STAR Internship — Albany, NY

Organization: Mayor’s Office of Energy and Sustainability

Job Title: STAR Internship

Location: Albany, NY

Hours and Compensation: 15 hours/week – unpaid

Application Deadline: Jan. 31, 2013

Position Dates: Spring 2013

Posted On: Jan. 22, 2013

Description

The City of Albany is seeking an unpaid intern to assist with data collection and analysis for certification through the STAR (Sustainability Tools for Assessing & Rating Communities) Community Rating System. The STAR Community Rating System is the first national framework to measure sustainability at the city or county scale and provide a tracking system to help local governments measure progress towards achieving community sustainability goals. Albany has been selected as one of 32 pilot communities to use STAR and receive a rating as a national leader in sustainability. For more information on STAR, please see: starcommunities.org.
For information on the City of Albany’s sustainability initiatives, please visit albanysustainability.org, as well as albany2030.org, for information on Albany’s sustainable comprehensive plan, Albany 2030. Work directly with the Division of Planning and the Office of Energy and Sustainability to determine alignment between Albany’s local sustainability initiatives and STAR’s performance metrics

Responsibilities

• Research and collect information on community conditions related to STAR’s 7 goal areas: Built Environment; Climate & Energy; Economy & Jobs; Education, Arts & Community; Equity & Empowerment; Health & Safety; and Natural Systems
• Identify and collaborate with key resources and partners to support Albany’s STAR application, such as internal departments and outside stakeholders
• Participate in frequent STAR webinars with other pilot communities
• Submit data, quantitative analysis, and narrative responses into STAR’s online reporting tool
• Draft case studies, blog posts, reports, and other communication for the public to share
• information about STAR and Albany’s sustainability initiatives
• Update the City of Albany’s Comprehensive Plan Data Book.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s coursework preferred) in sustainability, urban planning, public administration, or related field
• Strong research, data analysis, and writing skills, with attention to detail
• Ability to communicate technical information to non-technical audiences
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
• Proficiency with ArcGIS (strongly preferred)
• Ability to work independently under general direction

How to Apply

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample no later than Thursday, January 31 to Doug Melnick, AICP, Planning Director @ [email protected].