Gardener (3417) - SF Citywide (X00126)

City and County of San Francisco•San Francisco, CA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam. If you pass the exam, you will be emailed your score and ranking on the eligible candidate list. When a department has an open position with this job classification they will use this eligible list to hire for that position. Departments will contact candidates from this list to gauge interest in their specific roles. San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city on the forefront of economic growth and innovation, urban development, arts and entertainment, as well as social issues and change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City’s commitment to heighten the quality of life for San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco. The City and County of San Francisco employs more than 28,000 individuals in various professional jobs in a diverse array of services such as maintaining City streets & parks, driving buses and cable cars, providing public health services, keeping the streets safe, and firefighting. Under general supervision, this position performs routine maintenance and landscaping renovation tasks to care for natural and synthetic athletic fields, squares, parks, green infrastructure, playgrounds, stadiums, thoroughfares, medians, natural areas and/or other landscaped areas.

Requirements

Three (3) years of verified experience in the care, construction, or maintenance of landscaped areas by planting, weeding, fertilizing, irrigating, pruning, and controlling pests in the following areas: sports and athletic natural turf fields, golf courses, parks, ornamental gardens, arboreta, greenhouses, nurseries, botanical gardens and/or public landscaped areas
OR Possession of a Certificate of Achievement from an accredited college or university in horticulture, landscaping, gardening, nursery and garden center operation, commercial cut flower and greenhouse production or related field and two (2) years of verifiable experience in the care, construction or maintenance of landscaped areas by planting, weeding, fertilizing, irrigating, pruning, and controlling pests in the following areas: sports and athletic natural turf fields, golf courses, parks, ornamental gardens, arboreta, greenhouses, nurseries, botanical gardens and/or public landscaped areas
OR Possession of an Associate of Arts or Science degree from an accredited college or university in horticulture, landscaping, gardening, nursery and garden center operation, commercial cut flower and greenhouse production or related field and eighteen (18) months of verifiable experience in the care, construction or maintenance of landscaped areas by planting, weeding, fertilizing, irrigating, pruning, and controlling pests in the following areas: sports and athletic natural turf fields, golf courses, parks, ornamental gardens, arboreta, greenhouses, nurseries, botanical gardens and/or public landscaped areas
OR Completion of 3,000 hours of the City and County of San Francisco's gardener apprenticeship program
Requires possession of a valid California driver's license.
Candidates must be insurable under the department’s automobile liability insurance policy.
After employment, employees must maintain insurability and valid driver license.
Some positions require twelve (12) months verifiable experience in the installation and maintenance of interior landscapes which includes plant identification and the ability to recognize pest and disease that are specific to interior landscape plants.
Ability to lift, drag and/or move with assistance large and/or heavy plants and equipment to truck bed level and ability to kneel, bend, and squat for considerable periods of time safely and correctly.

Nice To Haves

Ability to use & care for gardening equipment and/or tools
Knowledge of pest control
Knowledge of erosion control
Safety knowledge
Knowledge of procedures used to maintain landscaped areas
Knowledge of plant identification
Knowledge of irrigation systems
Interpersonal skills

Responsibilities

Preparing soil by rototilling, spading and fertilizing
Maintaining plants by planting, transplanting, cultivating, irrigation and pruning
Identifying a large variety of plant material and their cultural requirements
Identifying pests and diseases, performing techniques such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control or mitigate the pests and diseases
Maintaining lawns by raking, edging, mowing, watering, weeding, aerating, fertilizing, and over seeding
Implementing habitat restoration and wildlife enhancement projects
Maintaining grounds by clearing brush and debris, sweeping and raking public activity areas, cleaning up litter and clearing drains
Changing sprinkler heads when required
Operating power and manual equipment and/or tools such as mowers, watering equipment, gopher traps, and other types of gardening equipment and/or tools
Performing routine maintenance on landscaping equipment and/or tools to ensure they are in good working condition
Performing general maintenance tasks on grounds and facilities to ensure clean and safe premises
Preparing soil by rototilling, grading, spading, and fertilizing to promote plant growth and to prevent drainage problems.
Performs irrigation system inspections to make necessary adjustments and repairs when appropriate; Implements irrigation system best practices to comply with water conservation mandates.
Performs regular inspections on plants and/or lawn areas to identify, manage control and/or mitigate the pests and diseases by performing techniques such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
Maintains lawn areas by raking, edging, mowing, watering, weeding, aerating, fertilizing, over seeding and/or other landscaping function(s) to promote lawn health and erosion control.
Maintains grounds of natural and synthetic athletic fields, squares, parks, playgrounds, stadiums, thoroughfares and/or other landscape areas by clearing brush and debris, sweeping and raking areas, cleaning up litter, clearing drains, and preventing hazardous conditions.
Performs routine maintenance on gardening equipment and/or tools to ensure they are maintained and in good working condition.
Performs general maintenance duties on grounds and facilities such as natural and synthetic athletic fields, sandboxes in parks, public easements, restroom facilities, irrigation systems and safe premises.
May be assigned to work with and/or direct the work of park volunteers.
May interact with the public, staff, community groups, and/or other City departments.
Positions at Airport may also be required to assist with installation of interior landscapes designs including plant beds, planters and other decorative elements; and assist with identifying and selecting plant species suited for indoor environments.