RISE Mentor

RISE-SAIC: Maui Energy Efficiency & Agriculture Intern Position Description

Kupu, in collaboration with Hawaii Energy, is seeking a current higher education student or recent higher education graduate has a background in business, finance, economics or communications and a passion for Hawaii’s sustainability and clean energy future.

What is Rewarding Internships for Sustainable Employment (RISE)? Kupu, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is administering this RISE position. Kupu aims to empower young adults to serve their communities through character building, service learning, and environmental stewardship. Rewarding Internships in Sustainable Employment (RISE) is an internship program developed to provide Hawaii college students and recent graduates with paid work experiences with different public and private organizations in the State of Hawaii. RISE’s mission statement is: “Leveraging diverse partnerships, RISE's mission is to create a sustainable future and green workforce for Hawaii through paid work opportunities.” Find out more at www.riseHI.org.

For this internship, RISE-Kupu is partnering with Hawaii Energy (http://www.hawaiienergy.com/) to verify the effectiveness of incentive programs offered to businesses and complete a white paper including recommendations for energy efficiency best practices. If time permits, interns will explore the energy use and possible efficiency opportunities of different players in Hawaii’s food and agriculture sector.

Position Overview Start Date: Week of Sept 18th , 2013 End Date: Week of June 30th, 2014 Application Deadline: Midnight on (Friday) Sept 6, 2013

Position Location: Maui: interns may be required to work from home/school/virtual office at times Education Requirements: Current higher education student or recent higher education graduate (no more than 2 years since graduation) Hours: 15 hrs/week; schedule can be set on an individual basis within normal business hours (M-F, 8am – 5:30pm) Salary: $15/hour Benefits: 2 weeks of unpaid vacation (dates negotiable)

Intern Activities This position seeks to hire a total of 4 interns to work on Maui, Oahu and Hawaii Island. Potential interns are to be motivated college/university students or recent higher education graduates (no more than 2 years since graduation). Selected interns will assist with energy efficiency efforts in both the business and agriculture sector. Each intern will perform a minimum of 35 verifications (post inspections) on businesses that have participated in an incentive offering from Hawaii Energy. Interns will collectively participate in the drafting of a white paper on the opportunities for increased energy efficiency and retrofitting they observed as well as recommendations for communicating these strategies with energy users. If time permits, interns will explore the energy use and possible efficiency opportunities of different players in Hawaii’s food and agriculture sector. The selected interns will report to a mentor and project manager at Kupu and representatives from Hawaii Energy. The RISE Intern is expected to work closely with this team to perform the following activities by type:

Incentive Program Verifications (65%) - Identify and create a database of businesses that have participated in --Hawaii Energy’s incentive programs in the past; -Contact business owners/managers, establish and maintain good communications and coordinate site-visits; -Complete a minimum of 35 incentive program verifications. Research and Reporting (15%) Identify best practices used by businesses for energy efficiency and retrofits; -Compile and analyze data to find recommendations for energy end-use; -Contribute to the writing of a business-to-business white paper

Energy Efficiency in Agriculture (10%) -Creating a map of different sectors of energy users within the food system as well as brief description of the primary sources of energy use in each sector; -Begin working on opportunities for increased energy efficiency and retrofitting for agricultural energy users. -Sustainability Seminar Series Attendance and Logistics (10%): -Partake in a seminar series throughout employment that consists of reading/writing, workshops, community outreach events, field trips, speakers, and other learning opportunities; -Assist in the conception and implementation of seminar series events as assigned, desired, and available.

Note: The seminar series is intended to compliment work tasks, and may only be attended upon the successful completion of primary work deliverables.

The RISE Intern is required to be/have: -Enrolled in a community college, undergraduate, or graduate degree; or within 2 years since graduation from one of these higher education institutions; -Available to start the internship in September, 2013 and commit to the internship for 41 weeks (with 2 weeks unpaid vacation); -Able to learn quickly and follow direction with attention to detail; -Computer savvy with fluency in Microsoft Office and able to conduct advanced internet research; -A personal computer or access to a computer to conduct and submit work and attend virtual meetings as required; -Excellent verbal and written communication skills; -Able to conduct him/herself in a professional manner; -A team player that works well with others, but able to work independently; and -Motivation, passion and awareness for local sustainability and clean energy issues and solutions.

The RISE Intern is preferred to be/have: -An undergraduate or graduate degree (or working towards a degree) in an interdisciplinary study that may include business, finance, economics, environmental studies, engineering or other related field with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher; -Some work experience (paid or volunteer) in communications, and/or environmental projects; -A personal interest in fostering clean energy in Hawaii.