Sustainability Analyst

Launch your Sustainability Career with the Climate Corps Fellowship program!

SEI’s Climate Corps Fellowship program offers emerging professionals the opportunity to lead meaningful projects that address climate change and build community resilience—all while gaining paid, hands-on experience and professional development. This full-time, bridge-to-career opportunity pairs emerging leaders with host organizations that range from local governments and nonprofits to for-profit businesses, where fellows lead impactful projects that drive real-world change. 

About the Opportunity

Start Date: March 3rd, 2025

Length of Fellowship: 12 months

Do you want to turn data into action to address climate change and create a more sustainable future? As a Sustainability Analyst with the City of Durham through the Climate Corps Fellowship program, you’ll play a pivotal role in advancing innovative carbon reduction strategies and guiding the City’s journey toward carbon neutrality. This hybrid position offers the flexibility to work 3 days remotely and 2 days onsite each week after the first month.

The Sustainability Analyst Fellow will play a key role in creating the systems and processes needed to make data-driven decisions to power this positive change. This role will be responsible for gathering, cleaning, and analyzing vast amounts of City energy data and creating compelling reports and data visualizations to guide decision-making by identifying anticipated benefits, consequences, and impacts of alternative system options. In other words, when asked to report progress towards our Carbon Neutrality goals, the Fellow will serve as a Sustainability Analyst to help provide real answers and point to opportunities to advance these goals even further. The Analyst will also be instrumental in helping to draft policies and procedures, roll out the City’s High-Performance Building Policy (HPBP), and participate in Community Carbon Reduction and Resilience Planning.

About Our Partner: City of Durham

The City of Durham is committed to doing its part to address the global climate crisis by decarbonizing City facilities and operations and creating innovative carbon reduction strategies in our community. In 2021, Durham was one of the first cities to commit to ambitious carbon neutrality and renewable energy goals through the Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Action Plan (CNRE).

The City’s Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Action Plan has four main strategies:

• Maximize energy efficiency in City buildings and operations.
• Expand renewable energy generation and procurement.
• Transition away from fossil fuels in City fleet and buildings.
• Establish innovative carbon reduction strategies and community partnerships.

What You’ll Do

• Quantify and communicate high-level performance indicators, such as total greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy generation, fleet fossil fuel use, building energy use, and cost savings. Deliver insights through data tables, charts, graphs, reports, and presentations.
• Collect and quality-check data from various software tools and sub-metering data analysis for energy and water cost analysis.
• Assist in the design and implementation of policies, plans, and procedures related to the City’s CNRE goals.
• Create and conduct training to support the implementation of the City’s High-Performance Building Policy (HPBP).
• Report the energy/water performance/savings from energy conservation measures for new and existing facilities.
• Responsible for evaluating the value and impact of various on-site renewable energy assets such as PV solar arrays, battery storage, microgrids, and equipment efficiency.
• Complete the City of Durham annual reporting - greenhouse gas inventory using ICLEI, the City’s annual Greenprint Benchmarking Report, and the City’s Annual Strategic Plan reporting.
• Monitor hourly energy profiles to identify problems with system operation and opportunities for reducing after-hours usage.

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum of a Bachelors Degree in a Business, Public Administration, Environmental, Science, Engineering, or Sustainability-related field.
• Must be able to legally drive a car in North Carolina with the ability and intent to acquire a North Carolina driver’s license (CDL not required).
• Must work full-time on-site for the first month of the fellowship. A hybrid work schedule can be negotiated after the first month.
• Coursework or related experience in environmental fields (e.g., internships, volunteer work) is preferred.
• A demonstrated commitment to addressing racism and advancing racial equity, both within team dynamics and programmatically.
• Authorization to work in the United States for the duration of the fellowship (SEI is unable to sponsor visas).
• May require occasional moving about to accomplish tasks, moving from one worksite to another, or adjusting or moving objects under 25-50 pounds in all directions.

Nice-to-haves

• Background and/or degree in an Environmental, Scientific, or Sustainability-related field; Interest in Carbon Reduction and Resilience.
• Intermediate-level proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• Experience in training or tutoring.
• Public Speaking coursework or experience.
• Good organizational skills.
• Ability to self-motivate and manage competing demands/deadlines.

We encourage everyone interested in this position to apply, even if you don’t meet every qualification. We value diverse perspectives and believe that a unique background can bring significant strengths to this role, even if some qualifications are not fully met.

What We Provide and Why This is a Game-Changer for Your Career

• A fixed monthly stipend of $3395.
• $1000 end-of-program financial award.
• Health care coverage with 100% of health care insurance premiums covered by the employer.
• Access to a national Member Assistance Program offering financial, legal, medical advocacy, and counseling services.
• Comprehensive career-readiness training, including interview prep, salary negotiation, and resume building.
• Panels, workshops, and networking with climate resilience industry professionals.
• Professional networking and learning opportunities.
• University of California Climate Stewards Certification, equipping you to lead community and ecosystem resilience initiatives.

Join the Climate Corps Movement

Climate Corps, a program of SEI, is an award-winning fellowship designed to prepare the next generation of leaders in sustainability and climate action. Our fellows work on cutting-edge sustainability and resiliency projects with local governments, nonprofits, and businesses, building essential skills and creating real-world impact. Since 2010, Climate Corps has empowered over 800 Fellows to work with 500+ partners on 1,350 transformative projects. With nearly 99% of Fellows continuing careers in sustainability—many hired by their host organizations—you could be the next environmental leader shaping a better future!

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

We seek candidates who share SEI’s commitment to equity and environmental justice, and who share a commitment to work and learn within an anti-oppression framework. Persons of color, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community are strongly encouraged to apply. SEI is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity. We believe that a wide array of perspectives contributes to creative climate solutions where all communities thrive. We strive to reflect diverse communities, especially those most impacted by climate change and other kinds of environmental, social, and economic injustices.