Overview:
Incumbents in the Sustainability Program Coordinator (Program Coordinator III) provides strategic leadership, institutional oversight, and specialized environmental expertise for university-wide sustainability commitments, facilities planning, and cross-department operations. The responsibilities largely fall in three categories:
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Provide expertise in environmental sustainability best practices, helping to implement sustainable solutions for University Operations.
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Lead the Sustainability Council, to unite USU-wide sustainability efforts, commitments, and initiatives.
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Oversee updates to the USU Sustainability Plan, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) reporting, and yearly greenhouse gas emission reporting.
Reporting and Supervisory Responsibilities
The Sustainability Program Coordinator II or III reports to the Associate Director within Facilities. This classification trains and directs hourly employees, student interns, and/or volunteers.
Responsibilities:
- Strategic Facilities & Master Plan Integration: Collaborates directly within Facilities Planning, Design, and Construction to strategically advance institutional sustainability goals for new master plans, infrastructure improvements, landscape design, building remodels, and new capital construction projects.
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Technical Compliance Ownership: Serves as the university’s principal technical expert on sustainable building systems, ensuring all new construction projects strictly comply with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and the State of Utah’s High Performance Building requirements.
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Cross-Functional Facilities Leadership: Partners with and leads diverse Facilities operations teams (including transportation, waste/recycling, landscape, and energy); chairs regular coordination meetings to exchange technical information, eliminate operational obstacles, and implement system-wide sustainability initiatives.
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Council Governance & Leadership: Serves as the Chair or co-Chair for the University Sustainability Council and actively leads one or more strategic sub-committees to unify faculty, staff, and students across all colleges and departments.
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Regional & Student Outreach Direction: Directs and facilitates specialized outreach to USU Regional Campuses to foster system-wide sustainability alignment; provides coordination, resource sharing, and strategic guidance to local sustainability advocates and student-led initiatives.
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Institutional Reporting & Compliance Mandates: Manages, analyzes data for, and finalizes major university compliance reporting, including the triennial AASHE STARS reporting, the 3-year USU Sustainability Plan updates, the triennial Bike
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Friendly University designation, and the annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions report and executive presentations.
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Comprehensive Communication Oversight: Oversees the strategic messaging, development, and delivery of sustainability content across the Sustainability website, Facilities website, newsletters, and university social media channels to ensure cohesive communication with the broader campus community.
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Fiscal & Grant Management: Maximizes funding capabilities by actively seeking out, writing, and submitting internal and external grant proposals; maintains complete oversight of the annual sustainability budget (~$60,000) and directs the administrative routing of the Carbon Offset Fund grant program.
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Personnel Supervision & Mentorship: Recruits, hires, trains, and supervises 2–4 student interns; manages intern payroll processing and provides direct professional mentorship to support ongoing sustainability initiatives.
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High-Profile Event Execution: Oversees major university-wide awareness campaigns, orientation presentations for incoming students and new employees, and logistical execution for institutional events, including the annual Sustainability
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Awards and tabling at Connections, Day on the Quad, and Employee Appreciation Day.
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Institutional Representation: Serves as an official USU representative at annual national (AASHE), state, and local conferences; identifies professional benchmarks against peer institution programs to supplement internal knowledge and improve USU initiatives.
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Academic Collaboration (Optional): Seeks out presentation and publication opportunities with AASHE and other industry associations; accepts teaching or guest lecturing assignments for sustainability-related subjects, including managing a 1-to-2 credit academic course assignment.
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Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications:
Program Coordinator II:
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Program Coordinator II (Salary Grade G): Requires a Bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of relevant experience [or a total equivalent of 6 years of education/experience]. This role focuses on day-to-day operational coordination, baseline data gathering, and functional program implementation. The incumbent will facilitate the Council (logistics/scheduling), track expenditures, handle digital communications, and assign daily tasks to interns. Familiarity with the systems will allow them to learn and scale into the technical details on the job under guidance.
Program Coordinator III:
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Program Coordinator III (Salary Grade H): Requires a Bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of relevant experience [or a total equivalent of 6 years of education/experience]. This tier is distinguished by its focus on long-term strategy, master planning, and institutional compliance. The candidate must arrive as a principal expert with complete knowledge of reporting frameworks to chair the Council, consult on new facilities master plans, maintain complete oversight of the budget, write grant proposals, and take ultimate ownership of final products like the STARS submission.
Preferred Qualifications:
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Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., sustainability, environmental science, design, planning, or related discipline); or an equivalent combination of education plus experience is required.
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5 or more years work-related experience.
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Sustainable certifications: LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, etc.
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Knowledge of GHG inventory and STARS reporting frameworks
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Desired Academic/Experience Focus Areas:
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Sustainable systems / sustainable built environment planning and design
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Sustainable infrastructure systems (energy, water, transportation)
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Decarbonization planning
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Greenhouse gas data collection, reporting, and analysis
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GIS and spatial analysis
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Marketing and/or graphic design coursework
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
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Knowledge of principles and practices related to environmental sustainability, decarbonization planning, and the sustainable built environment.
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Knowledge of research, high-level data collection, and information gathering methods and procedures.
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Knowledge of grant development, implementation, budgeting, fiscal control, and compliance reporting.
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Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments regarding university-wide sustainability initiatives.
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Ability to coordinate and organize high-profile meetings, annual awards events, and special presentation forums.
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Skilled in organizing resources, establishing priorities, and managing a $60,000 programmatic budget.
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Skilled at comprehensive records maintenance and complex data synthesis.
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Ability to lead, train, and professionally mentor student staff.
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Ability to interact professionally with executive administration, faculty, staff, and students in a collaborative, team-focused environment.
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Knowledge of communication principles, media, digital marketing, and website content management.
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Ability to gather and analyze complex statistical data (including greenhouse gas inventories) and generate technical reports.
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Ability to exercise a high level of creativity, decision-making, problem-solving, and discretion as institutional work is varied and often undefined.
Required Documents:
Along with the online application, please attach:
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Resume to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV”
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Cover letter to be typed/pasted at the end of your application
**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**
Advertised Salary: Commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits ADA:
Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.
University Highlights:
Founded in 1888, Utah State University is Utah’s premier land-grant, public service university. As an R1 research institution, Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge and serving the public good through innovative research and scholarly activities that are grounded in reciprocal engagement with local, regional, and global communities. USU prepares students to be active, civically engaged leaders who are prepared to address critical societal challenges. Dedicated to providing a high-quality and affordable education, USU remains a leader in research, discovery, and public impact.
USU enrolls over 29,800 students, both online and in person at locations throughout the state. Utah State’s 30 locations include a main campus in Logan, Utah, residential campuses in Price and Blanding, and six additional statewide campuses, along with education centers serving every county. USU educates students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. For over 100 years, USU Extension has served and engaged Utahns, serving every county in the state.
Competing at the NCAA Division I level in 16 sports, USU is a proud member of the Pac-12 Conference, officially joining on July 1, 2026. The Aggies capped a historic final season in the Mountain West by capturing nine combined regular-season and tournament titles in 2025–26, with five teams advancing to postseason play. This tradition of excellence extends to the classroom, where 232 student-athletes earned academic honors, and to the community, where USU ranked second nationally in Division I service hours, with nine teams placing in the top 10 for community service.
Utah State is dedicated to fostering a community where all individuals feel respected, valued, and supported and where diversity of thought and culture are cultivated. We seek to recruit, hire, and retain people from all walks of life who will champion excellence in education, research, discovery, outreach, and service. We believe that promoting a strong sense of community and belonging empowers and engages all members of USU to thrive and be successful. Forbes recognized our commitment to employees when they named Utah State the best employer in Utah in 2023. Learn more about USU.
The university provides a Dual Career Assistance Program to support careers for partners who are also seeking employment. Additionally, USU is committed to providing access and a reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, contact the university’s ADA Coordinator in the Office of Human Resources at (435) 797-0122 or
[email protected].
Notice of Non-discrimination:
In its programs and activities, including in admissions and employment, Utah State University does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy, Title IX, or any other federal, state, or local law.
Utah State University is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination including harassment in employment including in hiring, promotion, transfer, or termination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy or any other federal, state, or local law.
Utah State University does not discriminate in its housing offerings and will treat all persons fairly and equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, national origin, source of income, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Additionally, the University endeavors to provide reasonable accommodations when necessary and to ensure equal access to qualified persons with disabilities.
In all circumstances, Utah State University follows state and federal laws related to sex-segregated spaces.
The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations and/or USU’s non-discrimination policies:
Matthew Pinner
Executive Director
Civil Rights & Title IX Office
435-797-1266 | Old Main Rm. 401D
1475 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322
Cody Carmichael
Title IX Coordinator
435-797-1266 | Old Main Rm. 402D
1475 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322
For further information regarding non-discrimination, please visit crtix.usu.edu or contact:
U.S. Department of Education
Denver Regional Office
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
