Oct 9, 2009

The greenest city in the State of Indiana is looking for the right person to help South Bend become more energy efficient.

In the same week in which South Bend was named the state's Green Community of the Year for cities above 30,000 people by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, the City began recruiting for the right candidate to fill a new Municipal Energy Director position.

Funded by a federal stimulus grant of more than $1 million ($100,000 of which for the Energy Office), the Municipal Energy Director will have lead responsibility for developing the South Bend Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy. The strategy will help South Bend reduce energy consumption costs citywide from $7 million currently to a goal of $5 million or less, enabling the position to be self-funding and make municipal government more cost-efficient.

"This is a professional energy-management position, involving the application of technical, analytical, evaluation and training techniques for the implementation of energy-related systems, programs, policies and strategies," said Gary Gilot, the City's director of public works. "The Municipal Energy Director will focus the City's efforts on forming public private partnerships and communicating with surrounding communities, and the state energy office, to leverage funding and implement wider-range policies and programs."

The full-time director will report directly to Mayor Stephen Luecke. The director will support such efforts as Cool Cities, Cities for Sustainability and the Green Ribbon Commission.

The City of South Bend now spends nearly $7 million per year on natural gas and electricity for municipal buildings as well as for fuel for its vehicular fleet. Based on experiences from other communities, it is expected the director could cut energy expenses by $2 million, or more than 25 percent.

Qualified candidates will have knowledge of energy management principles and practices, including energy conservation and monitoring systems along with utility rate schedules. Candidates will have the ability to conduct comprehensive analysis and evaluations of energy operations, and recommend steps for improvement.

At minimum, a bachelor's degree with major coursework in energy management, engineering practices or a related subject area is required.

Update 10-19-2009:  The application period for this position is now closed.

Contact:  Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564, or Gary Gilot, Director of Public Works, 235-9251