JOB POSTING / INTERNSHIP

Position: Municipal Climate Intern
Organization: Environmental Leadership Canada
Location: candidates who reside or are able to reside within commuting distance of their host municipality’s office in Southeastern Ontario:

• Lanark County (Office: Perth, ON)
• Frontenac County (Office: Kingston, ON)
• United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (Office: Cornwall, ON)

About Environmental Leadership Canada

Environmental Leadership Canada (ELC) is a Canadian educational charity that believes people need to know more about how politics works so they can make politics work for the health of our planet.

Through our educational programs, we aim to build a new generation of environmental leaders and to boost the capacity of everyday Canadians who care about the environment to engage in our democracy and hold elected officials accountable for their environmental commitments.

About the Internship

The Municipal Climate Internship (MCI) will provide three young environmental leaders, age 18-30, with the opportunity to work and learn alongside semi-rural, upper-tier municipalities in Southeastern Ontario that are invested in advancing local climate change solutions. Successful applicants to the program receive a six-month paid internship placement with a host municipality and take part in cohort-based leadership and professional development.

Through the MCI program, interns will gain first-hand experience and knowledge in municipal climate issues, solutions, and local decision-making. Interns will be exposed to various municipal government and political processes and will become well-versed in how climate change is integrated into municipal planning. The knowledge, experience and professional skills gained will help prepare participants for careers as local climate leaders.

Most interns will perform a variety of tasks for their municipality. This could include researching municipal climate mitigation or adaptation solutions, planning for stakeholder engagement events, or preparing information needed for a presentation at a council meeting. Tasks will vary between municipalities and may encompass a wide variety of opportunities depending on their needs. Outside of placement work, interns will participate in leadership and professional development including workshops, sharing their experiences and fireside chats with experts from industry, the nonprofit sector and/or municipal government.

The MCI program runs from January/February to June/July 2024. Interns will receive a monthly stipend of $2,750, for a total of $16,500 over the six months of the program. Interns can expect to work full-time hours (37.5 hours) weekly. Most of this time will be spent with the host municipality, but each week, there will be a couple of hours of ELC programming dedicated to leadership and professional development. In January, all interns will participate in an orientation program to get familiar with municipal government, the municipal climate landscape, and the rest of the cohort before placements begin.

Who should Apply

ELC values young leaders from all backgrounds and disciplines. We are eager to find youth from the region interested in building careers focused on municipal politics and/or climate leadership in their local communities.

Applicants must be:

• Between 18-30 years old as of January 1st, 2024
• Permanent residents or citizens of Canada

We especially invite candidates who self-identify as Indigenous, Black, a person of colour, a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, a person with a disability, gender-diverse and/or a woman to apply.

ELC recognizes that leadership takes many forms. We also recognize that many pathways exist to gaining the types of skills and competencies needed to be successful in this program and that systemic barriers limit access to opportunities for many groups of people. For this reason, we invite applications from young leaders no matter their level or type of education and no matter their type of leadership experience.

Based on the nature of working for a municipality and our role as a leadership development program, the following are some of the skills, experience, and competencies we value, more than particular credentials, in the selection process:

• Demonstrated interest in climate/environment
• Demonstrated interest in politics, the political process or political advocacy at any level of government
• Exceptional written communication skills in English (proficiency in French is an asset, but not required)
• Strong oral communication skills in English
• Critical thinking skills
• Willingness to learn and engage with different political viewpoints (open-mindedness)
• Curiosity
• Adaptability
• Initiative (“self-starter”)
• Time management skills
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Experience in conducting research and ability to effectively synthesize information
• Emotional intelligence (strong asset)

With the local focus of this program, ELC will be looking for candidates who reside or are able to reside within commuting distance of their host municipality’s office in Southeastern Ontario:

• Lanark County (Office: Perth, ON)
• Frontenac County (Office: Kingston, ON)
• United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (Office: Cornwall, ON)

For more details about the selection process and internship experience please refer to our website and FAQ. If you require any reasonable accommodations during the application process, please contact the program manager, Anika Smithson at mci@environmentalleadership.ca, prior to the application deadline.

How to Apply

Please apply using the application form on our website. Please indicate you saw this posting at GoodWork.

The application deadline is December 12th, 2023. Applications sent directly to our email address will NOT be considered. Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.