About Solar One
Solar One is a 501c(3) organization that empowers communities in the New York City metro area to thrive in the face of the challenges brought on by climate change, and to embrace a world that is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.
Originally founded in 2004 to manage Stuyvesant Cove Park, a two-acre native plant park and a small environmental education center, Solar One has grown into an award-winning organization with a thriving array of programs. Solar One's mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training, and technical assistance that fosters sustainability and resiliency in diverse urban environments. We empower learning that changes the way people think about energy, sustainability, and resilience by engaging and educating a diverse set of stakeholders and beneficiaries.
Solar One’s Green Workforce Program offers hard-skill technical training and environmental literacy education tied to the high growth areas of energy efficiency; renewable energy; energy efficient building operations and maintenance; and construction. We train under and unemployed individuals through strategic partnerships with workforce training programs throughout NYC. Many of our partners serve individuals who may be formerly incarcerated, experienced substance abuse, disconnected youth, veterans, the homeless and residents of public housing. The Green Workforce Program staff is dedicated to building an inclusive economy and providing education opportunities to individuals who want to excel professionally, become economically self-sufficient and contribute to a fast-growing workforce sector.
Candidates must have a strong commitment to serving individuals with significant barriers to employment and training them for sustainable jobs.
Job Summary
The Green Workforce Instructor will be responsible for delivering Solar One’s courses focused on energy efficiency and renewables, help develop new curricula and assist with program administration. Training is delivered in hands-on, interactive formats in ourooms and hands-on training lab, as well as offsite at partner locations throughout the New York City and Newark areas. The Instructor will report to the Director of Workforce.
The Green Workforce program trains students in hard skills that align with the broader clean energy sector, including: green construction, green building operations and maintenance, building electrification, HVAC, solar PV, and more. The Instructor would first learn and co-teach with existing staff, and eventually lead workforce development programs for adults. Teaching is delivered in-person while computer-based work can be done at home or at our office space in Long Island City, Queens. Furthermore, the ideal candidate will reside in an area that allows reasonable travel accommodations to deliver future programs throughout NYC and in the broader Newark, NJ area.
Primary job responsibilities include:
● Plan and deliver Solar One training programs to our workforce development clients. Programs include but are not limited to green construction (introductory carpentry, electrical and plumbing), green building operations and maintenance, solar PV installation, and HVAC maintenance and repair. There is room for learning and upskilling in these areas via co-teaching and professional development opportunities.
● Coordinating programs with workforce and other community partners. This may include program planning, materials coordination, and scheduling.
● Collaborating with the Green Workforce team on program and curriculum design.
● Tracking and recording activities delivered to schools and teachers.
Qualifications and Skills
Successful candidates for this role should be able to demonstrate the following:
Technical Skills
● Strong background and content knowledge in the broader clean energy sector (in the field, as an educator, or both), preferably with two years or more or experience in one or more of the areas below:
o Construction basics: carpentry, electrical and plumbing
o Energy efficiency building maintenance (HVAC and boiler experience highly desirable)
o Multifamily residential and commercial energy auditing
o Electrical retrofitting
o Solar PV
● Industry-recognized certifications extremely desirable, such as BPI, GPRO, BOC, NABCEP, LEED AP, or related.
● Interest and passion in teaching about sustainability, energy efficiency, and renewable technologies to underserved communities.
Soft Skills
● Ability to work independently and problem solve in an unsupervised setting. The right candidate will be able to think on their feet and use quality judgement and integrity to make informed decisions.
● Basic Microsoft Office, Google Suite
● Verbal communication, strong writing skills, project and time management, attention to detail, adaptability.
● Demonstrated success in communicating with internal and external stakeholders to build and maintain strong partnerships. Must be a team player who works well in a collaborative setting and represents Solar One positively in client-facing situations.
Subject Area Expertise
Required:
· At least two years of field and/or teaching experience in one or more of the following areas: green construction (introductory carpentry, electrical and plumbing), green building operations and maintenance, solar PV installation, or HVAC maintenance and repair. Not having this experience in more than one area will not disqualify a candidate, but they should be willing and able to learn new material to deliver future programs in these areas.
Preferred:
· Strong preference given to candidates with reliable transportation throughout all five boroughs and a willingness to travel to and deliver programs in the Newark metro area.
Proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for this position. A background check will be performed by the NYC Department of Corrections in order to receive a volunteer service provider ID to deliver programs on Rikers Island.
Pay and Benefits
This position is Full Time with a salary at $60,000-$65,000.
We offer a variety of benefits depending on the position type. Our full-time benefits include:
• A work environment where your contribution is essential and celebrated
• Training and career development
• Health care and well-being programs including medical, dental, vision, EAP
• 3 weeks of paid time off that increases with tenure
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k) retirement savings
Solar One is an equal opportunity employer. Solar One strives to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of renewable energy and resilience and people in a rapidly changing world. Solar One recruits and employs through a lens of equity and encourages people of all races, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law to apply.