Application Deadline: HGSE Student Sustainability Educator at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s sustainability program—a collaboration between the Harvard University Office for Sustainability (OFS) and HGSE Operations—seeks a highly motivated and reliable student to serve in the paid role of HGSE Student Sustainability Educator. This paid student role will begin on or around Thursday, November 16, 2023, and conclude on Friday, April 26, 2024, depending on the selected Student Sustainability Educator’s interest and availability.

Reporting directly to the HGSE Sustainability Manager, the HGSE Student Sustainability Educator will develop and implement their own campus sustainability project. Through this project, the HGSE Student Sustainability Educator will have the opportunity to learn transferable project management skills, develop professional communication strategies, network with the Harvard community at large, and pursue their interests at the intersection of sustainability and education.

Responsibilities

The HGSE Sustainability Fellow’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Developing one of the projects listed below, or developing a new campus sustainability project that aims to educate and influence the community about a topic related to sustainability, education, environmental justice, the climate crisis, and adjacent issues.
• Determining and implementing a plan for educating the school’s community about their chosen topic or project.
• Meeting each week (virtually or in-person) for 20-30 minutes with the HGSE Sustainability Manager to share the progress on their project.
• Sharing their project proposal during the week of January 15, 2023.
• Sharing progress and feedback on their project through April 2023.
• Sharing their findings and/or a draft of the presentation on their project the week of March 4, 2024.
• Presenting their findings as a Student Sustainability Educator with the HGSE community (students, staff and faculty) between April 1-26, 2024.

Potential Project List

Potential project list (not including applicants’ well-thought-out original projects):

• The Sustainability Orientation. Develop and implement a plan for conveying essential sustainability information during the new student orientation, with the possibility of developing a parallel program for onboarding new staff and faculty.
• The HGSE Sustainability Progress Report. Identifying key categories such as waste reduction and energy conservation and then developing a format for communicating those numbers effectively.

• Current Students and Alumni/ae for Sustainability Action. Continue the student organization begun in 2022-23:Educators for Climate Action Group, which aims to connect current students with HGSE alumni who are passionate about taking action to combat climate change. This HGSE alumni community contributes resources, insights, and expertise; seeks and gives advice and support; and explores HGSE’s activities, projects, and programs for climate action and education. With this project, you could also explore partnering with other relevant alumni organizations like the university-wide Harvard Alumni for Climate and the Environment (HACE) (a special interest group/SIG; www.harvardclimate.com).

• Climate Ed. Further develop and deepen the collaboration with Dean Long’s office and faculty members Dr. Tina Grotzer, Dr. Laura Schifter, and others whose work is already centered on climate and the environment and related topics, such as climate and racial justice.

Qualifications:

• Ability to work both independently and cooperatively as part of a team.
• Ability to manage projects from inception through completion.
• Strong oral and written communication.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Flexible and cooperative work ethic.
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced, continually adapting professional work environment.
• Comfort using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams) is required.
• Experience planning and executing events (optional).
• Experience with website management, social media management, Canva (optional).

Location:

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Operations, Westengard House, 3 Garden St, Cambridge, MA and remote.

Compensation:

$20 per hour, for up to 5 hours per week, November 2023 through April 2024.

To Apply:

• Candidates should please submit their application online at https://sustainable.harvard.edu/organization/hgse-sustainability-fellows/ and email their resume to the HGSE Sustainability Manager, Anne Sargent, at anne_sargent@harvard.edu with the subject heading, “HGSE Sustainability Fellow application.”
• Applications will be considered on a rolling basis through Monday, November 6. For the best chance of being offered the position, we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks qualified applicants without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. We strongly encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply.