Career Opportunity

Gardener - Port of San Francisco (3417)

Recruitment: RTF0135343-01146941

Published: May 20, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

Appointment Type: This is a Permanent Exempt (PEX), Full-Time position with an anticipated duration of up to three (3) years. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and incumbents are considered “at will” and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:

• Application Opening: 5/19/23
• Application Deadline: 6/5/23
• Compensation Range: $71,604 - $87,152 annually
• Recruitment ID: RTF0135343-01146941

The Port of San Francisco is an enterprise agency of the City and County of San Francisco and is governed by a Commission of five members appointed by the Mayor. The Port Commission is responsible for overseeing a broad range of waterfront commercial, maritime, and public access facilities that are held in public trust for the people of California. The Port’s jurisdiction covers approximately 7.5 miles of waterfront land from Pier 98, near Hunter’s Point in the southern part of San Francisco, to Fisherman’s Wharf in the northern part of the City.

The Port’s diverse business portfolio includes over 550 ground, commercial, retail, office, industrial and maritime industrial leases including cargo shipping, layberthing, excursion boats, ferry boats, fishing and fish processing/distribution, tourism, filming, harbor services, and cruise operations. With some of the most flexible cargo handling facilities on the West Coast, as well as naturally deep water, the Port can handle various types of cargo such as, dry-bulk, neo-bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and project cargoes.

The Port of San Francisco has many internationally recognized landmarks such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, the Exploratorium, the Ferry Building and Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. With its unique and historic properties, the Port is home to a variety of tenants and uses. The Port Commission over the last five decades has led a remarkable transformation of the Port; maintaining its industrial maritime heritage while developing new uses, including commercial and public activities, that have helped San Francisco remain one of the most visited and popular cities on the globe.

For more information about the Port of San Francisco, visit SFPort.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.   

Role description

Under general supervision of the Streets Supervisor II or Park Section Supervisor, the gardener will be responsible for watering, trimming, planting, fertilizing, and general care of plants and trees. Gardener will use a variety of hand tools and powered equipment such as trucks, riding lawn mower, line trimmer, water trailer, chain saws, and similar equipment. 

The essential functions of this position include:

• Prepares soil by rototilling, grading, spading, and fertilizing to promote plant growth and to prevent drainage problems.
• Maintains plants by planting, transplanting, cultivating, irrigating and pruning to promote plant growth and to prevent plant deterioration.
• Identifies and destroys pests and diseases on plants and/or lawn areas by performing techniques such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control and/or mitigate the pests and diseases.
• 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 squares, parks, playgrounds, thoroughfares and/or other landscape areas by clearing brush and debris, sweeping and raking areas, cleaning up litter, clearing drains, and preventing hazardous conditions.
• Operates power and manual equipment and/or tools such as mowers, water equipment, gopher traps, and other types of gardening equipment and/or tools to assist in maintaining landscape areas.
• 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 athletic fields, sandboxes in parks, public easements, restroom facilities, irrigating systems, and other ground and facility areas to ensure clean and safe premises.
• May be assigned to work with and/or direct the work of park volunteers.

How to qualify

1. 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 

2. 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

3. 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 

4. Completion of 3,000 hours of the City and County of San Francisco's gardener apprenticeship program;

AND

License and Certification: Possession of a valid California driver’s license (to be presented at time of appointment).   Employees must be insurable under the Port’s automobile liability insurance.  Insurability must be maintained throughout employment.

NOTE:

The nature of the work may require exposure to inclement weather conditions and may require exposure to infectious and/or hazardous materials and/or conditions. All positions require driving. Some positions may require riding mowers and driving small utility vehicles. Some positions may require weekend or shift work.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The 3417 Gardener requires the ability to safely and correctly lift, drag and/or move with assistance large and/or heavy plants and equipment to truck bed level and the ability to kneel, bend and squat for considerable periods of time. The probationary period will be used to evaluate these abilities.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#verification. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures: Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience and education. Additional mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidate’s qualifications.  Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to continue in the selection process.  Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement in the process.

Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Vitra Thai at vitra.thai@sfport.com. 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco: 

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.