Programs Facilitator

About Sustainability Matters

Sustainability Matters (www.sustainabilitymatters.earth) is a young grassroots conservation nonprofit, based in Virginia’s rural Northern Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont regions, and expanding to the DC suburbs. We’re also an architect of transformative, scalable projects like Making Trash Bloom (our flagship initiative, planting pollinator meadows at landfills) and creator of webinars with global reach. Our focus is on outreach that is truly universal, including both traditional and non-traditional conservation audiences. Our approach to conservation is realistic and practical, never purist. We’re about people almost as much as we’re about the planet: the community we’re building catalyzes our impact.

We are creating new positions, not filling existing ones. We’re hiring for multiple opportunities, but not constrained by job descriptions: we’re open to candidates whose skills cross over aspects of different positions, or include capacities not mentioned in any. Go ahead and pitch us.

Sustainability Matters expects our staff to perform at the highest professional level. We treat them accordingly, offering unlimited paid time off, flexible working hours, and pet healthcare coverage, in addition to more standard benefits.

Position Overview

This is our “make it happen” job. The Programs Facilitator will be Sustainability Matters’ point person for operational management of our many initiatives, ranging from large-scale webinars to community workshops to the Making Trash Bloom project. Responsibilities will include recruiting and managing volunteers, sustaining relationships with organizational partners and contractors, and updating program information across digital platforms. Depending on the capacities of the successful candidate, the position may also incorporate program development and delivering environmental education.

Core Responsibilities

• Manage logistics of virtual and in-person programs, including execution, promotion, registration, and evaluation.
• Recruit, screen, on-board, and coordinate volunteers. Advance and formalize organizational procedures around volunteer management.
• Manage payments and renewals for corporate sponsors and individual members.
• Manage vendors and contractors.
• Develop and implement a Sustainability Matters Ambassador program to motivate outreach, fundraising, and giving by volunteers.
• Contribute to all-staff discussions on organizational strategy, growth, programming, and fundraising.

This position is primarily remote, but the Programs Facilitator should expect to attend in-person events or meetings up to twice a week in the Northern/Central Shenandoah Valley, Northern Piedmont, or Northern Virginia areas. Residence within those regions is desirable.

Hours are flexible and will include weekend and evening commitments. We are primarily seeking a full-time Programs Facilitator, as described. However, if the right person is interested in a part-time position covering only some of the responsibilities listed here, we’re open to that.

Qualifications

The right person for this position will possess the skills and qualities listed below. We welcome applicants from both nonprofit and for-profit backgrounds. Conservation professionals and those new to the field are encouraged to apply, but the latter must possess strong independently acquired subject knowledge.

Most importantly, the successful candidate will be a cultural fit with an organization that roots our success in our differences from other nonprofits: our commitment to working with non-traditional conservation audiences, our realistic and practical approach to conservation, and our emphasis on people as much as the planet. Sustainability Matters is new, growing fast, and immensely ambitious. We’re still in our “all hands to the pump” stage, looking for early adopters who want to grow with us long-term. We take quality and impact extremely seriously. We don’t take much else seriously, and we’re looking for a colleague who’ll laugh with us. If you have to ask whether we really need a spokescat, we’re not the best fit for you.

Specific requirements include:

• Impeccable attention to detail, coupled with a commitment to creative process improvement.
• Experience managing people in work, volunteer, or educational settings. Ability to communicate expectations clearly, identify people’s needs, and address concerns.
• Concise, clear, and grammatically correct professional writing.
• Ease and accuracy representing an organization in both professional and social settings.
• Comfort with digital platforms including social media, databases, G-Suite, Zoom, etc.
• Passion for conservation issues and commitment to finding practical solutions to environmental concerns. Solid knowledge of and curiosity about conservation, horticulture, and nature.
• An open, analytical mind, with the propensity to question established practices and opinions, in conservation and beyond.
• Facility for collaborative relationship-building and appreciation for diverse constituent groups. Leadership skills, with the ability to serve as a unifying force and the flexibility to “manage by influence.”
• Strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently. High energy, maturity, and an entrepreneurial mindset, both internally and externally. Comfort with working independently.
• Absolute reliability and on-time delivery.

Not required, but nice to have:

• Experience presenting technical content in a manner accessible to a broad range of audiences.
• Skills in any of: video/photo, graphic design, UX, CSS.
• Connections to immigrant/marginalized communities; fluency in Spanish.
• Formal qualifications in environmental science, agriculture, or management, and/or background in conservation nonprofits.
• Background or interest in donor/member acquisition and stewardship.

The ideal candidate for this job will have invested heavily in education and developing new skills. This could take the form of anything from a higher degree to being entirely self-taught. What we care about is the ability to add value to a team that is constantly learning and leveling up in the areas of conservation, community building, and nonprofit management.

Sustainability Matters requires all staff to keep COVID vaccination and boosters up-to-date.

Compensation and Benefits

Sustainability Matters believes our people are our most important asset. We expect our staff to perform at the highest professional level, and we treat and compensate them accordingly. Salary range for this position is $50,000-$60,000, commensurate with experience. We offer flexible working hours and unlimited paid time off.

We support our team’s family members of all species, reimbursing pet healthcare coverage and adoption fees and funding employees’ dental and vision coverage, disability coverage, and life insurance. We provide retirement benefits and cover remote office expenses including laptop, internet, cell service, software, and mileage.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Sustainability Matters is an equal opportunity employer, drawing strength from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We value potential employees’ intellect, capacities, and work ethic. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or any other non-merit factor. Bring your brain, and come as you are.

Application Procedure

For consideration, please submit the following to [email protected]:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Contact information for three professional references
• Two writing samples, at least one of which should be professional writing in a leadership context (e.g., logistics email to volunteers or colleagues)
• Anything else you’d like us to consider

We will begin reviewing applications immediately, and the position will remain open until filled by the right individual.