Company Description
The International Living Future Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to catalyze the transformation toward communities that are culturally rich, socially just and ecologically restorative. ILFI’s flagship program is the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most ambitious and holistic performance standard for resilient, healthy, and green buildings. ILFI offers other certifications, transparency labels, education, and events that enable organizations and individuals to communicate their commitment to a healthier world.
We believe that the building industry can shift dramatically far faster and more radically than many assume. We also believe that the industry can and should address ecological impact, social impact, health impact and cultural impact as intersecting issues. Living Buildings are beacons for change, data points for skeptics, inspirational stories for young people, and test beds for innovation. We seek to affect change in the building industry by envisioning a Living Future and showing it’s possible to embody that future in practice and policy.
Job Description
STATUS: Full-time, exempt
REPORTS TO: Director, Living Building Challenge (Programs + Innovation Group)
LOCATION: Remote, within the United States
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is seeking an experienced thought leader in the building industry with expertise in renewable energy and operational & embodied carbon to serve as Senior Manager of Energy + Carbon, a key member of the Programs + Innovation Group. The Programs + Innovation Group creates and maintains visionary standards, tools, and resources to push the building industry toward a Living Future. Informed by research, industry feedback, collaborative partnerships, and forward-thinking dialogue, the Programs + Innovation Group defines the philosophy, performance goals and metrics, and advocacy frameworks for reaching the highest bar of holistic performance in climate, health, and equity for buildings, products, and organizations within the building industry.
Leading the group’s Energy + Carbon work, the Senior Manager is responsible for providing thought leadership for and management of the ongoing development and evolution of ILFI standards, challenges, and labels that focus on energy and carbon, including Zero Energy Standard, Zero Carbon Standard, and the Energy Petals of the Living Building Challenge and the Living Product Challenge. Developing and managing requirements and evolving the reach, rigor, and impact across these programs involves collaborating with internal and industry stakeholders; addressing challenges faced by project teams; and interpreting and synthesizing relevant scientific research, industry standards and publications, best practices, and regulatory updates to support ambitious energy, carbon, and holistic building performance goals.
The successful applicant will have practical knowledge and experience with energy and carbon issues and, ideally, with other building systems (such as ventilation and water management) and be able to contribute to the development of requirements, frameworks, and approaches related to all building systems, including related research, standards, and certification programs. The applicant will also have a passion for energy and carbon and the interaction with equity in the building industry.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Development
- Maintain the vision, rigor, and impact of the Zero Energy Standard, the Zero Carbon Standard, and the Energy Petals of the Living Building Challenge at the leading edge of climate, health, and equity within the building industry.
- Help maintain the vision, rigor, and impact of the other Petals of the Living Building Challenge, with a focus on the Water and Health + Happiness Petals, at the leading edge of climate, health, and equity within the building industry.
- Support the development and alignment of related aspects of ILFI’s other Challenges and Labels as appropriate.
- Manage and lead periodic updates to and development of new versions of the Zero Energy and Zero Carbon Standards and Handbooks and similar resources for LBC. This may include gathering internal and external input and feedback; developing and managing the scope, timeline, budget, and work plan; managing staff and consultants assigned to the work; managing internal cross-team coordination; drafting, reviewing, and finalizing all written and graphic content; helping with related external communications.
- Understand, integrate, and align concepts and strategies between ILFI and external energy, carbon, and, if possible, other building science/systems tools, standards, certifications, and rating systems.
Cross Group/Team Support and Collaboration
- Support the development of processes, protocols, and guiding principles for Standard and Handbook updates.
- Support the development of processes, protocols, and guiding principles for gathering data, input, and feedback on ILFI’s programs from diverse internal and external stakeholders.
- Serve as an internal subject matter expert to other ILFI staff on energy and carbon topics and, if possible, other building science/systems topics to help respond to technical inquiries, support the development of other related resources, and exception requests from diverse project teams and manufacturers in different sectors and business contexts.
- Support the development of grant proposals and deliverables as needed to further the evolution of ILFI’s building standards and research.
Innovation, Industry Leadership, and Collaboration
- Manage and lead ILFI’s Energy + Carbon Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of industry experts. Facilitate, synthesize, and incorporate TAG contributions toward strategic development and continuous improvement of ILFI energy and carbon related Standards and technical resources.
- Remain current on the latest relevant energy and carbon research, literature, and industry best practices and provide thought leadership on energy and carbon in the built environment.
- Conduct research (including interviews, surveys, literature reviews, and other) on topics related to energy and carbon, including but not limited to: embodied carbon, life cycle analysis (LCA), carbon offsets, renewable energy, biofuels, grid innovations, district systems, and micro-grids.
- Publish and present research results at industry conferences, events, and publications (including ILFI’s blog, Trim Tab) to improve the content and understanding of ILFI’s mission, vision, and Standards in the broader industry.
- Support identifying and establishing organizational partnerships that align with ILFI initiatives in energy and carbon; maintain working relationships, and organize collaborative projects of mutual interest; hold positions in industry collaboratives and other external networks that support the Institute’s mission and strategic plan.
Qualifications
We know that you may not have all the skills listed below, and we encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements.
- 5+ years of professional experience in architecture, building science, engineering, consulting, or energy and carbon research, with a strong understanding of sustainable design principles, both operational and embodied energy, and preferably additional building science/systems (including water systems and indoor environmental quality)
- Bachelor’s degree in architecture, design, environmental studies, building science, construction management, engineering, or directly related field
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and creating an inclusive work environment
- Demonstrated familiarity with ILFI’s philosophy, certifications, and labels
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills, such as thinking abstractly about problems, gathering and synthesizing data and information from divergent viewpoints, understanding the effect of decisions, and transferring knowledge from one situation to another
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
- Proven ability to work both collaboratively in a team and independently
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in architecture, design, environmental studies, building science, construction management, engineering, or directly related field; OR extensive professional experience beyond the minimum required in a directly related field may be equivalent
- Demonstrated project management experience
- Experience developing/managing voluntary standards, especially related to sustainable building or the built environment
- Strong affinity for technology with the ability to learn new software applications; experience with MacOS, Google Workspace, Asana (or similar), and Salesforce strongly preferred
- Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite software applications or other handbook software, such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Manula, or others
- Experience working across virtual teams and with remote management
- Living Future Accreditation (LFA) and/or LEED Accreditation. Candidates not already Living Future Accredited will be supported in achieving their LFA within one year.
Additional Information
Our mission at Living Future is to build a future that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative. We are committed to that vision within our organization and work to create a team that is equitable, inclusive, and diverse by hiring and supporting staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed as an organization to foster better cultural competency, equity and diversity within our culture and policies and work to support staff in every phase of their career.
The salary range for this position is $69,000 – $80,000 and is supplemented by ILFI’s generous benefits package that includes employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance for employees and dependents as well as employee life insurance, short-term disability, and a 403(b) retirement plan. Annual time off benefits include three weeks of paid annual leave, 12 days of sick leave, and paid volunteer time.
ILFI offers a collaborative, team-oriented and mission-driven remote-first workplace with staff distributed across the United States. We offer a $50/month stipend to offset home internet costs.
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application. The position will remain open until filled. We will begin reviewing applicants on July 10, 2023.