2024 USDN Equity Fellow - City of Boise, Public Works

The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) is pleased to offer 2024 fellowship opportunities with local governments. The Equity Diversity Inclusion Fellowship is a summer program that addresses an existing disparity in representation of people of color in sustainability fields and the USDN member network. Fellows will receive a valuable learning experience while helping local governments advance sustainability and inclusion goals. Read more on the EDI fellowship here. This recruitment will serve the City of Boise. Urban Sustainability Directors Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly encourage applications from qualified people of all gender expressions and identities, sexual orientations, racialized communities, veterans, Indigenous persons and persons with disabilities. Should you require accommodations through the application process, please let us know.

• Term : Estimated May 24, 2024 for initial onboarding with USDN; June 3, 2024 - August 26, 2024 with City of Boise, Public Works
• Job Classification : Hourly/Non-Exempt, Full-time, Temporary
• Compensation & Benefits: $25/hour (480 hour Fellowship) + 100% employer sponsored health, dental and vision insurance during the employment term.
• Location : Onsite with the City of Boise, Public Works
• Closing Date : Applications will be accepted until April 12th @ 5pm Pacific Standard Time (PST)

Position Summary : There is a food movement happening in Boise, Idaho. Consumers want local, quality products. They want food security and safety, and they want to know where their food is coming from. The first step to growing an equitable and resilient food system is to assess where we are now. Boise's Equity Fellow will collaborate with our Climate Action Team to develop and create a community distributed report on Boise's Food System. This fellow will work in the community to learn what the state of Boise's Food System is now, and where we can grow in the future.

Host Information & Project Background: Boise's Climate Action Team is housed in the City's Public Works Department. The City of Boise's Climate Action Roadmap has established the following Food System goals (pg. 52-57). This fellowship will help us on our way to accomplishing these goals.

1. Improve food security and grow the food economy by eliminating food deserts and increasing access to affordable and healthy food options.

2. Leverage city resources to increase knowledge, understanding and use of regenerative agriculture practices

This project will hold equity as a foundational practice by working in all communities and including all voices. This will be done through community meetings, storytelling, and making connections at all points in the food system, from production to distribution and consumption. We will allocate additional resources, as needed, to ensure we are gaining feedback from historically underserved populations. We will identify and focus on disadvantaged communities by using tools like our Clean City Index and the Justice40 map.

Responsibilities or Scope of Work Details :

The fellow will work as a part of our 4-person Climate Action Division. They will work alongside a Climate & Sustainability Coordinator. The coordinator will be developing the project outline, but the fellow will be expected to be comfortable working independently and be self-motivated.

• Team orientation: The fellow will meet with all team members to gain context and information about potential resources.
• Data collection: The fellow will spend two weeks gathering information on the state of Boise's Food System by identifying partners, challenges, and successes.
• Community Input: The fellow will spend three weeks meeting with partners, community members, farmers, and more. They will get input from associated parties on what should be included in a Food Systems Report.
• Potential Project Identification: The fellow will spend two weeks using the information gathered and resources from other cities to create a list of potential projects and areas of growth for Boise.
• Report: The fellow will spend three weeks working with their supervisor to compile a report on Boise's Food System and will present their final product to city departments. [RW1]
• Reflection: The fellow will be asked to reflect on their work and the potential impact on the community.

USDN Requirements for EDI Fellows:

• Participating in a 2-3 hour virtual retreat with USDN prior to starting the program to ensure that fellows are properly onboarded, introduced to their projects, and introduced to the cohort;
• Engaging in peer-to-peer mentorship in a national learning cohort of USDN EDI fellows and mentorship from USDN staff;
• Attending monthly individual coaching calls with USDN staff;
• Ongoing preparation for the Annual Meeting presentation and become comfortable talking about their work;
• Commiting to completing a fellowship profile (like the ones displayed on the website) prior to the final day of the fellowship period

Desired Skills

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate some combination of the following skills, experiences, and abilities:

• An understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities, and comfort with communicating about institutional and structural racism and bias.
• Understanding of how people engage differently due to cultural and socioeconomic differences.
• A history of community involvement through charitable organizations, volunteer groups, religious organizations, etc.
• Experience developing communication materials for diverse audiences and presenting information to large and small groups.
• Experience working directly with or living among people from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Experience incorporating the perspectives of multiple communities, including Hispanic/Latinx, indigenous, and low-income communities, in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of a decision-making process.
• Passion about climate justice, making a difference in communities, and finding collaborative solutions to achieving goals.
• Ability to connect sustainability, environmental issues, and/or climate change to the lived experiences of people of color, disabled, and low-income populations.
• Interest or experience in general urban planning principals or related subject areas such as housing, transportation, environment, social work, government, community or economic development, etc.
• Take a look at the projects of past EDI Fellows for examples of past projects.

In addition, a successful candidate should be able to demonstrate:

• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to communicate by phone, email, or in person in one-to-one or group settings.
• Commitment to work as part of a team and to collaborate successfully with others.
• Ability to commit to excellence in service and to continuous improvement.
• Commitment to work with and treat with respect people of diverse cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds.
• Ability to read, speak, write, and comprehend English is required. Bilingual Spanish is desirable/preferred.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

**Compensation and Benefits : **This is a temporary, full-time, hourly, non-exempt position 40 hours a week. Fellows will earn an hourly wage of $25.00 per hour. The maximum number of hours for a fellowship over a 12 week period is 480 hours. Fellows will be placed with the host site but will be employed by USDN and are eligible to sign-up for USDN's generous health, dental, and vision benefits which are 100% employer sponsored for the duration of their fellowship. Fellows that apply for a position that is not local to where they reside are responsible for the cost of their own relocation. USDN covers the cost of travel and accommodation for Equity Fellows to attend our Annual Meeting, which will be in Minneapolis MN this year. ******
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Application Details : To apply, we request that you attach a copy of your resume and provide a cover letter detailing your interest and qualifications Please use the questions below as you craft your cover letter. As you submit your application, you will be asked to brief application questionnaire as well. If you have any questions about the program or need any accommodations to apply for this opportunity, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We will keep all applicants apprised of the process as it unfolds and decisions are made.

Please answer the following questions in your cover letter:

1. Why do you want to be an EDI fellow? Include a description of your career goals and how this fellowship would help you to achieve them.
2. Describe how your skills and experience might match a project focused on sustainability, climate action, and/or resilience.
3. Describe what you believe it means to do work with a racial equity lens.
4. Describe your experience working with communities of color.
5. Describe your experience making an impact in communities, including communities of color.
6. Describe what you hope to experience in your cohort of fellows.

Urban Sustainability Directors Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to equal treatment of all employees without regard to race, national origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or other basis protected by law. We strongly encourage applications from qualified people of all gender expressions and identities, sexual orientations, racialized communities, Indigenous persons, veterans and persons with disabilities.