Transformative Climate Community Network Manager

Funded by the State of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program (via the California Climate Investments Initiative), the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program empowers communities most impacted by pollution to choose their own goals, strategies and projects to enact transformational change by providing funding for environmental, health, and housing initiatives. In October, 2022, the Strategic Growth Council awarded $35 million to the South LA Eco-Lab, coordinated by strategic advisor SLATE-Z, a federally designated Promise Zone, and lead applicant Community Partners, a 501c3 nonprofit organization and fiscal intermediary.

South LA Eco-Lab is a coalition of community-based and nonprofit organizations, led by SLATE-Z, in partnership with Community Partners, the City of Los Angeles, LA Mayor’s Office and LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro). The collaborative will implement 11 different projects in the areas of active transportation, urban greening, solar installations and low carbon transportation in South LA over the next five years.  In addition to achieving the specific project related goals, South LA Eco-Lab will work together to create local jobs, achieve deep and long-lasting community engagement, deepen our understanding and implementation of policies that prevent displacement, and collect and monitor data that will allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the projects within the community.

The employer-on-record will be Community Partners. Community Partners has carried out our mission of accelerating ideas into action for more than 30 years as an intermediary, technical assistance provider, capacity builder, network manager and fiscal sponsor. Established in 1992 to support social and civic innovation, Community Partners is now a home for a range of program initiatives that house health and social welfare innovations as well as community stakeholder engagement processes, representing over $85 million in annual revenues. Community Partners® is the Lead Agency responsible for coordination of the TCC grant.

Definition of Role

Under the general direction Community Partners’ Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives, the TCC Network Manager will perform a wide variety of coordination, grant management and reporting responsibilities related to the planning, development, and full implementation of the 11 projects within the South LA Eco-Lab TCC grant agreement with the State of California.

The TCC Network Manager is a single incumbent, five-year exempt position funded by the South LA Eco-Lab TCC grant award.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that Community Partners and all its contractual partners complete application checklist requirements issued by the Department of Conservation during the Post Award Contract process.
• Ensure that Community Partners and all its contractual partners achieve all of our commitments under the TCC Grant Agreement.
• Serve as the grant manager with a focus on compliance and primary point of contact between the South LA Eco-Lab project team and the funder, Strategic Growth Council (SGC). This requires the Manager to know grant agreement well and help the team fulfill the project’s goals and meet the programmatic and compliance requirements of the grant agreement. When necessary work with the team and SGC to finalize grant agreement changes like timeline extensions or budget modifications.
• Provide day to day program management of the South LA Eco-Lab project including coordination with full team, Community Partners, Strategic Growth Council, and other partners as applicable.
• Manage overall support and implementation grant budgets and reconciliation of reimbursements.
• In coordination with Community Partners finance staff and partners, provide oversight on partner management of grant budgets, work plans and timelines; oversee expenditure and reimbursement of partners; monitor compliance to budgets and project deadlines; forecast needed funds; and direct/implement adjustments in coordination with the South LA Eco-Lab Co-Chairs and with the approval of the Community Partners Vice President.
• Develop systems, track and report agreed upon performance outcomes that both measure progress and help ensure project completion, conduct ongoing analysis to identify, make recommendations and help resolve potential challenges to project implementation, coordinate and oversee partnership activities and responsibilities, provide support to collaborative partners on how best to work together toward the common agenda and implement supportive strategies for all the core and leverage projects. This will require knowledge of the grant program and grant agreement, organization of regular coordination meetings to include agenda development, logistics and meeting preparation.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with multiple nonprofit organizations, city departments, residents, and elected officials and other stakeholders necessary to implement South LA Eco-Lab goals.  This will include facilitation of network member communications, information sharing, interest clarification, and identification and resolution of differences to guide, smooth and support efficient interactions among members. The Manager, in collaboration with the Co-Chairs, will also develop and communicate priorities, facilitate achievement of collaborative goals, gather and share data, compile and report on the status of South LA Eco-Lab commitments, and participate in related working group and Steering Committee meetings to maintain an understanding of current implementation goals and challenges. The Manager will actively contribute to the development of a shared agenda and commitments between South LA  Eco-Lab partners and relevant stakeholder groups.
• With support and guidance from the Senior Program Director, facilitate South LA Eco-Lab communications activities as required by the grant and project team, and serve as point person for the media. This includes coordinating SGC approvals for press releases, invitations, websites and other media described in the grant agreement.
• Coordinate invoicing and reimbursements with Community Partners finance staff.
• Facilitate collection and submission of required project reports from collaborative partners to SGC and the Department of Conservation. During the post award contract phase, this will include monitoring partner progress on completion of checklist deliverables and spending of support grant and advanced implementation grant funding in preparation for execution of master contract with SCG by June 2023. During the grant period, this will include bi-monthly progress reports, annual progress reports, annual leverage funding report, annual detailed work plans and budgets, equipment inventory records, annual indicator tracking report, project completion reports, final report, final leverage funding report and any other reports related to indicator tracking.
• Will coordinate with support staff, including a      social media specialist, and may supervise consultant contracts and perform other tasks as required.

 

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

An applicant with strong oral, written, organizational, communication and interpersonal skills. The proven ability to track, facilitate and support progress for a program with many partners and deliverables is strongly desired.

Preference will be given to candidates who are conversant in Spanish and/or have a strong working knowledge of active transportation, alternative energy, park planning, workforce development and/or community development policies and programs, especially at the local level.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Must possess a valid California class ‘C’ driver’s license.

 

Compensation

Salary $85,000 to $90,000 D.O.E

Benefits include 15 paid holidays and 10 vacation days per year during first two years of employment and increases based on years of service thereafter, a 403(b) plan with employer match, medical, dental, vision, flex spending, and a range of professional development opportunities. Community Partners has a 9/80 work week option under which employees may elect to work 80 hours in 9 days and take every other Friday off (after completion of introductory period).

Experience

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree in Public or Business Administration, Public Policy, Political Science, Urban Planning, Sociology, Finance, Economics or closely related field. Master Degree in one of these fields is strongly desired.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in working in complex political environments and negotiating with diverse key stakeholders at local and/or regional level AND three (3) years’ experience managing complex public sector grant-funded programs and associated compliance requirements. Familiarity with South LA strongly preferred.