Program Manager - Vocational School Programs

Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction•Newton, MA

27d•$50,000 - $56,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction is a non-profit organization committed to advancing sustainable, energy-efficient, and high-performance building practices through a combination of education, workforce development, and professional community building for people invested in addressing climate change through our built environment. Studio HPDC’s impact model focuses on development of new approaches to training, certification, and career pathways in high-performance building with a vision of widely distributing learning and professional opportunities to make careers in sustainable building trades accessible at the scale needed to decarbonize our homes, schools, businesses and communities. In 2024 Studio HPDC began a period of organizational growth and expansion with a coherent set of organizational norms, routines, processes, and policies to support two portfolios of workforce education programs focused on two distinct audiences: existing building companies and vocational schools. Within the vocational schools portfolio are a mix of established programs, like the Studio HPDC Tech School Accelerator, and programs at the earliest stages of development and piloting, like the Studio HPDC “High-Performance Building for Trades Instructors” program, and our “High-Performance Campus Buildings” project. The Program Manager - Vocational School Programs will be Studio HPDC’s third employee, and a significant contributor to the culture and development of Studio HPDC as an organization. The Program Manager will have day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of the Studio HPDC Tech School Accelerator Pilot program, focused on bringing high-performance building career awareness and technical content into Massachusetts vocational schools. The Program Manager will also participate in a supporting role in earlier stage vocational school programs, with the expectation that the Program Manager will take on responsibility for delivering vocational school programs that have moved past the pilot stage. This role requires a unique combination of skills including project management, data analysis, team-building, creativity, cultural competency, technical expertise in sustainable building practices, curricular design and facilitation skills, and the ability to develop and manage comprehensive educational programs that align with the organization's mission and goals. The Program Manager - Vocational School Programs reports to the Executive Director. This is a 30-hours per week, part-time position, with the potential to increase to 40 hours a week as the Studio HPDC Vocational School Program portfolio grows and expands in 2027. This position does not have any direct reports or supervisory responsibilities, with the possible exception of short-term internship roles as approved by the Executive Director.

Requirements

Minimum of 2 years of experience in developing and delivering educational programs, preferably in the field of sustainable building, energy efficiency, or environmental sustainability. Experience with vocational schools and entry-level adult workforce education, preferred
Demonstrated ability to manage projects and drive them to successful completion: developing and executing on workplans, delivering complex project activities on a timeline and budget
Familiarity and some direct experience with high-performance building practices, including energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, sustainable materials, and green building certifications.
Comfort and skill operating in a small, growing organization where systems and processes are being built as we deliver the work.
Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills, with the ability to effectively convey complex technical information to diverse audiences.
Expertise with cultural competency: understanding the diverse cultural backgrounds, histories, and experiences of students in social justice neighborhoods, which may include various racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic groups)
Equity-focused mindset: recognizing systemic barriers that may hinder student access to technical education and career paths, and actively working to dismantle these obstacles.
Passion for environmental sustainability and a commitment to promoting high-performance building practices through education and capacity-building.
Skilled at use of Google Suite required.

Nice To Haves

Use of Canva, Squarespace, social media platforms a plus.

Responsibilities

Manage the delivery of core program elements of the Studio HPDC Tech School Accelerator Pilot Program across multiple school partners: industry conference attendance, high-performance building site visit, in-school activities
Collaborate with education and industry partners in the creation and delivery of program activities, emphasizing community and peer-sharing relationships across partners
Clearly communicate plans, progress, and learnings to the Executive Director and external partners through use of written timelines, weekly check-in meetings, debrief and summary documents
Track impact and participation metrics for the Tech School Accelerator Pilot program and support regular grant reporting requirements
Ensure materials are created with the aim to be shared publicly, incorporating a Creative Commons license and recognize all relevant parties, and are organized and updated in the Tech School Accelerator sharing database
Participate in all grant-related administrative activities as requested by the Executive Director or MassCEC’s Technical Assistance partner in order to secure disbursement of awarded grant funding to Studio HPDC
Contribute to grant proposals, funding applications, and other initiatives to secure resources for future Tech School educational programs and activities
Engage with diverse audiences, including vocational school leaders and instructors, contractors, tradespeople, architects, engineers, policymakers, learning scientists, donors and community members to increase literacy for high performance building practices.
Represent the organization at industry events, conferences, and community outreach activities related to high-performance building education
Participate in, and contribute to, building science community discussions hosted by Studio HPDC or its close partners