Are you passionate about green building and eager to shape the future of the industry?
Become a GPRO Instructor with Urban Green Council to inspire and train the workforce on sustainability and high-performance building practices.
Urban Green Council is a NYC-based nonprofit whose mission is to decarbonize buildings for healthy and resilient communities; a core part of this mission is training the building workforce. GPRO (which stands for “Green Professional”) is a certificate training program that teaches the people who build, renovate, and operate buildings how to integrate high-performance practices into their daily work. There are 6 GPRO courses available to teach and deliver, each catered to different trades within the building and construction industry. Working with GPRO Delivery Partners and Instructors across North America, we’ve trained over 26,000 building professionals to date!
We are seeking experienced, driven, and knowledgeable Instructors to teach our GPRO courses and equip the workforce with essential skills in green building.
The person who will best succeed in this role
- Has knowledge and passion for sustainability and high performance buildings. This person has professional experience in the green building industry and a keen interest in staying up to date with the latest industry trends. They have a willingness to continually learn and adapt to new developments in green building practices.
- Possess excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills. This person is a skilled communicator and confident public speaker, preferably with a background in training or presenting technical information. Motivated and enthusiastic about teaching, they effectively engage students by leveraging real-world experience, responding to student needs, simplifying complex topics and facilitating dynamic discussions.
- Has specific expertise. This person has direct experience related to the GPRO course that they intend to teach, ensuring that our instructors bring the highest level of knowledge and experience to the classroom. See below for more details on the required expertise for each course.
- Has weekday availability. This person has a flexible schedule that has availability to teach classes during the workweek for Urban Green and/or GPRO Delivery Partners (with ample advanced notice). This position is not full-time; it is contracted hourly based on demand.
Instructor responsibilities
- Participate in instructor certification trainings, surveys, and calls to stay up-to-date with the curriculum.
- Thoroughly review course content and prepare to deliver an engaging and high-quality learning experience.
- Teach course using the approved GPRO curriculum, including course slides, instructor notes, workbook, etc.
- Create an engaging and dynamic classroom experience. Motivate students to actively participate throughout the course and accommodate different learning styles.
- Debrief with Urban Green staff regularly to provide feedback on curriculum and course delivery.
- Administer and submit required documentation following courses, including attendance records and student evaluations.
- Stay up-to-date with current practices and continually improve knowledge and understanding of the field.
Required experience
Each GPRO course requires different expertise. The instructor of each course should have the relevant work experience described below:
Fundamentals of Building Green
- 5 years professional and practical experience in green building or sustainability, or a degree in environmentally related fields
- Relevant jobs include: architect, engineer, building and construction professional, sustainability manager, energy consultant, HERS rater, energy auditor
Operations & Maintenance Essentials
- 5 years minimum professional and practical experience working in building operations & maintenance field
- Relevant jobs include: building superintendent, operator, facilities and property manager, stationary and building engineers, energy consultant
Construction Management
- 5 years minimum professional and practical experience working in building construction or a related field
- Relevant jobs include: construction manager, general contractor, experienced tradesperson, trade foreperson, owner’s representative, project manager, site superintendent.
Mechanical
- 5 years minimum professional and practical experience working in the HVAC industry.
- Relevant jobs include: HVAC contractor, HVAC installer, journeyperson in HVAC trades.
Plumbing
- 5 years minimum professional and practical experience working
- Relevant jobs include: plumbing contractor, plumbing installer, journeyperson in the plumbing trade.
Electrical Systems
- 5 years minimum professional and practical experience working
- Relevant jobs include: electrical contractor, electrical installer, journeyperson in the electrical trades.
How to apply
To apply, please complete the GPRO Instructor Application.
If your application is approved, you will be required to participate in a GPRO Instructor Training. Participating in a GPRO Instructor Training does not automatically qualify you as a GPRO Certified Instructor. Following the Instructor Training, Urban Green will evaluate and approve candidates.
Green Professional training (GPRO)
Learn the skills you need to build, renovate and operate sustainable and high-performance buildings.
We educate building professionals
We train people who design, construct and operate buildings locally and nationally.