The Office of Sustainability is a dynamic team of staff and students charged with providing the vision, organizational strategy, and leadership for advancing operational and cultural sustainability efforts at the university. The Office of Sustainability staff manages a team of approximately 20 part-time, paid student associates during the school year and four full-time paid associates over the summer to support the university’s efforts to be a sustainability leader.
The internship program started in 2012 with two interns and quickly grew due to strong student interest. Since the program’s inception, 70 students have held internship positions averaging three semesters in length. The Office of Sustainability student associate program is one of the highest impact internship programs at Washington University in terms of the caliber of work students produce; professional development and leadership training provided to prepare students for high-impact lives and careers; and the number of students served.
Associates work collaboratively in groups on projects with oversight from the Office of Sustainability staff. Associate teams work across a number of domains, including alternative transportation, waste diversion, renewable energy, sustainable food, green offices, environmental justice, sustainable buildings and communications and marketing.
Associates’ leadership and hard work significantly expands the Office of Sustainability’s reach and impact at the university. The internship experience provides students with professional growth opportunities and exposure that enhances their effectiveness and strategically positions them for a range of careers in the sustainability field.
Positions
We are looking for enthusiastic and hard-working graduate or undergraduate students who want to be part of the movement to advance sustainability at Washington University. The multi-semester positions require a commitment of 5-10 hours/week during the school year; summer positions are full-time (37.5 hours/week). Undergraduate positions start at $10/hour; graduate positions start at $12/hour. Associates work collaboratively in groups on projects with oversight from the Office of Sustainability staff.
Skills / Qualifications: The Communications & Marketing Associate will work with the Office of Sustainability to strengthen communications and marketing of the University’s sustainability initiatives, accomplishments, and upcoming events. The Associate will play a role in managing the ongoing communications needs of the Office of Sustainability. Duties will include coordinating with campus partners to develop content for the website; developing communications materials including flyers, posters, and pamphlets; assisting with the bi-monthly Office of Sustainability newsletter; maintaining and building the Office of Sustainability’s social media communications on Facebook and Twitter; and outreach to students at events.Positions are currently filled Skills/Qualifications: The Environmental Justice Associate supports the development of a strong internal and external Environmental Justice network by informing, energizing, and connecting students, faculty, staff and community partners through forming relationships and offering resources. Associates support the newly-formed Environmental Justice Steering Committee; promote EJ courses and curriculum; coordinate events; represent the EJ Initiative through presentations, event attendances and outreach activities; and conduct research to build out the EJ database and resources on the EJ Initiative website. Associates must be highly collaborative and have excellent communications skills. Positions are currently filled. Skills / Qualifications: The Office of Sustainability seeks to foster a food system that advances environmental and public health while supporting a strong local economy. The Food Associates facilitate this process in partnership with Office of Sustainability staff, WashU Dining Services, and other campus stakeholders. The Associate will support a variety of food-related initiatives outlined in the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan for Sustainable Operations and assist with tracking report metrics that will improve transparency and accountability in the university food system. Duties may include: plan and market the Green Monday program, which asks students, faculty, and staff to eat plant-based, low-carbon meals at least one day per week; deliver food choice/Green Monday presentations to WashU departments and student groups; organize events during Food Week in October; and promote participation in the Community Supported Agriculture program, which will be available at Danforth, School of Medicine, and West Campuses in 2018. The associates promote the Office’s efforts through tabling, flyers, social media, and e-newsletter stories. Positions are currently filled. Skills / Qualifications: Preference is given to graduate-level students or undergraduate seniors with relevant experience and education. Other qualifications include: The Green Office Program synthesizes goals within the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Operations into a checklist and educates staff about how to incorporate more sustainable practices into their operations and practices. Through participation, staff transform into new advocates for the university’s sustainability ethic. The program is comprised of a point-based, self-assessment checklist with which offices can assess their current practices, set goals, and be recognized for their achievements. For more information about the program please visit http://sustainability.wustl.edu/community-involvement/green-offices/. The Green Office Associate plays a key role administering, promoting and expanding this important program. Tasks include marketing the program to new offices, meeting with offices to provide an overview of the program, processing completed checklists as they are submitted, sending re-submission reminders to offices, making periodic updates to the checklist, and writing monthly newsletters. This position acts as a liaison between the Office of Sustainability and participating offices and WashU staff. As a liaison, s/he will promote various initiatives and events coordinated by the OOS, like Alternative Transportation Month and Green Mondays. The associate will also play a role planning an annual certification ceremony for newly certified offices. One position is open (Spring 2019). Skills / Qualifications: The Office of Sustainability plays a key role in the Green Rehab Project – an ongoing multiyear study of energy efficiency in off-campus housing. The Green Rehab Associate will work closely with staff as well as other university stakeholders to advance the research goals of the project. The associate will be responsible for collecting, organizing and analyzing data sets from multiple sources to make conclusions both about building energy performance and the effects of strategies aimed at helping building occupants reduce energy consumption. Additional responsibilities include producing and revising data-driven reports, presentations, and educational materials as well as conducting meetings with various project stakeholders. Positions are currently filled. Skills/Qualifications: The Office of Sustainability plays a lead role developing renewable energy projects for the University. The Renewable Energy Associate will work closely with staff to explore renewable energy project opportunities including on-site solar PV and solar thermal projects, as well as off-site wind projects. Projects will vary in scale from large-scale projects that generate a lot of energy to smaller-scale projects with a strong research component. Tasks will include: gathering information about and assessing the viability of potential sites, researching options for structuring projects, and interaction with professionals in the field. Positions are currently filled. Skills / Qualifications: The Sustainable Buildings Associate will work with the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Planning & Management to further improve how sustainability is integrated into the design and construction of campus infrastructure. The Associate will explore projects involving construction waste diversion standards, plug and process load planning, thermal comfort, healthy building material standards, and various green building certification systems. Duties will include: conducting research in various fields, organizing and documenting findings, and interacting with professionals in the field. Positions are currently filled. Skills / Qualifications: Washington University is working diligently to reduce the amount of waste we send to the landfill through recycling, composting, reuse, and donations. The Waste Reduction/Diversion Associate plays a critical role moving these efforts forward. We are seeking a data-driven individual who is good at and has experience with problem solving, communications, and data analysis. Intern position duties will include: conducting waste audits in various campus locations to help determine opportunities for improvement and diagnose problems; organizing and recruiting volunteers for waste audits and the Recycling Genius outreach program; tracking campus-wide waste data; researching a variety of waste-related projects on campus, such as the environmental impact of different approaches and the feasibility of composting on-site; and working on various other waste-related projects as they arise. Positions are currently filled. Skills / Qualifications: Join a team of professional staff from The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), and the Office of Sustainability to coordinate implementation of Engage STL, an immersive experience program for first year students that is part of Bear Beginnings 2019. Community Assistants support the Bear Beginnings orientation program through fostering community during the Immersive Experience Program (IEP). Community Assistants support the development of the three-day experience with campus and community partners. This includes assisting in the logistics, planning, and implementation of Engage STL, as well as supporting the training and management of the First-Year Orientation eXperience (FOX) leaders. Positions are currently filled. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following: Skills/Qualifications: Compensation: $9 per hour for up to five hours a week during the 16 week spring semester. Additionally, students will get compensated for up to 40 hours during a two-week time frame in August. Please note that you must be available for mandatory trainings of FOX leaders in April and in August 17th-31st, 2019 for Bear Beginnings program implementation. Application Process: We are looking for individuals who are able to make a multi-semester commitment to be a part of our team, beginning in June. The positions require 37.5 hours/week, Monday through Friday, and pay starts at $10/hour. Student Associates will work collaboratively in groups on projects with oversight from the Office of Sustainability team, and will engage in a broad range of projects including renewable energy, alternative transportation, waste diversion, sustainable food and dining, green buildings, green offices program, etc. Skills / Qualifications: Alternative Transportation Associate
Communications/Marketing Associate
Environmental Justice Associate
Food Associate
Green Office Associate
Green Rehab Associate
Renewable Energy Associate
Sustainable Buildings Associate
Waste Reduction/Diversion Associate
Community Assistant
Full-time Student Associate (Summer) - open