What are the responsibilities and job description for the Climate Professional Mentor position at Future Climate Collective?
Job Title: Climate Professional Mentor
Company Name: Future Climate Collective
Company Website: https://futureclimatecollective.org/
Employment Type: Volunteer
Time Commitment: 1 hour per week
Location: Portland, OR strongly preferred
About Future Climate Collective
Future Climate Collective is building the next generation of climate leaders. Our Impact Program connects Portland high schools, Oregon universities, and local climate and sustainability professionals to give Portland youth the mentorship, knowledge, and confidence they need to take real climate action in their communities.
About the Role
We are looking for Climate Professional Mentors to serve as mentors for our undergraduate fellows for the 2026-2027 Student Impact Program. Undergraduate Fellows go into Portland high schools each week to guide students through a year-long sustainability project.
Climate Professional Mentors primarily support undergraduate Fellows by sharing career insights, project management guidance, and expertise from their work in climate and sustainability. Mentors will also have opportunities to engage with high school teams at select points in their project development, providing students with constructive feedback and real-world perspectives on their solutions.
What You’ll Do
Here’s what we expect our Climate Professional Mentors to do:
- Serve as a mentor to one (or more) undergraduate Fellow throughout the school year.
- Weekly check-ins to support the Fellow’s planning and problem-solving as they help highschoolers develop their sustainability projects.
- Share your professional expertise and real-world perspective on climate and sustainability topics for the Fellow to bring back to their students.
- Provide project management guidance, troubleshoot project ideas, answer technical questions, and point to relevant resources or local context.
- Receive ongoing support and coordination from the Future Climate Collective leadership team throughout the program.
- Optional: Engage directly with high school student teams at key milestones, offering feedback and guidance as projects evolve
What Fellows Gain From You
What you will be providing the program Fellows:
- Insight into the world of professional climate work and lasting connection with experts from various industries.
- Deep knowledge and understanding of how to break down big problems and identify real solutions.
- Confidence and hope to take real action on climate change.
Who We’re Looking For
We are looking for candidates who are:
- Professionals working in climate, sustainability, environmental science, policy, or related fields are ideal.
- Comfortable mentoring and coaching a college-aged undergraduate Fellow.
- Able to commit to weekly check-ins for the full school year (September 2026 - June 2027).
- Passionate about building the next generation of climate-ready leaders.
- Comfortable with async communication (email, Slack, Google meet, etc.).
What You’ll Be Committing To
To become a Climate Professional Mentor, we ask that you can commit to:
- 1 hour per week check-ins for the full school year (September 2026 - June 2027) and be available to answer asynchronous questions from your Fellow.
- Occasional participation with in-person events like project showcases.
Application
If you are interested in applying, please follow this link to complete our application form: https://forms.gle/PrdzKWXF1uRGSAs38
Volunteer
If you are interested in other ways to get involved with Future Climate Collective, check out our volunteer opportunities: https://futureclimatecollective.org/volunteer