Existing Buildings Research Associate

Boston Metro Area | Full-time Role | Salary $55 – 65k commensurate with experience.

About Built Environment Plus
Built Environment Plus (BE+) is a member-based community driving sustainable and regenerative design, construction, and operations of the built environment.  BE+ provides green building education, networking, advocacy and leadership opportunities for the sustainable building practitioner community and beyond. Our events and programming are supported and enhanced by the volunteer efforts of our community members – the leaders and aspiring leaders in the green building industry. 

The organization, and this role with it, evolves alongside the construction industry to find new ways to drive the sustainability of the built environment. The stakes are high and there’s a lot of work to do. The pace is fast. The work can be intense. At the same time the role and the work we do is extremely rewarding. Be ready to jump in and join our small team making a big impact.

Job Summary
BE+ has funding to build collaboration and accelerate market transformation for larger building energy retrofits through knowledge sharing, training, peer to peer interaction, and targeted research. BE+ will serve as a centralized resource for many organizations across the state seeking to understand approaches to decarbonizing existing larger buildings.

The Existing Buildings Research Associate will be critical in supporting this initiative. It is a full-time non-exempt position that supports BE+ in achieving its mission by leading our efforts in decarbonizing the existing building stock in Massachusetts. 

This position reports to the Innovation Director while working collaboratively with the BE+ leadership team. The role will start full-time hybrid. BE+ anticipates securing office space in downtown Boston in the near future and at that point employees will be expected to be in the office 2-3 days a week. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
The Existing Buildings Research Associate will have these primary areas of responsibility:

Resources / Research Support

  • Identifying existing resources and research relevant to our efforts.
  • Perform various data analysis tasks.
  • Conduct surveys and interviews.
  • Working with partner organizations to adapt existing resources and to create new resources.
  • Support the addition of Existing buildings to BE+ CONNECTS & Net Zero Report
  • Oversee the development and implementation of projects and initiatives, from concept to launch.
  • Stay current on industry trends, community needs, and built environment regulatory changes.
  • Communicate progress, successes, and learnings related to research and tools.
  • Support the development and execution of the organization’s innovation strategy in alignment with our mission and goals.

    Needs Assessment and Implementation Plan

    • Within the first few months support the Existing Buildings Program Manager with both the needs assessment and an implementation plan.

    Program Implementation

    • Collaborate with the Education team on implementing Education related Research & Tools.
    • Work with the Communications team on branding, marketing, and targeted outreach efforts.
    • Work with peer organizations to exchange resources and best practices and to expand impact.
    • Connect with industry leaders, and maintain connections with key stakeholders.
    • Support Executive Director in achieving strategic goals.
    • Staff public events as appropriate.

    In order to fulfill the stated responsibilities of the role, the ideal candidate will have the following skills and experience:

    Required:

    • Bachelor’s degree and 0-5 years of experience in related field. Passionate commitment to the principles of sustainability, regeneration, green building.
    • Detail-oriented and self-starter. We are a small team, and the individual will need to manage their own workload, as well as work well with the team.
    • Strong work ethic, highly self-motivated.
    • Flexibility in the job role, understanding the need to dynamically respond to evolving BE+ needs that are often driven by external events and opportunities;
    • Project and program management skills; and a high standard for file management;
    • Ability to work some evenings and early mornings for events;
    • Ability to think out of the box and find creative, inventive solutions; 

      Preferred:

      • Google Suite
      • Expertise on the following topics:  Retrofitting of large-scale commercial buildings, Zero-over-time planning, Embodied Carbon Analysis and Reduction, Local BPS, Benchmarking/building energy reporting, Recent building code updates related to existing building retrofits, Electrification retrofits.

      Compensation

      • Salary $55k – $65k commensurate with experience.
      • The company provides health benefits, a 401k plan with 5% employer contribution.

      Please email your resume, a writing sample, and a statement on your passion for promoting a regenerative built environment to hiring@builtenvironmentplus.org