Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We work hard to ensure that the community will be a winning city for everyone – a truly remarkable place to live, work, learn and play. Join us in helping to keep our City thriving, ensuring upward mobility and advancement in the workplace.

The Charlotte Area Transit System is a department of the City of Charlotte and governed by the Metropolitan Transit Commission.  CATS is the largest transit system between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, offering bus, light rail, streetcar, vanpool, and paratransit services.  The mission of CATS is to provide essential mobility solutions that connect communities to opportunity, places, and each other with a vision to meet the mobility needs of every community member.

CATS appointed its first Sustainability and Resiliency and Government Affairs Officer in October 2021 after receiving support through the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge with NRDC and in alignment with the City of Charlotte’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience. The organization has quickly made a transition to battery electric buses with 18 buses just this year and an anticipated 24 over the next year.  This transition is one of the most aggressive in the Country, CATS specifically leading the charge in the Southeast, however there is more transition and facility climate action to be tackled, specifically in response to the City’s first benchmarking report identifying opportunity for greater energy efficiency in specific buildings.

CATS has developed a new department to assist the organization with sustainability and resiliency efforts, in addition to being responsible for the development, implementation and direction of the organization's sustainability and resiliency vision, strategy and reporting.  This new role will be integral to CATS continued growth and success in this climate work.

We are seeking a Transit Energy Coordinator who will be responsible for projects supporting the City’s, and ultimately CATS, strategy in striving toward the goal of 100% zero carbon municipal fleet and buildings and to become a low-carbon city communitywide. 

The City of Charlotte adopted sustainability and resiliency goals through the 2030 Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP) and 2050 Sustainable Charlotte Resolution.  CATS is embarking upon a foundational shift in operations to meet our SEAP by 2030, which will enable us to meet our low carbon City goals of 2tCO2e per capita by 2050.

• Partner with both fleet and facilities teams, in alignment with the City’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience, on reaching Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP) goal of transitioning to 100% zero carbon sources for fleet and facilities.
• Responsible for working cross-departmentally, specifically with development and planning teams, as a subject matter expert/resource for LEED and Envision Certifications to ensure CAT is well positioned to achieve these certifications as required through our Sustainable Facilities Policy.
• Research and identify market and industry trends in association with supply chain limitations for both fleet and facility decarbonization technologies.
• As part of your responsibility to support the CATS Safety Culture, report safety concerns and issues through the various methods established by CATS as outlined in the Agency Safety Plan (ASP)
• Additional projects and focus as assigned.

Leadership and Management:

• Ability to think strategically, problem solve and work independently.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work with diverse groups in collaborative team-oriented environment.
• Ability to manage consultant contracts.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of city staff and the public.
• Present information, findings, and recommendations in a thoughtful, comprehensive, sophisticated manner.
• Ability to lead and direct work of others.
• May supervise interns or other staff as assigned.

• Independent thinking that can move quickly to prepare answers supported by data/analysis, being well versed and astute with data analytics and ability to communicate.
• Decarbonization experience in the transportation and buildings sector is vital; development and implementation of decarbonization actions with consideration for land use and transit-oriented development is ideal.
• Communication skills, in writing and verbal a must, prepare, review power point presentations and talking points for Sustainability, Resiliency, Governmental Affairs Officer.
• Curiosity and resilience!  Individual must be willing to never not ask a question and must be flexible, yet persistent ensuring they are meeting people where they are to make cultural shifts that ultimately make us more sustainable and resilient as a community.
• Outstanding project management qualities and skill set with strong focus on implementable outcomes, actions, and results.
• Demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.

• Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Sustainability, Environmental Justice, Public Administration, or related field.
• Two (2) years or more of relevant experience – specifically transportation and building decarbonization.
• LEED, WELL, Green Globes and/or Envision Certification is ideal.

Bachelor’s degree with three (3) years of relevant work experience; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience that provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the job duties.

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

As of October 1, 2021, The City of Charlotte requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment for any new City of Charlotte employees.  The City is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and as such, will consider reasonable accommodations as required by law.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby where we have workstations available. Our office is located at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

Anyone seeking an accommodation to apply for a job may call (704) 336-2285 for assistance or you may email questions to CityHrJobPostingsNotify@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to all employees.

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The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.