Job Title: Sustainability and Behavior Change Coordinator
Department: Learning and Impact
Exemption: Non-exempt
Reports to: Sustainability and Behavior Change Manager
Description Summary:
The Learning and Impact department is enthusiastically seeking a Sustainability and Behavior Change Coordinator to assist and inform our sustainability endeavors!
Under the supervision of the Sustainability and Behavior Change Manager, the Sustainability and Behavior Change Coordinator will lead efforts to advance sustainable practices across The Living Desert's operations and engage guests, staff, and volunteers in behavior change initiatives to support environmental conservation. This role focuses on reducing the Zoo's environmental footprint, enhancing waste management systems, and promoting educational programs to inspire sustainable actions among our community.
In addition, all staff are responsible for maintaining a safe, healthy, clean, and attractive Zoo environment and providing courteous assistance to guests.
The ideal candidate will possess excellent organization, communication, writing, data entry, research, and time management skills.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Flexibility is key as exact duties will vary based on season; approximate estimates of areas of responsibility are:
- Behavior Change and Evaluation (45%):
- Develop and lead data-informed campaigns to encourage sustainable behaviors among guests, staff, volunteers, and educational program participants such as ZooCampers
- Collaborate with the Learning and Community Engagement team to integrate pro-environmental behavioral outcomes into educational programming and develop and conduct evaluations to assess their effectiveness
- Collaborate with departments across the Zoo to incorporate sustainability messaging, activities, and evaluations into programs, exhibits, and events
- Use behavior change strategies such as presentations, informational signage, choice architecture, and incentives to foster pro-environmental behaviors, including advocacy
- Sustainability (30%):
- Assist in the development and execution of sustainability initiatives to reduce the Zoo's ecological footprint
- Coordinate specific projects such as trash sorting, recycling, composting, and energy efficiency upgrades
- Collaborate across departments to integrate sustainable practices into daily operations, serving as liaison between the Sustainability and Behavior Change Manager and operational teams
- Assist in grant applications and funding opportunities for sustainability projects
- Monitoring and Reporting (25%):
- Use sustainability metrics including resource metering and audits to perform data analysis, build visualizations, and provide suggestions for improvement
- Prepare regular reports to communicate achievements and opportunities for improvement
- Attend and participate in regularly scheduled department and all-staff meetings
- Perform general office duties as necessary
- Maintain offices, classrooms, work areas, and all resources in a safe, clean, and organized manner
- Maintain brand standards in all official appearances and educational presentations
- Able to always deal courteously and effectively with the public and to represent the organization at the highest standard of professionalism
- Able to collaborate, establish, and maintain effective and professional working relations with local partners including school districts, co-workers, and other department personnel, and to do so in accordance with The Living Desert Team Member Handbook
- Contribute to desert conservation through reduction of waste, water and energy use, and inspire guests and team members to take conservation actions
SPECIFIC SKILLS
- Must be a motivated self-starter who needs minimal supervision
- Proficient in data entry, analysis, and reporting; demonstrated experience with Microsoft Excel highly preferred
- Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and multi-task if necessary
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and orally
- Ability to record observations intelligibly and maintain accurate documentation
- Ability to give and comprehend written and oral instructions, and to accurately carry out instructions
- Ability to collaborate and work well in a diverse, team-oriented environment
- Comfortable with public speaking
- Passionate about environmental conservation and sustainability, with a genuine commitment to making a positive impact; broad knowledge of desert natural history and science preferred
- Ability to communicate scientific information in an informal setting, in a way that is engaging, and relevant to guests of all ages
- Familiarity with sustainability management, resource conservation, waste management systems, and/or composting preferred
- Familiarity with behavior change frameworks (e.g., Community-Based Social Marketing; Transtheoretical Model) and strategies preferred
- Experience working in a zoo, aquarium, nature center, or other informal conservation education setting preferred
- Experience with project management preferred
- Experience working with youth/students preferred
EDUCATION AND PREREQUISITES
- Must be 18 years of age or older
- Must have a high school diploma, bachelor’s degree preferred
- Must have an interest in the fields of education, communication, interpretation, environmental science, conservation, biology, zoology, zoo management, sustainability, or environmental engineering
- Must be willing to submit to a background check, fingerprinting, and take a state Mandated Reporter Training for working with children
- Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions including 100+ degrees
EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE
- PC computer and Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams)
- General office equipment
- 2-way radio
- Golf cart
- Monday.com
- Canva
CONDITIONS OF WORK
- Ability to sit, stand, and walk for long periods of time
- Ability to lift and carry up to 50lbs
- Full functional range of motion in all major body joints from reaching, twisting, bending, simple and power gripping, fine and gross motor skills
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Office, classrooms, and informal learning environments
- Offsite areas monitoring conducting programs as needed
- Outside environments in varying weather conditions
- Exposure to variations in temperature, humidity, and extreme heat
- Holiday, evening, and weekend work may be required.
ABOUT THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS:
The Living Desert is an AZA-accredited zoo and gardens that is dedicated to desert conservation through preservation, education and appreciation. It is a family-friendly place to explore nature and create meaningful experiences for guests that are remembered for a lifetime. For more information: (760) 346-5694 or visit www.LivingDesert.org. The Living Desert is located at: 47900 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260.
This class specification should not be interpreted as all inclusive. It is intended to identify the major responsibilities and requirements of this job. The incumbents may be requested to perform job-related responsibilities and tasks other than those stated in this specification.
