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Home My WebLink AboutClimate Action Engagement SpecialistUpdated: August 2025 (Admin Review) CITY OF IOWA CITY – JOB DESCRIPTION Position Title: Climate Action Engagement Specialist Department: City Manager’s Oﬃce Division: Oﬃce of Climate Action & Outreach Supervisor: Climate Action Coordinator FLSA: Non-Exempt Civil Service: Yes Pay Grade: 12 Job Number: 1219 Job Summary Fosters and supports community relations and engagement for City and community climate action initiatives. Coordinates awareness, education and marketing eﬀorts for the Oﬃce of Climate Action and Outreach, with an external and internal audience. Ensures alignment of Climate Action educational programs, special events, and communication materials with goals and objectives of City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Actively establishes, diversiﬁes, and strengthens community stakeholder partnerships. Manages environmental and climate action volunteer programs, facilitates meaningful engagement with diverse populations, and supports collaborative implementation of special projects and programs across City Departments. Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities: The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. Other duties may be required and assigned. • Coordinates, plans, designs, and produces informational materials in verbal, written, graphic, digital, video and other formats to generate awareness and educate the public and City staﬀ about climate action in coordination with the Communications Division. • Develops climate action press releases and web content and serves as liaison with the media for assigned activities; communicates climate action messaging to the public and City staﬀ through digital, print and spoken presentation. • Plans and coordinates community special events and facilitates community gatherings focused on issues of climate action. • Supports community outreach through creative partnerships with local organizations, agencies, businesses, educational institutions, faith communities and community partners. • Develops and presents educational/training programs related to climate action initiatives; coordinates with appropriate staﬀ for community presentations and responses to requests and inquiries, as needed. • Engages regularly with community and regional committees, organizations and informal groups as representative of City of Iowa City to build relationships with the public and connect climate action activities with community issues and initiatives. • Supports and facilitates engagement with under-represented groups within the community to create relationships and promote equitable access to climate action resources and education. Updated: August 2025 (Admin Review) • Acts as volunteer coordinator for community climate action service projects; works with agencies such as businesses, educational institutions, groups and individuals connected to the City which may implement climate action initiatives or activities; leads and directs volunteers in their project assignments. • Works with Green Iowa AmeriCorps team facilitating weekly meetings and project guidance. • Conducts self in a professional manner which demonstrates courtesy and respect for all community members and coworkers. • Performs all other related duties as assigned. Minimum Education, Experience, Certification/Licensure, Other • Associate’s degree from an accredited educational institution and one year of related experience; or three years of related experience and/or equivalent combination of education and experience. Degree in Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, Event Planning, Graphic Design, Environmental Policy and Planning, or related. Experience in writing, communication, and presentation skills. • Valid State of Iowa driver’s license with satisfactory driving record required. Must be at least 18 years of age. Must pass criminal background check. Preferred Education, Experience, Certification/Licensure, Other • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited educational institution; or four years of related experience and/or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience in community engagement, facilitation, or mediation, sustainability program development or planning and volunteer coordination. Bilingual speaking ability. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities • Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. • Ability to calculate ﬁgures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages. • Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. • Ability to mediate or diﬀuse situations which include diﬀering opinions and experiences. • Ability to quickly build positive and inclusive relationships with persons of varying backgrounds, knowledge, and abilities. • Ability to read and understand reports, manuals and other written materials in order to communicate information to staﬀ and the public in a user-friendly fashion. • Ability to reliably and predictably carry out duties. • Ability to speak eﬀectively before groups of customers or employees of organization. • Knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions and/or carbon emissions reduction techniques. • Knowledge of social media, graphic design or community engagement tools. • Skill in active and meaningful listening with ability to interpret intended meaning of messages. Updated: August 2025 (Admin Review) • Skill in building and managing alliances of diverse interests. • Skill in establishing and maintaining eﬀective working relationships with members of the public and City staﬀ. • Skill in event planning and volunteer management. • Skill in marketing, public relations, and communications strategy. • Skill in using computers and applicable software applications (Microsoft Oﬃce – Word, Excel, Outlook). Supervision No supervision of direct reports. Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential duties and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Duties are generally performed in an oﬃce setting with a controlled environment. The job requires sitting for extended periods of time and the work may expose the employee to unpleasant social situations and signiﬁcant work pace pressure. Iowa City is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended, the City will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer. Reviewed/Approved by: Geoﬀ Fruin, City Manager (4/2024) Updated: August 2025 (Admin Review) I have read and understand the duties and requirements of this job description, and I agree that I can perform the duties of this position with or without reasonable accommodation. Employee Date ________________________________ __________________