Sustainability Associate – Building Decarbonization

Launch your Sustainability Career with the Climate Corps Fellowship program!

SEI’s Climate Corps Fellowship program offers the chance to lead impactful climate and community resilience projects while gaining paid, hands-on experience. This full-time, bridge-to-career opportunity pairs fellows with host organizations, from local governments to nonprofits and businesses, to drive real-world change.

About the Opportunity 

Start Date: September 2nd, 2025

Length of Fellowship: 10 months

Want to help local governments and communities cut emissions and transition to cleaner energy? As a Sustainability Associate – Building Decarbonization in the Climate Corps Fellowship program, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to impactful climate resiliency & sustainability initiatives with San Mateo County. This is a hybrid position with the expectation of onsite work 2-3 days per week, and remote work 2-3 days.

This position requires the employee to be physically located in Redwood City, CA, at the time of hire. Only candidates currently residing within commuting distance of the location will be considered.

The Building Decarbonization Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to advance the Sustainability Department's mission by working on the San Mateo County Energy Watch and Bay Area Regional Energy Network programs. The Fellow will help municipalities plan for decarbonizing their facilities by assisting them with energy benchmarking and cataloging methane gas equipment. The Fellow will also develop coordinated communications and community engagement initiatives to help residents take advantage of incentives and programs for energy upgrades. You’ll collaborate with the Sustainability Department while gaining hands-on experience and making a tangible difference in the sustainability & climate sector.

Projects you will be working on include:

Municipal Decarbonization Planning  

• Methane Gas Cataloging.  
• Energy Benchmarking. 
• Developing Case Studies. 

Community Outreach for Residential Energy Programs 

• Assisting with the development of marketing materials. 
• Creating promotional strategies in collaboration with community organizations. 
• Working with the social media team to develop content. 
• Supporting event management.

This position offers a unique opportunity to develop your professional skills, grow your network, and contribute to San Mateo County’s sustainability goals.

About Our Partner: San Mateo County

The San Mateo County Sustainability Department strives to improve the sustainability of the County’s operations and the greater community through work in areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, resource conservation, climate resiliency, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. San Mateo County, CA, is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest cities in California.

Here, at the Sustainability Department, we:

• Are passionate about protecting and saving the environment while serving our community.
• Are compassionate and empathetic to the needs of our colleagues, community members, and stakeholders.
• Actively work to ensure inclusion in our programs.
• Value varied life experiences and strive to create a workplace that is welcoming to all. 

What You’ll Do

• The role will mainly focus on helping with decarbonization planning by assisting with building benchmarking, methane gas cataloging, and case study development that showcases successful implementation strategies. These efforts provide essential data and models to accelerate sustainability initiatives in San Mateo County jurisdictions. This position requires frequent fieldwork and site visits as part of the data collection and implementation process.  
• As a key member of the Climate Protection team, you'll support community outreach initiatives to help community members take advantage of BayREN programs. You'll apply creative thinking to develop content that resonates with diverse audiences and craft targeted communication materials that effectively convey complex sustainability concepts across multiple platforms.

What We’re Looking For

• Attention to detail and proficien