Description

Solar and Energy Project Coordinator

The purpose of this position is to provide support for the implementation of major grant funded solar projects and energy initiatives that advance decarbonization for the city of Cleveland. These projects include administrative project coordination of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) that funds two solar on landfill projects, internal energy benchmarking and data tracking for the entire city through EnergyCAP, and reporting related to both.
This role involves collaboration with internal departments, external stakeholders, vendors, sub-contractors, and community partners to advance energy initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy performance, and enhance community resilience in fulfillment and alignment of the city’s community and operational Climate Action Plans, called the Cleveland Climate Action Plan and the Municipal Climate Action Plan, both updated in 2025.

This role is partially grant-funded.

Examples of Duties

Under administrative direction, is responsible for planning and administering a specific project or program for a city department. Serves as the administrative supervisor on projects or programs. Plans, assigns, supervises, and reviews activities of subordinate personnel. Monitors the project or program's operating budget and assists in the annual preparation of same. Designs, implements, and monitors procedures utilized in program evaluation. Develops and secures commitments from other City departments and agencies to provide services to program participants. Provides technical assistance or reviews program policies and procedures. Maintains current information and oversees the preparation of project status reports. Prepares financial and narrative reports and program applications. Communicates project/program status and information to municipal officials and/or public and private entities. May supervise employees assigned to the respective project. Performs other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Business or Public Administration, Social Sciences, or closely related field preferred. Two (2) years of any equivalent combination of education, training and experience in program administration required. Must be able to lift and carry thirty (30) pounds. Valid State of Ohio Driver's License required.

Supplemental Information

Climate change is the single greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, threatening water and food security, health, livelihoods, and the safety of billions of people together with drastic negative impact on global ecosystem balance. The City of Cleveland’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability & Climate Justice seeks to enhance their climate ambitions under the Paris Agreement, with focus on greater emissions reduction and resilience building. The next phases of the City of Cleveland’s Climate Action Plan update will focus on climate advocacy and long-term planning to ensure inclusive climate action at the speed and scale required to keep global temperature below 1.5°C. Achieving the carbon neutrality in the second half of the century by all countries is a crucial requirement set by the Paris Agreement to avoid the irreversible global climate change. Realization of this goal involves work on local, regional, national, and global levels, as well as participation of all relevant stakeholders – governments, business, non-profit organizations, community members. The path to carbon neutrality should be just and leave no one behind, while empowering women, youth, black, indigenous and people of color, and vulnerable groups of population.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The Solar and Energy Project Coordinator (‘SEPC”) responsibilities include the following.

Understand and apply to daily work, projects and programming, the tenets of equity, environmental justice and social determinants of health as they relate to sustainability initiatives, especially in terms of climate mitigation and climate change adaptation solutions.

Specific to the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) Project: The Solar and Energy Project Coordinator is responsible for coordinating project deliverables for two solar projects enabled through the US EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant implementation funding (“CPRG 2”) awarded to the city of Cleveland. Specific duties are listed below and more specifically outlined in a project charter tied to the CPRG 2.

Under the supervision of the office’s decarbonization strategist, coordinate with the site-specific project managers for each solar development project and outside vendors: the planning, execution, and monitoring of project deliverables;
Ensure team adherence to project scopes, budgets, timelines and the project charter through project management best practices for verification of project scheduling, routine meetings, record-keeping, documentation and communications between team members;
Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal grant management and reporting requirements, in coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability’s Sustainability Grant and Fiscal Administrator, as well as site specific financial support staff;
Acquire knowledge base and keep current at the generalist level on trends in the following areas: clean electricity investment tax credits, solar developments on landfills, US EPA and Ohio EPA regulations relevant to the project, local requirements and utility requirements, including permitting, zoning, FAA regulations, and other applicable aspects of these projects that ensure smooth project administration and delivery.

Specific to the internal energy and decarbonization benchmarking, data tracking and reporting responsibilities: The SEPC is responsible for the coordination and improvement of the collection of relevant data from across city sources and the dissemination of the data through 3rd party software, as applicable, for processing and analysis, and to relevant stakeholders for reporting. Specifically:

Coordinate and lead data interfaces and reporting through Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager for benchmarking the energy consumption of City of Cleveland’s buildings and facilities.
Coordinate with utility providers to pursue electronic data import requests for multiple commodities – including electric, natural gas, fuel, steam, chilled water, water, and sewer.
Support implementation and support of the City of Cleveland’s comprehensive climate change related emissions reporting, including support for Energy Data Management System (EnergyCAP) as it relates to emissions data quality and validation and other analytical tasks.
Support updating the City of Cleveland’s annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory and reductions, using Municipal Action Plan (MAP)’s custom Inventory Management System (IMS) tool, and other inventory management systems that the office may adopt in the future.
Support the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability’s Decarbonization Strategist and Energy Program Manager with other applicable energy management projects and tasks in the fields of energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy, as necessary.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s and/or Master’s Degree in a scientific, engineering, environmental, or related technical field, economics, business administration or public administration; ideally with focus on sustainability.
Minimum of five (5) years of experience in either a municipal or large organization’s environmental sustainability and/or energy office or other related experience, two (2) of which must involve working on project coordination for energy related programs or projects, specifically.
In addition to strong project coordination skills, project management skills are a plus, such as demonstrated knowledge and experience managing complex, multi stakeholder project timeline, deliverables, schedules.
Demonstrated experience working on energy projects and energy or climate data, preferably related to federal grants.
Demonstrated skills in translating technical information and goals into specific action steps necessary to advance project deliverables.
Ability to build and maintain positive working relationships and partnerships with a variety of partners, stakeholders, and interest groups.
Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively, both with co-workers and with members of a multi-stakeholder project team.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and professionally with all levels of city leadership
Dedicated to performing duties with confidentiality where required, and to maintaining high ethical standards.
Evaluative and reflective skills that lead to improved project / program planning and outcomes.
Familiarity with the issues affecting the City of Cleveland and the surrounding region.
Advanced knowledge in computer literacy (Microsoft Office – SharePoint, Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Planner and Adobe Professional), communication skills and administrative skills. Knowledge of data management and program/project management software is required.
Ability to relate to, and work effectively with, persons of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, sexual preference or orientation, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The City's guiding principles are as follows: Placing Clevelanders at the Center, Empowering Employees to Do Purposeful Work, Defining Clear and Pragmatic Objectives, Leading with Trust and Transparency, Striving for Equity in All We Do, and Embracing Change. All City employees are responsible for embracing and carrying out these principles in all that they do.

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Solar and Energy Project Coordinator