Research Position/Executive Assistant Sustainable Ventures Berkeley

Join us! Take a lead role in supporting a fair, vital, and sustainable world! Immediate: September 25, 2008 Seeking Master’s Candidate for a Discrete Research Position/Executive Assistant to coordinate the Transition of the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative Tasks Current Quarter 4 2008 through Quarter 1 2009: Transition of the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative Coordinator· Support in the production of a “map” of prospective organizational hosts for combinations of the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Projects· Research and Qualify prospective organizational hosts according to Sustainable Ventures’ criteria· Produce contact packets to introduce the opportunity to prospective organizational hosts including context pieces and cover letters presenting the opportunity from the prospective host’s viewpoint· Draft and update context pieces including the Invitation to Integrate the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative in Your Organization for particular components that constitute the “best fit” for a prospective host· Track and follow through with prospective hosts including phone calls, web conferences, and other requests· Responsibility for ensuring all relevant Initiative component information is transferable­production of binders and CDs Function within existing Sustainable Ventures’ practices:· Create and track a drawdown list of tasks routinely prioritized with Executive Director · Coordinate with Sustainable Ventures associates with reference to:o Accessing print and electronic materials both in and out of Sustainable Ventures’ office.o With light supervision, produce and track work plans and perform on actions cited in work plans.o If relevant to transition goals, work with SV webmaster to collaborate in the design of on-line tools· Set up and run WebEx meetings; update WebEx discussion pieces Of great value to Sustainable Ventures:· You are developing a career in Sustainability and have undertaken significant training to date· You have curriculum development and teaching experience· You have a solid background in marketing, accounting, and agribusiness or farming Support personnel are Sustainable Ventures' faces and voices. Each needs to represent Sustainable Ventures with diplomacy, imagination, effectiveness, and clear communication with all associates· Comfortable with routine computer and maintenance tasks: proficient in email and telephone communications equipment; create and maintain electronic and hard copy files; navigate around network drives; make CDs and backups; and perform regular system maintenance and upgrades· Prior office Secretary/Admin experience and excellent attention to detail required. Desirable candidate qualities: you are not easily flustered, can think independently when problems arise, and can initiate appropriate action Profile of Position and Contact Information: This is a discrete research position. The scope of work, form in which work products are delivered, time sensitivity, flexibility of work styles­working in Sustainable Ventures’ office or elsewhere­will be negotiated with finalist candidates for the best fit. Bay Area fair salary. Sustainable Ventures is an active equal opportunity employer. All relationship development and actions are based on our underlying goal of enabling people to exercise their initiative. Technical skill set includes: Microsoft office--Word, Excel, Power Point; ACT; Palm software fluency; and understanding of contact databases­expertise in ACT a plus; web conferencing­WebEx a plus. Office location is five blocks from the downtown Berkeley BART station; on a Bicycle Boulevard. Street parking requires an E-permit for more than 2 hours. Send resumé to info@SustainableVentures.us. Sustainable Ventures is a non-profit California educational corporation focused on expanding business practices to include the impacts on people and places. Through the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative, Sustainable Ventures produces tools that enable people to exercise their considerable consumer and investment power to create a sustainable marketplace. Check us out at www.SustainableVentures.us and, if this job is for you, introduce yourself!
Theo FergusonExecutive DirectorSustainable Ventures Integrating the “Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative”into Your Organization 92508 In order to ensure that we can develop a sustainable future, we must design ways to develop business systems based on sustainability principles­expanded business practices that include the impacts on people and places. To do this, Sustainable Ventures has built collaborative tools and processes to accomplish this goal. The Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative engages civil society to advocate for these expanded business practices. The centerpiece of the Prize Program is the Our Daily Bread Prize that investigates barriers to the development of business systems based on sustainability. Addressing sustainability challenges such as environmental vitality and social justice will encourage the use of True Cost Pricing and True Cost Accounting practices.
True Cost Pricing enables organizations to make external supply chain purchasing decisions based on the Life Cycle Assessment and internal decisions based on the incorporation of evolving integrated sustainability best practices in their policies and operations, including those that include environmental, social, and financial, and governance issues.
True Cost Accounting is the practice of measuring organizational success based on True Cost Pricing principles. We are currently seeking organizations interested in incorporating components of the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative into their organizations’ mission-compatible efforts. The Initiative has developed essential education and advocacy collaborative tools that foster dialogue, stakeholder connection, research, communication strategies, and research materials: · Dialogue. Sustainability Market Leader On-Line Forum consists of a Community of Practice committed to the development of a true market economy. This enables Sustainability Market Leaders to share strategies and successes as they undertake the challenges related to marketing their goods and services in True Cost Pricing. Thought Coordinators, usually Masters in Sustainability candidates, set up the Categories, Fora, and Topics based on what participants want. In the Summer of 2008, Thought Coordinators produced Living Lens Features to move the dialogue forward. · Stakeholder Connection. On a cyclical basis, the Prize Program Initiative convenes Sustainability Market Leaders and other interested associates in Implementation Fora in face-to-face working groups to share strategies and successes, work on shared projects, and to increase the effectiveness of their collaborations. Two Implementation Fora have been held to date­the first June in 2007, and the second in August, 2008. Check SV’s website soon to review outcomes of Implementation Forum 2 -- Pricing the Food on the Table. · Research. The Our Daily Bread Prize recognizes work drawn from global citizens that expand business practices to include the impacts on people and places­True Cost Pricing and True Cost Accounting. · Communication Strategies: We are currently field testing True Cost Pricing and True Cost Accounting language, presentation formats, and images to develop a shared language and effective reference tools in food and farming. The result of this effort is the brochure “Growing Good Food Language True Cost Pricing in Certified Farmers’ Markets that makes the case that locally grown, organic food adds more value through stable climate, vital land, and profitable producers through healthy eaters, who celebrate their lives around the table. We welcome your critique of the Growing Good Food Language­True Cost Pricing in Certified Farmers’ Markets on-line brochure. · Reference Materials. The web-based Sustainability Knowledge Base was conceived in support of Sustainability Market Leaders. This project is being expanded to two locations in collaboration with Ethical Markets Media’s Sustainability Research Group as an invitational resource that provides integrated financial, social, governance and financial reference materials and access to research talent in one location. For the past five years, Sustainable Ventures has undertaken the challenges of promoting business practices that support sustainability. We now invite both new and established organizations to integrate our collaborative tools into your mission-compatible efforts to expand civil society’s capacity to address the most important challenges of our time. Consider the benefits of growing your eco-equity products, social entrepreneurship practices, and curricula by incorporating components of the Our Daily Bread Prize Program Initiative into your organization, trade or coop association, or coalition of organizations! If you are interested in this opportunity to expand our collective knowledge and create positive change, please contact Theo Ferguson, Executive Director, Sustainable Ventures by phone: 510-548-7490; fax: 510-548-7499; or by email: Theo.Ferguson@SustainableVentures.us.