U-M EEO/AA Statement
Planet Blue Ambassador Program Manager
Graham Sustainability Institute
University of Michigan
About the Institute
The Graham Institute is a unit of the Provost's office that catalyzes and facilitates interdisciplinary sustainability work across all University of Michigan (U-M) schools, colleges, and campuses. Leveraging over 100 top-ranked U-M programs and a vast practitioner network, Graham integrates diverse expertise to tackle pressing sustainability challenges and achieve real-world impact.
Deep collaborative engagement is the cornerstone of the Graham Sustainability Institute. Since 2006, Graham has catalyzed and facilitated collaborative opportunities for students, faculty, policy makers, practitioners, and communities to foster sustainable solutions at local to global scales.
Job Description
The Program Manager (Manager) is responsible for the day-to-day leadership and management of the Planet Blue Ambassador (PBA) program across U-M's Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn campuses, and works with other units across U-M to support and shape broader campus sustainability efforts. The PBA program empowers all university community members (faculty, staff, students, and alumni) to learn more about our campus sustainability goals and how to make an impact both on and off campus through their personal actions. The Manager develops the PBA program budget, sets priorities, determines staffing requirements, maintains records, and ensures the program meets its stated objectives. The Manager maintains the PBA training and resources, trains new Ambassadors, plans events and continuing education opportunities for Ambassadors, and develops all PBA communications. The Manager also continually evaluates opportunities for program improvement.
Duties
- Determine PBA program priorities and implement an effective strategy to achieve them.
- Collaborate across U-M departments and with external partners to ensure PBA program effectiveness and to shape broader campus sustainability culture efforts.
- Engage faculty, staff, students, and alumni in becoming Ambassadors.
- Maintain the PBA online training, website, and resource toolkit, among other resources.
- Organize events and continuing education opportunities for Ambassadors.
- Create compelling communications for Ambassadors and the wider campus community.
- Lead sustainability involvement in New Student Orientation and Welcome programming.
- Supervise 3 FTE (one directly on the Ann Arbor campus and 2 indirectly on the Dearborn and Flint campuses) and student temporary employees.
- Evaluate opportunities for program improvement by staying informed on best practices and new opportunities in higher-education sustainability.
- Track program metrics and impact, and develop program reports.
- Develop and monitor the PBA program budget.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in field related to sustainability or education.
- 2-4 years of experience with project management and evaluation.
- Familiarity with a variety of sustainability concepts and how to explain them to others.
- Understanding of intersectional sustainability and how climate change impacts well-being for campus community members, especially college-age students.
- Commitment to inclusivity and equitable access to sustainability programming.
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to create and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders within and beyond the university.
- Strong writing ability with experience communicating about complex sustainability concepts.
- Outgoing professional with keen ability to deliver presentations to a wide variety of audiences.
- Experience with supervision and mentorship of staff and/or university students.
- Ability to set priorities, work simultaneously on numerous tasks, and meet deadlines.
- Experience with Google (Docs, Spreadsheets, Mail, Calendar) and Microsoft software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Desired Qualifications
- Familiarity with U-M sustainability opportunities and initiatives.
- Experience with basic web content-management systems (Wordpress CMS preferred).
- Experience with cloud-based learning management tools (Canvas preferred).
- Experience with email marketing platforms (Mailchimp preferred).
- Experience with graphics and photography tools (Canva preferred).
- Experience with hosting Zoom meetings and webinars and facilitating hybrid presentations.
U-M Graham Sustainability Institute Diversity Statement
The Graham Institute catalyzes and facilitates sustainability-focused collaborations involving faculty, students, and external stakeholders. We link knowledge to real-world impact by supporting collaborative teams spanning multiple topics, disciplines, and sectors. At the Graham Sustainability Institute, our dedication to academic excellence for the public good is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our mission of engaging, empowering, and supporting faculty, staff, and students to foster sustainability solutions includes ensuring that each member of our community thrives. We believe that diversity is key to empowerment and the advancement of sustainability knowledge, learning, and leadership.