Analyst, Energy & Sustainability

Energy Vault; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 94,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Energy Vault is seeking a motivated Sustainability Analyst to drive energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives at our facilities. This role will involve benchmarking energy performance, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting the development of sustainable practices across the organization. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical skills and effective communication abilities, thriving in a collaborative environment.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision care

Paid holidays and vacation time

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

Tuition Assistance

Competitive Compensation

Qualifications

• 1-3 years experience in energy, sustainability, or utilities management.
• Proficient in data analysis with strong technical skills.
• Experience with energy-related data and compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage annual energy benchmarking and compliance with energy disclosure.
• Lead energy variance identification and resolution processes.
• Support sustainability initiatives, including solar PV operations and maintenance.

Skills

Communication

Analytical Skills

Detail Oriented

Initiative

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering

Bachelor's Degree in Energy Management

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Python

T-SQL

Energy Star Portfolio Manager

Job description

Description

This position, under the direction of the VP, Environmental & Climate Adaptation, will be a key contributor to the Company’s sustainability, energy and resilience programs. The primary goal of this position is to drive utility cost savings, reduce emissions, and support compliance reporting through data-driven insights and analytics. This role is central to the coordination and execution of Equity Residential’s energy and sustainability initiatives, with a strong focus on driving communication and program management of energy and utility variances across our Facilities and Property Management teams.

WHO YOU ARE:

• Knowledgeable. You’ve got experience working with energy-related data and collaborating and communicating regularly with customers (internal and external) across different departments and regions to drive reduction in utility expenses and support the sustainability programs.
• Strong Communicator.Whether in person, over the phone, across a video conference, or via written documentation, your writing, speaking, and presenting skills are clear and effective, demonstrating your ability to be articulate and understood.
• Detail Oriented.You pay attention to the details and make a conscious effort to understand causes instead of just the effects. You don’t get bogged down in the details, though, as you realize that the big picture is important, too.
• Efficient and Effective.You handle pressure well and do so with confidence. And when a tight deadline comes up, you organize the tasks to be completed —including quality checks— and focus on how to re-prioritize your other tasks to meet the timeframe.
• Approachable. You naturally create a comfortable and open atmosphere, drawing people to you and opening the door for questions and conversation, which allow you to create value and deliver substance to your business partners.
• Self-Starter.You demonstrate initiative and have the ability to work effectively without a lot of direction or guidance from your manager. If you’re given a task or assignment, you can be counted on to complete it thoroughly. You’re also self-motivated to keep busy with tasks that add value to the organization.
• Organized and Accountable.You are flexible and able to juggle the needs of changing priorities of the business, while also keeping the critical details straight.
• A Team Player. You are known for serving as a resource and trusted business partner for internal groups. Participating in cross-functional projects is the type of work you love.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Responsible for the annual energy benchmarking of EQR’s properties. This may either be completed in-house or might involve managing an outside party conducting these benchmarking exercises on our behalf.
• Ensure compliance with the various state and local energy disclosure requirements by managing Equity Residential’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager account. Support the execution of our strategic plan for managing the increasingly stringent requirements by conducting data quality assessments on a per asset basis. Manage all records associated with energy benchmarking submissions.
• Under the guidance of Manager, Energy & Sustainability Analytics, lead energy variance identification and resolution process in collaboration with utilities accounting, facilities team, property management, and operations staff (e.g,. RUBS), Sustainability Group Investments and external parties (e.g., utilities, vendors). Frequent and clear communication and follow up with regional and onsite teams will be critical to the success of this program.
• Responsible for managing the solar PV operations and maintenance program, which includes overseeing O&M contracts and contractors, managing budgets and invoices, coordinating with property and Facilities teams, and monitoring solar PV performance and addressing issues in a timely manner to improve performance of the systems. Share performance results and information with stakeholders (onsite staff, Facilities Team, Investments Team, and Sustainability Team) in a clear, concise, and appropriate timeframe to boost engagement and overall performance of the solar PV systems.
• Support EQR sustainability initiatives and projects - responsible for measuring, verifying, monitoring, providing data for underwriting, and enhancing EQR’s sustainability initiatives and projects (e.g., solar PV, HVAC retrofits, lighting retrofits, cogen systems) under the guidance of the Manager, Energy & Sustainability Analytics.
• Help ingest, process, analyze and report on energy, water, trash and similar data from various software platforms and utilities. Respond to data requests from various stakeholders (e.g., Investment Officers, Construction, Facilities, Property Management).
• Support the Acquisitions and Development teams by helping to prepare utility budgets.
• Support the development and maintenance of automated dashboards and reports, including developing underlying data models, to disseminate data and insights timely to key stakeholders. Examples include BEPS compliance, water usage, information required for public disclosures/ESG report, and portfolio resilience risk assessments.
• Review utility bill rates as needed.
• Support identification and execution of energy-related rebate and incentive programs.
• Support energy efficiency and sustainability projects as needed.
• Support the Company’s participation in industry organizations (e.g., ASHRAE, ACEEE, AEE, NMHC, ULI).
• Represents the Company in a professional manner at all times. Consistently maintains a professional courteous attitude when dealing with residents, coworkers and the general public.
• Performs other duties as necessary.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's Degree required in Environmental Science, Engineering, Energy Management or equivalent.
• Must have one to three years of professional experience in energy, sustainability, utilities management and/or commercial building systems.
• Must have excellent communication skills and be comfortable working with stakeholders in many departments and with different experience levels. Must have a strong interest in applying sustainability principles and concepts to real-world problems.
• Must have excellent analytical and technical skills including programming in Python, T-SQL and Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets.
• Must be proficient with Energy Star Portfolio Manager and/or have experience in utility bill auditing.

Familiarity and knowledge of any of the following is preferred:

• Developing and using visualizations in PowerBI (or similar such as Tableau, Looker or Google Data Studio)
• Energy accounting
• Greenhouse gas emission calculations
• IoT and business automation/management systems
• Building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems
• Water management
• Renewable energy
• Financial modeling concepts to calculate ROIs or paybacks of capital projects

Salary: $94,000 - $115.00 per year; in addition to base salary, a discretionary annual bonus is provided.

The successful candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, and qualifications.

Highlights of the wellbeing benefits for Full-time employees include:

• Physical Wellbeing: Medical, dental, vision care and wellness programs
• Social Wellbeing: Paid holidays, annual vacation time, paid sick leave, new parent benefits, adoption assistance
• Financial Wellbeing: Competitive Compensation, 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Rent Discounts, FSA/HSA, and company-paid life & disability insurance
• Community Wellbeing: Paid Community Service Hours
• Career Wellbeing: Leadership Development, Tuition Assistance

Learn more about our Total Wellbeing programhere.