Climate Action Consultants

Website Sustainability Solutions Group Workers Cooperative

Decarbonized, healthy, equitable communities for everyone

Climate Action Consultants (Multiple Hires)

Full time

Both permanent and 12-month contracts being offered

Location: Remote (US, Canada, or Chile)

OVERVIEW

SSG seeks Climate Action Consultants with expertise in one or more key areas: implementation, analysis, engagement, adaptation, and project leadership. We’re looking for versatile and adaptable team members to contribute to our climate action projects across the Americas, working with communities, local governments, and organizations to drive meaningful change. The ideal candidates bring strong capabilities in areas such as climate action planning and implementation, data analysis, public engagement, combined with excellent communication and collaboration skills. These roles combine technical expertise with hands-on project work in a collaborative, mission-driven worker cooperative.

ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS GROUP

SSG is a climate action planning consultancy founded in 2001 to carry out creative, challenging, and values-based work. Over the past 20+ years, SSG has become a recognized leader in climate action planning and implementation.

We aspire to a decarbonized world where thriving people, communities, and ecosystems collaborate through democratic participation to eliminate fossil fuels, regenerate natural systems, and analyze the impacts of choices for lasting change.

SSG works with communities, local governments, and other organizations serving the common good. Our work includes:

  • Climate change adaptation and mitigation planning,
  • Energy and emissions modeling and planning,
  • Equitable community engagement,
  • Community and health planning,
  • Energy systems planning, and
  • Cutting-edge climate action research.

SSG is proud to be a worker-owned cooperative with roughly 50 workers throughout Canada, USA, and Chile.

YOU’LL LOVE WORKING AT SSG IF YOU VALUE:

Our Vision and Purpose: Propelling organizations to create equitable, resilient communities while thriving under a democratic business model.

Our Total Rewards:

  • Flexible work arrangements (location and hours)
  • Four weeks of paid vacation
  • Generous health and family care leave
  • Professional development stipends
  • Profit-sharing upon cooperative membership

Transparency: A culture of open decision-making, flat organizational structure, and cooperative governance.

Collaboration: A highly supportive, collaborative team driving innovative, cutting-edge climate action work.

A Fast-Paced Environment: Work that is agile, meaningful, and constantly evolving to address the climate crisis.

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY

SSG celebrates diversity as a pillar for cultivating the world we are cooperatively building. Guided by our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) committee, our recruitment and hiring practices reflect our steadfast commitment to this vision. We encourage applications from BIPOC (1),LGBTQIA2S+ (2), women, gender nonbinary people, people with disabilities, and other groups historically targeted for marginalization.

ABOUT THE POSITION

At SSG, we expect all consultants to work as versatile team members across our full range of climate action projects. Every consultant, regardless of specialization, should be ready to engage in client management, analyze data, write reports and plans, and contribute to various project types.

In addition to these core consulting responsibilities, we are seeking consultants with expertise in two or more of six key areas:

  • Analysis: Interpreting financial, energy, and emissions data; writing reports and plans for city councils, university and corporate leaders, and the public; monitoring industry progress and policies; and conducting research.
  • Public Engagement: Supporting climate action plan engagement with diverse interested and affected parties and government staff, explaining technical details to a broader, non-technical audience, and connecting engagement to the analysis.
  • Regional Context Expertise: Understanding the unique dynamics of climate planning in the USA, Canada, or French Canada (with a focus on Québec).
  • Implementation: Navigating municipal structures, developing system change models, identifying funding mechanisms and staffing recommendations, and developing cross-sector policies to achieve climate goals.
  • Project Leadership: Serving as primary client contact, managing SSG project teams and working with subconsultants, and leading report and plan development.
  • Adaptation/Vulnerability/Resilience: Analyzing technical modeling outputs, researching climate hazards and vulnerabilities, and reviewing municipal policies and documents.

For a detailed description of daily responsibilities and typical project tasks, please view the complete job posting on our vacancies page here:

Join Our Team

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Required Qualifications and Attributes:

  • Passion for, and commitment to, climate action planning and social justice
  • Collaborative, kind, and motivated self-starter with a problem-solving mindset
  • Strong written, verbal, and analytical communication skills in English
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and contribute to project teams
  • Comfort in a virtual, distributed work environment across multiple time zones and cultures
  • Flexibility to adapt to shifting workloads, priorities, and schedules

Additional Qualifications:

Candidates must have at least one, and ideally multiple, of the following:

  • Municipal government or consulting experience in the US or Canada. Experience in French Canada, particularly Quebec, would be a bonus.
  • Project management experience with budgets exceeding $50,000
  • Strong data analysis and visualization capabilities
  • Background in financial or economic analysis of climate action scenarios and plans
  • Fluency in French

The following qualifications and attributes are considered assets but are not requirements for successful candidates:

  • Familiarity with and/or enthusiasm for worker cooperatives
  • Experience with city planning
  • Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and GIS software such as QGIS
  • Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) or American Institute of
  • Certified Planners (AICP) designation
  • Professional engineer (P. Eng.) designation
  • Project management professional (PMP) designation
  • Experience with municipal asset management planning
  • Experience with energy utilities data.
  • Experience with corporate-scale energy analysis
  • Experience with community-level climate resilience/adaptation planning
  • Experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, particularly in small organizations
  • Familiarity with building decarbonization and transportation electrification
  • Excellent negotiation skills
  • Experience working with communities experiencing marginalization and disproportionate climate impacts, particularly lived experience
  • Other languages spoken, particularly Spanish and Indigenous languages of the Americas

SOFTWARE WE USE

SSG’s primary software tools include Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Adobe (Acrobat DC), Slack, Zoom, Wrike, Zotero, and Airtable. Previous knowledge of these tools is not required and can be taught on the job.

TOTAL REWARDS

SSG workers are paid according to a salary scale that factors in years of professional experience relevant to their position, as well as years worked at SSG and membership status. The salary scale applies equally to all workers, regardless of their role or position in the organization. To set new workers in the salary scale, SSG and the new worker come to an agreement on the number of years of prior experience relevant to the role.

The salary range for 2024:

Canada
Non-Members: CA $68,700 – $102,430
Members (3): CA $71,680 – $110,201

US
Non-Members: US $55,560 – $82,720
Members (3): US $57,970 – $88,990

Chile
Non-Members: CLP 30,911,000 – 53,527,800
Members (3): CLP 34,680,200 – 61,820,600

All salaries are stated in gross annual terms (4).

SSG considers an annual cost-of-living increase to our salary ranges every year. This adjustment has been made in prior years, including 2024 and 2023. The 2025 salary cost-of-living increase will be communicated by the time interviews are offered.

For Canadian workers, SSG offers a benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision. SSG offers US-based workers a health reimbursement arrangement, vision and dental insurance, and access to an accident and disability insurance program. Chile-based workers are entitled to coverage under a group benefits plan (Seguro de Salud Complementario) established for SSG Chile Employees and their dependents and spouses.

For all workers, SSG offers:

  • Flexible holiday pay (12 days per year for Canadian and US workers and standard public holidays for Chilean workers),
  • Generous health and family care leave,
  • Four weeks of paid vacation,
  • Paid volunteer time, and
  • A professional development stipend.

COOPERATIVE MEMBERSHIP AND PROFIT SHARING

This position will be eligible for membership in the cooperative (i.e., co-ownership) within 12 months. SSG distributes a minimum 50% of its annual net income back to its members. Income distribution is in the form of shares and cash, as determined by SSG’s Board of Directors.

WORKING AT SSG

SSG has a flat organizational structure. Climate change and social justice values are embedded throughout our organization and work. SSG is a distributed organization with staff in Canada, the United States, and Chile.

The Consultant will work from home or a shared office (such as a co-working space) with occasional out-of-town travel for work. Applicants from outside of Canada, the US, and Chile are welcome to apply; however, they must be eligible to work in those countries. Our typical work hours fall between 9 AM – 5 PM in the Atlantic through Pacific time zones. All candidates must also be available during these hours in one of these time zones (i.e., Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, Atlantic, Chile, or Newfoundland). Extensive work at a computer is required. A stipend is available to support set up of a home office or at a co-working space. SSG offers flexible work hours. Overtime may be required.

APPLICATION

If interested, please submit your application through the online form linked here:
https://airtable.com/app06CePg6gzWIwsx/paghA3DM7mF5wrryN/form

The application deadline is Sunday, February 2, 2025, at midnight (PT). However, we encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible as we may start the interview process sooner.

If you need application assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact ​.

For more information about worker co-ops in Canada, see the following resources:

  • https://www.usworker.coop/what-is-a-worker-cooperative/
  • https://canadianworker.coop/about/co-op-principles/

Depending on the number of applicants, we may be able to contact only those candidates whom we wish to interview.

MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS

SSG is currently hiring for multiple positions, including this role and an Adaptation Specialist role. We encourage candidates to apply for both positions if their interests and qualifications align with both roles.

If you are applying to both positions, please feel free to use the same CV and adapt your expression of interest as needed—there’s no need to create entirely unique applications.

 

(1) BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

(2) LGBTQIA2S+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, and other gender and sexual identities

(3) Workers are eligible for membership after 12 months of employment

(4) To provide applicants with a sense of how new workers fall into the salary range: candidates with zero years of prior relevant professional experience will start at the bottom of the salary range; candidates with 15 years of prior relevant professional experience will start at the midpoint of the salary range.

To apply for this job please visit airtable.com.

Posted in .