Urban Green Lab
Sustainable Classrooms Manager
Urban Green Lab
Job Summary
Help us empower classroom educators to guide students in their sustainability journeys.
Summary
Urban Green Lab is searching for a full-time sustainable classroom manager to help us fulfill our mission of teaching communities how to live sustainably.
Urban Green Lab
We teach communities how to live sustainably. Founded in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, Urban Green Lab envisions a city where learning how to protect our planet, people, and prosperity is just a part of everyday life. To do this, we organize, train, and connect Nashvillians in classrooms, households, and workplaces so they’re within better reach of solutions – and each other – for making a difference.
Job Summary
The Sustainable Classrooms Manager for Urban Green Lab leads programs that empower educators of all kinds to teach about sustainability solutions. Supervised by the Director of Education and in collaboration with the education team and other Urban Green Lab staff, the manager leads the Classrooms Division’s programs, which include the Sustainable Classrooms training program, a professional learning community for trained educators, and other related work. The position is full-time, exempt, and based in Nashville, with a flexible work-life balance.
The Classrooms Division works with educators by building their confidence, providing tools, and cultivating the community around them needed to turn their classrooms into labs of learning about sustainable living. Sustainability education allows students to connect to the larger world outside of their school’s walls while envisioning their role in a green economy and a caring community. Urban Green Lab frames its work around academic standards to demonstrate that collaborative learning, protecting our planet, and recognizing our impact on others are concepts that cut across subject and grade.
Our Educational Philosophy
We believe learning how to live sustainably should just be a part of life. That means it needs to be systemic and woven into the existing fabric of who we are. Learning how to make more sustainable choices should begin with thinking “upstream” about how we can protect what we care about most in all the places where we learn, work, and live. We think these spaces can serve as laboratories for learning, taking chances, and exploring our life-long responsibilities as stewards of the earth. To us, a little change goes a long way.
Company Culture
Urban Green Lab takes pride in being a human-centric organization, and we design our policies to reflect that principle. We believe people work best when they’re treated best and are growing both personally and professionally. Examples of this include our flexible hybrid-work schedule (two days in the office plus three days working from any location); collaboratively-created goals, metrics, and performance expectations; up to 15 “silent retreat” days in which staff have permission to focus on uninterrupted work time; separate goals and budgets just for professional development; regular one-on-one check-ins with supervisors for guidance and planning; a staff-led green team; free coffee, frequent team lunches, onsite composting; and an overall collaborative and inquiry-friendly culture. We’re always learning from each other.
Job Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
- Leading Sustainable Classrooms
Execute and continuously refine the division’s central program, which trains educators to bring a sustainability lens to their own classrooms through professional development sessions. These sessions can be virtual, asynchronous, or in-person, depending on the needs of educators or other factors. Facilitate active learning, resource-sharing, and community-building for educators throughout the year. Regularly investigate and make connections to Tennessee state standards, effective teaching methods, and novel sustainability resources to deepen educator impact. Create compelling content autonomously, with the education team, or in partnership with formal and informal educators as needed and in alignment with the educational framework of the organization. Develop a plan for updates, accessibility, and printing of Urban Green Lab’s curriculum.
- Building Relationships
Identify, build, and strengthen relationships with education and sustainability stakeholders in Nashville, with an emphasis on increasing the equity, impact, and reach of our programming. Create and execute a strategic outreach plan for reaching the division’s annual and long-term goals. Maintain a group of key advisors to ensure quality programming and outreach. As capacity allows, volunteer, table, or attend events with locally aligned groups to maintain visibility, support, and community-building.
- Administering the Division
Set divisional goals, budgetary needs, and metrics. Self-evaluate and collect participant feedback to understand the success of programs and identify opportunities to strengthen them. Manage data entry, recordkeeping, and relationship-tracking through Salesforce, Google Workspace, Typeform, and other platforms as needed. Maintain updated resources, technological needs, and procedures for executing trainings and events. Oversee event invitations, registration, and attendance and provide follow-up communication.
- Nourishing a Community of Educators
Manage the learning community for trained Nashville educators to network, learn, and troubleshoot together. Continually research and update the online toolbox of community resources on Urban Green Lab’s Circle platform. Plan and lead supplemental training or networking events. Encourage online community engagement. In partnership with the Communications Manager, create and deploy a monthly newsletter. Manage evaluation of the learning community’s outcomes. Collaborate with the Director of Education on the evolution of the learning community as needed.
- Other Duties
Collaborate regularly with the broader education team to hone our collective sustainability lens. Contribute to the organization’s overall sustainability by collaborating with the Development Manager on fundraising and networking opportunities, as well as by collaborating with the Communications Manager to develop effective advertisements and messaging for the division. Present periodically to the Board of Directors on program developments and needs. Attend regular team meetings and generally represent the organization in the community. Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Personal Attributes
- We’re searching for someone who is the following:
- Passionately committed to Urban Green Lab’s mission and values
- Entrepreneurial and goal-orientated with a keen sense for innovation
- Proactive, dependable, and on-time – a team player to the core
- Diplomatic with excellent community relations and listening skills
- Positive and flexible with intellectual curiosity and ability to adjust to change
- Inclusive and empathetic with an understanding of what it means to be equitable
- Humble and gracious under pressure with a high sense of integrity and humor
- Experience & Knowledge
We’re searching for someone who has the following ideal experience and skills:
- At least 3-5 years of professional or relevant academic experience
- Confidence in training, education, and facilitating the exchange of best practices, especially with peers
- An understanding of sustainability, the environment, public health, or other related issues
- Comfort building relationships and trust with diverse experts, stakeholders, educators, students, and the public
- Clear oral and written communication skills
- Skilled in organization, prioritization, and time management
Experience collecting, analyzing, integrating, and reporting meaningful data
Additional Information
Benefits
Salary & Benefits
This is a full-time, exempt position with a starting salary in the $52,000 – $55,000 range. Exactly where a prospective employee will be paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, the candidate’s depth of experience and qualifications and the level of specialization the candidate has. Urban Green Lab reserves the right to adjust the title and salary range depending on the candidate’s level of expertise. Benefits include health insurance allowance (medical, dental, and vision), 408p match, cell phone stipend, team volunteering and service hours, professional development opportunities, 27 days of paid time off (which includes holidays of your choice and excludes sick leave), and 90 days of parental leave for new parents.
Work Environment
Urban Green Lab enjoys a flexible work-life balance, and all staff are responsible for managing their own schedules during the week. Staff are expected to spend reasonable time with the team at our Marathon Village office and partners in the community. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities. The employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, listen and feel, reach hands above the shoulder, occasionally stoop or crouch, and lift or move items weighing 10-25 pounds.
Equal Opportunity
Urban Green Lab is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by state or local law. Urban Green Lab welcomes applicants from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and ideas.
Disclaimer
This job description is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, requirements, or conditions. While intended to be accurate, it is not meant to exclude that other, different tasks may be required when circumstances change (such as during emergencies, personnel changes, workload alterations, rush jobs, or technological developments or advancements).
For the most up-to-date job posting, please refer to the post shared on our website.
Posted December 18, 2023
How to Apply
How to Apply
Please email your cover letter and resume to Noah Spiegel, Senior Director of Operations, at careers@urbangreenlab.org. Combine all documents into one PDF file with your full name as the file name and write “Sustainable Classrooms Manager” in the email subject line. Incomplete submissions and follow-up inquiries will not be considered. Only applicants selected for consideration will be contacted. Applications are accepted until the position is filled. When a decision is made, all applicants will be notified. All correspondence is confidential. Background check required.
Details
- Date Posted: December 20, 2023
- Type: Full-Time
- Job Function: Educator
- Service Area: Education
- Start Date: 04/01/2024
- Salary Range: $52,000-55,000
- Working Hours: M-F 9:00am-5:00pm (Hybrid)