Community Engineer
Center for Neighborhood Technology - Chicago, IL
Center for Neighborhood Technology - Chicago, IL
| We're looking for a Community Engineer who can help deliver community-based programs aimed at reducing urban flooding impacts, protecting water quality and installing green infrastructure. Our ideal candidate is a qualified engineer with 3-5 years work experience. He/she must have an open-minded and practical approach to problem solving, an analytical mind, excellent communication skills, and clear ability to empathize and engage with residents and professionals alike. The preferred candidate is English/Spanish bilingual. This is a short-term, grant-funded position (18-24 months), with the possibility for extension depending on additional program funding. Accountability The Community Engineer will report directly to the Stormwater Program Manager and collaborate closely with other CNT staff on operations and production activities. Responsibilities Design and pilot model approaches for carrying out property audits, working with public, non-profit and private sector partners. Undertake these audits across multiple properties (potentially training others to do this work). Gather and analyze robust data sets that quantify the costs, impacts and risks associated with urban flooding, in order to target Wetrofit™ solutions and Sustainable Backyards outreach. This includes property flooding surveys, property audits, and municipal data. Build and maintain neighborhood maps for tracking information, data, goals and progress. Develop best practices and innovative solutions for reducing urban flooding at neighborhood-scale, with a focus on property retrofitting. Develop RFPs and coordinate with sub-consultant engineers and planners to undertake scenario planning/cost benefit analysis on delivering these solutions at neighborhood scale. Lead and/or actively participate in community workshops/charrettes. Establish network of qualified and knowledge technical partners and contractors. Develop and deliver PowerPoint presentations, and education/technical modules where required. Skills and qualifications Our ideal candidate has between three and five years' practical experience in stormwater management, civil engineering, and site construction with a Bachelors or Master's degree in engineering or a related field. We are seeking the following skills and experience: Essentials Demonstrated ability to approach problems in a collaborative, open-minded and practical manner, especially as it pertains to issues of urban flooding & green infrastructure; Exceptional knowledge of site construction and stormwater best management practices; Desire to help develop and implement pioneering and innovative, public-facing programs; An analytical mind - confident in managing and using wide-ranging data-sets (e.g. geographic and economic) to help solve problems, including CNT's range of green infrastructure tools http://www.cnt.org/water/ ; Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a clear ability to empathize and engage with residents and professionals alike; Proficiency using industry standard software, including GIS & hydrologic modeling; Ability to maintain flexible, creative, and energetic behavior in a cross-disciplinary environment; Excellent project management experience with clear organizational abilities; Eagerness to travel throughout the Chicago area. Desirable Proficiency using customer relationship management database; Proficiency using industry-standard design and communications software; Bilingual English/Spanish preferred; Familiarity with the CNT Green Values Calculator ( http://greenvalues.cnt.org ); Valid state of Illinois driver's license. CNT's Program on Water Founded in 1978, the Center for Neighborhood Technology is a leader in promoting more livable and sustainable urban communities. As a creative think-and-do-tank, we research, invent, and test strategies that manage urban resources and infrastructure more efficiently and equitably. After 15 years of working at the forefront of water action, CNT's Water program is beginning a new stage of work defined by our Smart Water for Smart Regions initiative. Our over-arching goal to help communities across the Great Lakes states achieve pragmatic changes in the way they manage water – changes that are good for residents, good for business and good for the environment. A core element of the program is CNT's one stop Wetrofit™ service for communities that seeks to reduce the costly damage caused by flooded basements and sewer back-ups into homes and businesses, using swift, low-cost tools such as disconnecting downspouts, repair of private property laterals, porous paving, rain gardens and bioswales. The service seeks to rapidly scale-up delivery of sustainable stormwater infrastructure on public and private property in neighborhoods, bringing economic and environmental resilience to communities while strengthening local economies. Between 2013-14, CNT will be carrying out early stage community planning and piloting for the Wetrofit service as part of a broader initiative in three neighborhoods in the North Branch of the Chicago River (Winnetka, Glenview and Niles), and two neighborhoods in the City of Chicago (Albany Park and Rogers Park). Also, contributing to CNT's understanding and development of the Wetrofit Service is our management of the Chicago Sustainable Backyards Program, which offers residents advice and incentives to manage their backyards more sustainably, especially through the implementation of green infrastructure that reduces stormwater runoff and provides other environmental benefits. In the short-term, the main method to reach this goal is through the provision of rebates on the purchase of rain barrels, compost bins, native plants, and trees. Long-term goals include advancing awareness of the importance of green infrastructure and encouraging growth in the market for green infrastructure BMPs. Together this mix of programs and initiatives provide the funding, resources and partnerships needed to test and develop services that cut flooding and protect water quality. The Community Engineer will play a key role in these initiatives. Organizational Background The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is an award-winning creative think-and-do tank that advances urban sustainability by researching, inventing and testing strategies that use resources more efficiently and equitably. CNT's staff works across a range of disciplines and issues-including energy, climate, transportation, community development and housing, and natural resources. CNT, together with its two non-profit affiliates, CNT Energy and I-GO Car Sharing, engages in four primary activities: 1) researching & analyzing urban problems; 2) advocating for public policies that could help solve those problems; 3) developing web-based information tools to change how people – residents, policymakers and market actors – understand and act in response to those problems; and 4) designing and launching economic development social ventures to address those problems in innovative ways. CNT received a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions in 2009. See our website for more information at www.cnt.org |