It’s a great time to join the City of Boulder!

Application Deadline:

April 27, 2025

Compensation Details:

Full Pay Range

85,155.20 - 126,505.60

Generally, the hiring range is from the minimum up to 80% of the range.This is a full-time salaried position.

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

40

Benefit Eligibility Group:

Non Union (30 Hours)

Locate the Benefit Eligibility Group value on the Employee Benefit Eligibility document to identify the benefits offered for this job.

Job Description Summary:

OVERVIEW OF ROLE (Climate Initiatives)
Under limited direction, this Community Engagement Sr. Project Manager supports strategic engagement planning and execution for priority strategies within the Climate Initiatives (CI) Department. This position demonstrates expertise in community engagement, as well as a solid knowledge of, and experience in, climate change and environmental sustainability efforts. This Sr. Project Manager also plays a leadership role in advancing equitable and innovative engagement strategies and tactics, recognizing that climate change has disproportionate impacts on communities that have been historically excluded. This position serves as an engaged member of the Communications and Engagement Department but is embedded in CI. The position works closely with the Communications Sr. Program Manager also embedded in CI.

Please note, a cover letter is required and should include responses to the questions below:

- In 250 words or less, please give a specific example of a time you designed meaningful and inclusive community engagement around a project or topic. What did you do and how do you know it was successful?

- In 250 words of less, please tell us about a situation where you were able to influence others without being in a position of formal authority. What steps did you take in influencing others?

- In 250 words or less, and based on what you know about the City of Boulder’s approach to community engagement and commitment to addressing the climate crisis, what do you believe will be the most important area of focus in 2025?

Job Description:

CLIMATE INITIATIVES

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Provides strategic leadership to ensure inclusive and meaningful engagement in support of the CI department, its varied programs and goals. This person is expected to:

• Develop an overall engagement strategy and outreach approach for the Climate Initiatives Department, establishing yearly objectives, weighing opportunities and need for engagement with staff capacity and equity considerations, and ensuring that all efforts are aligned with the city’s Engagement Strategic Framework.
• Forge new and needed connections between frontline communities, climate justice, and local government through creative approaches to Boulder’s climate strategies and community learning opportunities.
• Design, usually in collaboration with project leads, outreach and engagement plans and activities for assigned projects.
• Ensure that inclusive and meaningful public participation is central to all outreach and interactions with the community.
• Partner with Communication colleague also embedded within Climate Initiatives to publicize engagement opportunities and ensure that information necessary for individuals to engage meaningfully is clear and accessible.
• Conduct an inventory of all initiatives and projects likely to require engagement between the Climate Initiatives Department and the community, including an assessment of the audiences that need to be reached and best practices for reaching them.
• Provide expertise to colleagues in choosing an appropriate level of engagement on the city's engagement spectrum based on impacted audiences.
• Identify projects and workplan items that will require direct support and implementation by this position. Generally, the intention is for this position to have more hands-on support and involvement in engagement that lifts the experiences of disproportionally impacted communities. The overall department plan will center these projects and spell out appropriate and scaled strategies and tactics.
• Write the plan and ensure the department is following it, with periodic check-ins on whether goals are being achieved.
• Manage and maintain strong relationships with a broad set of stakeholders, including elected officials, executive leadership team members, and community partners.
• Assist colleagues in both virtual and in-person meetings and community sessions where significant public input is expected. Prioritization for hands-on support will be given to engagement that centers equity and disproportionately impacted communities.
• Provide CI colleagues with incremental feedback as projects progress, to allow for meaningful integration of community perspectives, and synthesize overall input for key decision-makers.
• Develop and maintain trusted relationships with partner organizations and key community leaders, particularly those that lift the voices and improve the experiences and quality of life for diverse populations. Serves as Climate Initiatives Department liaison to assigned groups, including managing an RFP process for funding, scopes of work, and contracts as needed.
• Serve as a mentor and a teacher for engagement professionals throughout the organization, modeling the core values and components of the city's Engagement Strategic Framework.

Partners with organizations and institutions that help the CI Department expand its reach and effectiveness at meeting the needs of diverse communities. This person is expected to:

• Develop and adhere to a regular meeting cadence with organizations identified as key climate equity partners, including, but not limited to: Boulder Housing Partners, Climate Justice Collaborative, FLOWs, and regional climate equity initiatives.  This may include periodic meetings with other local jurisdictions, partner organizations or state agencies
• Build relationships with members and leadership of designated organizations; serve as the department’s liaison with these groups, representing the needs of the city and the department and conveying the perspectives and requests of the partners back to appropriate leadership.
• Manage contracts that help to achieve the department’s engagement goals through partnerships.
• Guide the development of clear scopes of work to define how these partnerships will be leveraged to support equity-focused engagement, expected deliverables and funding commitments.
• Oversee engagement-related work conducted by, or in collaboration with, these partners.
• Represent the City of Boulder and the Climate Initiatives Department through speaking engagements at meetings and conferences, as assigned

Provides engagement counsel and implementation support to one additional citywide initiative each year; sometimes this initiative will have a climate nexus, but not always.

• Partner with project-specific leadership to identify needs and opportunities for community engagement around decision-making and/or implementation
• Develop engagement strategy to address these needs
• Training of existing project team members who may be interacting with community already around the topic, most likely with an education/outreach/inform approach
• Implementation and facilitation support for key elements of the engagement plan

Helps to draft project-specific engagement plans for projects that are important but are more broadly focused across the Boulder community and/or require outreach at an Inform or Consult level with the expectation that other CI staff members will implement. This person is expected to:

• Assist project leads within the Climate Initiatives Department in creating project-specific engagement plans using the city’s engagement plan template
• Provide strategic counsel on objectives and best practices guidance
• Work with Communications colleague in Climate Initiatives to publicize any related events or engagement opportunities
• Work with project leads to triage any unanticipated challenges in implementing these project-specific plans.

Contributes positively to overall goals and culture of the Communications and Engagement Department. This person is expected to:

• Serve as a member of the citywide Engagement Coordination Committee, identify ways to improve inclusivity in city programs and decision-making processes, and contribute to shared learning.
• Contribute to the creation and implementation of department-wide strategic goals and outcomes.
• Fulfill a rotating obligation to facilitate weekly editorial/engagement calendar reviews with Communications and Engagement colleagues several times a year and serve in varying capacities on department-level workgroups or subcommittees, as assigned.
• Model a commitment to racial equity and inclusive engagement practices, including language access and principles of effective co-design with community members.
• Create and share tools and templates to support consistent engagement practices and shared community feedback across the organization.
• Advance innovation in engagement, with a responsibility for developing and tracking outcome measurements.
• Serve as a mentor and co-learner for engagement professionals throughout the organization, modeling the core values and components of the city's Engagement Strategic Framework.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability and willingness to work some evenings and weekends, as required to engage with community members at times that work best for them.
• Ability to act as a collaborator with demonstrated experience influencing others, building consensus, when possible, and synthesizing an array of inputs.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize large amounts of complex information.
• Ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the nexus between principles of racial equity and climate change impacts and an ability to share this knowledge with others working in the environmental/sustainability/resilience context.
• Ability to demonstrate excellent skill in verbal and written communication with comfort and aptitude in making public presentations and producing high quality written documents.  Ability to serve as the primary spokesperson on engagement processes and feedback received on assigned projects – to staff, the public, relevant boards or commissions and City Council.
• Ability to demonstrate experience building relationships and working collaboratively with a range of stakeholder groups.
• Ability to demonstrate interpersonal and organizational skills with advanced facilitation skills and comfort guiding dialogue within groups of various sizes, including those in which conflict and differing perspectives are present.
• Ability to demonstrate skill in conflict management, negotiation and consensus-building. 
• Ability to demonstrate strong functional and technical knowledge and experience in one or more climate related topics such as energy, consumption and materials, climate impacts and preparedness, and climate and environmental justice.
• Ability to design effective engagement processes for topics with varying levels of complexity, including some that involve politically sensitive or controversial issues.
• Ability to discern and make decisions about competing priorities, identifying and centering those where the biggest potential for impact exists.
• Ability to implement best practices of inclusive community engagement to inform decision-making. Highly knowledgeable of the relationship between climate change/risk and equity, including disproportionate impacts climate change has on already vulnerable populations.
• Ability to remain resilient and energetic, responding positively to critiques and feedback and managing challenges to meet deadlines and deliver results.
• Ability to think politically and strategically but act non-politically and in support of credible and best practice processes.
• Ability to work comfortably and knowledgably in the subject area of climate and environmental sustainability with a focus on community engagement needs to inform decision-making or encourage meaningful action.
• Knowledge of best practices that support inclusivity and cross-cultural participation.
• Knowledge of the approaches and codes of ethics of leading civic engagement organizations, especially, but not limited to, the International Association of Public Participation.
• Skill in document preparation, basic graphic design, GIS and other computer skills and experience, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Suite skills. 
• Valid Driver’s License and ability to maintain an acceptable motor vehicle record.
• Have and maintain acceptable background information, including criminal conviction history.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Ability to adapt comfortably to sometimes uncertain and shifting priorities and make decisions without having all information in hand.
• Ability to communicate fluently in English and Spanish.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Boulder community, including its geography, politics, organizational characteristics, and laws.
• Skill in project management, including building and managing project teams, coordinating project timelines and activities, negotiating contracts with consultants and measuring progress toward agreed-upon tasks and outcomes.
• Master’s degree in Communication, Public Administration, Government, Environmental Studies, or a related field.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE  

• Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Public Administration, Government, Environmental Studies, or a related field; or equivalent of eight (8) experience may substitute for the education requirement only.
• Seven (7) years of communications or engagement experience.
• Two (2) years of professional experience in the context of climate change and action, these two (2) years can be part of the seven years’ communication or engagement experience.

SUPERVISON  
Supervision Received: Community Engagement Manager

Supervision Exercised: None

WORKING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 

• Physical & Mental Effort: Sufficient clarity of speech and hearing or other communication capabilities that permits the employee to communicate effectively on the telephone and in person. Sufficient vision or other powers of observation that permits the employee to review, evaluate and prepare a variety of written documents and materials. Sufficient manual dexterity that permits the employee to operate computer equipment and other office equipment. Sufficient personal mobility and physical reflexes, which permits the employee to work in an office setting. Work may include extended periods of time viewing a computer video monitor and/ or operating a keyboard. Ability to work under stress from demanding deadlines, public contact, and changing priorities and conditions.
• Work Environment: Works primarily in a clean, comfortable environment. Primarily operate under a hybrid work model including working remotely, in the office, and in the community, following citywide standards and expectations.  Works in a setting subject to continuous interruptions and background noises Ability and willingness to work some evenings and weekends, as required to engage with community members at times that work best for them.
• Machines and Equipment Used: Frequently uses standard office equipment including personal computers, audio/visual equipment, online meeting technology, telephones and copy machines.

Additional Job Description:

Last updated: March 2025

The City of Boulder is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected statute. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please send a request to riskmanagement@bouldercolorado.gov.