Community Energy Data Internship with the Island Institute
Position Summary
Maine island residents pay some of the highest energy costs in the nation. The Island Institute’s Community Energy program supports island communities seeking to better understand and confront their unique energy challenges. We work to reduce the cost of energy for homeowners, businesses, and municipalities through community-based, nationally relevant models that increase energy efficiency and renewable energy options.
The Community Energy team seeks qualified candidates for an unpaid internship position that will help us evaluate the effectiveness of our current programming and collect community energy data that will inform key programmatic efforts around energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy education/leadership over the next three or more years.
The anticipated weekly schedule will be 2-10 hours approximately, depending on the availability of the candidate, between late September and December 2016, although this is flexible and can be tailored to the intern’s academic schedule. The intern will be supervised by the Institute’s Community Energy Associate, Brooks Winner.
Anticipated Learning Outcomes
• Greater awareness and understanding of innovative, community-based approaches to facilitating energy efficiency and renewable energy projects;
• First-hand experience to increase data collection, analysis, and communication skills.
• Increased knowledge of real-world challenges facing nonprofit organizations and island/remote coastal community partners in tracking impacts of, and sharing information about, community energy projects and models;
• Greater awareness and understanding of Maine’s island and remote coastal communities, and their efforts to increase sustainability through energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives;
Essential Responsibilities
• Collect, organize, and analyze community energy data, including energy costs, power system characteristics, program participation and impacts, etc.;
• Assist with needs assessment to influence design of future energy programming and organizational impact indicators; and
• If time allows: develop tools for creative communication of energy program impacts (e.g., graphs, infographics, testimonials, etc.).
Desired Qualifications
The ideal internship candidate will have:
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel and and/or FileMaker Pro
• The ability to work independently and remotely, meeting deadlines and ;
• Strong written, oral and interpersonal skills;
• Strong data visualization and design skills;
• Online survey design skills;
• An understanding of basic energy concepts, including energy efficiency and renewable energy;
• A degree or relevant coursework in environmental studies/science, sustainability, economics;
• The ability to quickly grasp the Institute’s scope of work and the nature of the communities we serve;
• Initiative, flexibility and excellent organizational/time-management skills.
Direction and Support for Internship
• An onboarding process that will include a draft work plan flexible enough to be modified throughout the course of the internship as needed;
• Weekly or bi-weekly meetings (via video call) with the internship advisor, either in person or by phone/video conference;
• Participation as a member of the community energy team, with colleagues available to help answer questions and provide guidance about organizational culture and our constituent communities;
• Opportunities for constructive feedback through a two-way evaluation process;
• Experience working in a highly collegial and collaborative work environment.
How to Apply
Interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible by emailing a single PDF that contains 1) a cover letter, 2) a current résumé, 3) a short (300 words or less) writing sample, and 4) the names and contact information of at least two academic and/or professional references to Nancy McLeod Carter, the Institute’s HR specialist, at [email protected]. The internship placement will remain open until filled, but preference will be given to applications received by Friday, September 23, 2016. Please contact Nancy if you have questions or need more information before sending in your application.