Program Assistant - Environmental Services

POSITION TITLE: Program Assistant - Environmental Services (Hourly)
REQUISITION #: req6984
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Services
LOCATION: 222 LAPORTE
BENEFIT CATEGORY: Variable Hourly View Classifications & Benefits
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Part-Time Hourly
HOURLY RATE: $21.00 - 23.00 per hour (based on relevant experience)
SELECTION PROCESS: Application deadline is 3:00 p.m. MT on 3/29/2023.

The City of Fort Collins is a bias-conscious employer. We ask that you please avoid the use of photos when submitting a resume and/or an application for employment. You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check required.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

The Community: The City of Fort Collins sits nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains alongside the banks of the Cache La Poudre River. At 5,000 feet in elevation, residents enjoy a moderate, four-season climate, with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. With 174,800 residents, Fort Collins is Colorado’s fourth-largest city and spans 57 square miles. With the 20 year growth projection, the City of Fort Collins is expected to reach 255,000 residents.

The first people who hunted in this region arrived approximately 11,000 years ago, and Northern Colorado remains an integral part of the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations. European-American trappers and traders arrived by the early 1800s but rarely established permanent settlements. Gold and silver discoveries in the Colorado mountains in the mid-1800s and the prospect of land for farming and ranching attracted people from eastern cities and across the globe to the Colorado Territory, including what would become the town of Fort Collins; an agricultural colony that emerged from its founding days as a military fort. The expansion included the sugar beet industry's growth, which brought new residents whose descendants still live here today, including Mexican-American families from southern Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, as well as Germans from Russia. Since 1879, Fort Collins has been the home of the state’s land grant institution, Colorado State University, which currently enrolls 34,000 students. Along with the university, the city’s major high-tech and manufacturing companies and breweries attract new residents from all over the country and world. The community’s overall social diversity continues to grow.

There are abundant outdoor recreation opportunities available to the many residents who enjoy healthy lifestyles. The nearby Horsetooth Reservoir is a key attraction, as is the Cache La Poudre-North Park Scenic Byway. The Downtown district provides many venues for live music, shopping, dining, and nightlife within the city. Fort Collins is widely considered the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado. The City has a strong appreciation for arts, culture, and entertainment. Various national organizations and magazines recognize Fort Collins as one of the best places to live in the nation.

The City’s long list of acknowledgements includes:

• No. 2 Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America: American Water Works – June 2021
• No. 5 Best Remote-Ready Cities: Livability.com Jan 2021
• Top 30 Creative Small Cities: CVSuite – May 2020
• No. 18 Safest Cities in America: SafeWise – April 2020
• No. 1 Best Place to Live: Livability.com March 2020
• No. 9 Most Fitness Friendly Places: SmartAsset – Dec 2019
• No. 7 Safest Driving Cities: Allstate – June 2019
• No. 4 Best U.S. Cities to Raise a Family: MarketWatch – April 2019
• No. 9 Best Performing Cities: Milken Institute – Jan 2019
• No. 3 U.S. Cities with Highest Economic Confidence: Yahoo – Nov 2018
• No. 2 Brain Concentration Index: Bloomberg – Nov 2018
• No. 1 City in America for Cycling: PeopleForBikes-May 2018
• Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award: Alliance for Innovation-April 2018
• The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-Nov 2017
• 18th Best City for Career Opportunities: SmartAsset – Sep 2017
• 3rd Best College Town to Live in Forever: College Ranker – July 2017
• 25 Best Towns Ever: Where to Live Now: Outside Magazine – June 2017
• No. 1 Stable and Growing Housing Market: Realtor.com-June 2017
• 11th Happiest City in America: Yahoo! Finance - March 2017
• No. 9 Top 150 Cities for Millennials Report: Millennial Personal Finance - Feb 2017
• No. 2 Best Cities for Small Business Owners: ValuePenguin – Feb 2017

Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?

• Potential for paid personal leave and paid holidays

- Employee Assistance Program: counseling, legal, and financial assistance

- Wellness program, workout facilities

- Personal & professional learning opportunities plus potential for career mobility

- Collaborative work environment

SUMMARY:
The City of Fort Collins Environmental Services Department is seeking a part time bi-lingual (English and Spanish) program assistant to support air quality, climate, and waste reduction programs.

The Environmental Services Department works to equitably achieve the community’s environmental goals of improving indoor and outdoor air quality, zero waste by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050. The Environmental Services Department has committed to an equity for all, leading with race, approach to program development, implementation, and evaluation to ensure that a community member’s race is not a predictor of outcomes.

This position’s primary assignment is to support the staff and teams as they develop, implement, maintain, or improve environmental justice/equity-focused programs. Specifically, this position will help the three teams manage language barriers as they develop relationships and build trust with community partners through various projects. Key duties include providing administrative support and communicating with community members, community consultants, volunteers, and staff in Spanish and English.

This position runs through September 2023 and is limited to 20-29 hours/week at a pay range of $21-23/hour with no benefits. There is a possibility of extension pending funding availability, performance considerations, and project load. Work is conducted year-round and is primarily indoors, but may be conducted outdoors on occasion. This role may seasonally include supporting direct engagement with the public on weeknights and weekends. For the remainder of the time, scheduling is more flexible. This position is based out of the Environmental Services office at 222 Laporte, and teleworking is an option. This position reports to the Lead Environmental Specialist on the Air Quality team within Environmental Services.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the primary functions of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.

• Support the coordination of Environmental Services programs through communications in fluent Spanish and English; including emails, meeting agendas, and responding to phone inquiries.
• Schedule Healthy Homes assessments and assessment logistics with English and Spanish speaking community members and volunteers.
• Support English and Spanish language Waste Reduction and Recycling outreach and engagement activities, including in the planning of events and on-site/at events, as well as in preparing for and conducting meetings with Spanish and English participants.
• Support English and Spanish speaking community members participating in the Community Consultant program, which compensates community members for their time working on City projects related to climate action, to improve participant experience and program outcomes.
• Review Spanish translation projects for accuracy and quality.
• Maintain detailed records of program activities.
• Participate in program improvement discussions.
• Participate in other special projects as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

City Competencies

• Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
• Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
• A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
• A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.

QUALIFICATIONS:
The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the necessary functions of this position.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills in both English and Spanish and ability to present to community groups on occasion.
• Knowledge of standard office software including word processing, database and spreadsheet applications.
• Ability to conduct various administrative office tasks such as scheduling meeting, taking notes at meetings, returning customer service-related phone calls, etc.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a varied workload and balance multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organization and time management skills.
• Capable of working on own as well as within teams.
• Ability to appropriately manage confidential or sensitive information.
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Understands and adheres to the concept of equity as a process and outcome.
• Demonstrated proficiency in empathy and listening.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with members of historically excluded groups in the community, the broader public, City employees and public officials.

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE:
High school graduation or general education degree (GED), or related experience performing project coordination and administration.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Ability to proficiently read, write, and verbally communicate in English and Spanish

Ability to write and correspond effectively and clearly through email.

Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions.

Mental alertness, ability to multi-task, and meet fixed deadlines
The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 221-6535 for assistance.

Notice Regarding Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana Use:
Because the possession and use of marijuana, whether for medical use or otherwise, constitutes a federal offense and because the City is a drug free workplace, the City will not accommodate the medical use of marijuana and enforces written policy prohibiting working for the City while marijuana is in the body. The fact that state law recognizes medical marijuana as a prescribed, or otherwise permitted, medication does not alter or otherwise change this policy.

The City of Fort Collins is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered for positions for which they have applied without regard to gender (regardless of gender identity or gender expression), race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, age 40 years or older, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or other characteristics protected by law. For the purpose of this City policy “sexual orientation” means a person’s actual or perceived orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality.

POST OFFER BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED.

Note: Some information in your application may be public information under the Colorado Open Records Act.