Career Opportunity

Swimming Instructor/Pool Lifeguard (3210) – Aquatics – SF Recreation and Parks

Recruitment: REF50577X

Published: March 24, 2025

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

About:

ALL APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT VERIFICATION (PROOF) OF THEIR CERTIFICATIONS AT THE TIME OF FILING APPLICATION.

FAILURE TO SUBMIT THE REQUIRED VERIFICATION WILL RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF YOUR APPLICATION.

Position: Swimming Instructor/Pool Lifeguard (3210) – Aquatics – SF Recreation and Parks
Department: San Francisco Recreation and Park
Job Class: 3210 Swimming Instructor/Pool Lifeguard
Salary Range: $64,116 to $77,896
Role Type: Permanent Civil Service
Hours: Part-time
Exam Type: PBT
Rule: Rule of the List
List Type: Entrance

Recruitment: 153633 / RTF0153632
Application Opening: March 24, 2025
Application Deadline: Announcement may close at any time after 4:00 pm on April 3, 2025.
Contact: Dorothy Young at Dorothy.S.Young@sfgov.org

Company Description

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with the Civil Service Rule 111A.

The current position is located at the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (RPD). The eligible list resulting from this examination may be utilized for future positions in this class in other City departments.

Amid a dynamic and ever-evolving urban landscape, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department stewards one of the premier urban park systems in America.  San Francisco recently became the first city in the United States for which 100% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park.  Considered by San Franciscans to be one of the City’s most popular and effective public agencies, our Department manages and maintains more than 225 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces in San Francisco, including two outside of city limits: Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the High Sierras. Our 4,100- acre system includes 25 recreation centers, 9 swimming pools, 5 golf courses and numerous athletic facilities, including sports courts, ball diamonds, soccer fields and gymnasiums. Included in the department’s responsibilities are Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, the Marina Yacht Harbor, the Palace of Fine Arts, and TPC Harding Park golf course.

More than 2,000 talented individuals are part of our team, from gardeners, foresters, and recreation leaders to park patrol officers, custodians, electricians, painters and more. Our core mission, as it has been throughout our history, is to provide opportunities for San Francisco residents and visitors alike to gather, play, learn, relax, and enjoy nature in the city.

Role description

Job Description
Under general supervision, the Swimming Instructor/Pool Lifeguard position is responsible for the safety of swimmers and enforcement of regulations at a municipally-operated swimming pool. The essential functions of the class include: maintaining discipline in and around swimming pool; conducting rescue operations; administering CPR and First Aid; conducting classes in various phases of swimming, diving and other aquatic activities; coaching swimming teams or other aquatic and sporting groups; directing communication and contact with swimmers and the general public; cleaning and disinfecting the pool, decks, showers, locker rooms and aquatic equipment; writing reports; preparing the pool for aquatic programs; performing some of the duties associated with Class 3213 Aquatics Facility Assistant Supervisor in that individual's absence, and performing related duties as required.

Working Conditions
Nature of work includes: sufficient strength and coordination to perform rescue operations, CPR and First Aid, exposure to water, indoor noise levels, outdoor working conditions, chemicals and mechanical hazards.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

1. Six (6) months (equivalent to 1,040 hours) of recent verifiable experience working as a swimming instructor and/or lifeguard; AND
2. Possession of a Lifeguard Training Certification issued by the American Red Cross or an equivalent certified issuing agency; AND
3. Possession of a Water Safety Instruction Certification issued by the American Red Cross or an equivalent certified issuing agency; AND
4. Possession of a CPR for the Professional Rescuer (CPRFPR) Certification issued by the American Red Cross or an equivalent certified issuing agency.

Conditions of Employment
New hires must be able to obtain the following certifications issued by the American Red Cross within six (6) months of appointment and maintain validity of these certificates throughout length of employment:

• First Aid for Public Safety Personnel in accordance with Title 22 requirements AND
• Oxygen Administration for the Professional Rescuer

Failure to show proof of possession of current/valid First Aid for Public Safety Personnel and Oxygen Administration for the Professional Rescuer certifications after six (6) months of date of hire and throughout length of employment may result in termination of employment.

All employees must keep current/valid ALL required certifications throughout the length of employment. Failure to demonstrate/show proof of current/valid certifications may result in termination of employment.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Verification
Applicants are required to submit verification of qualifying certifications prior to the filing deadline. Verification of qualifying certifications must be verified by providing a copy (.pdf) of the original certification issued by the American Red Cross or an equivalent certified issuing agency and must be attached to the application at the time of filing.  If you are unable to upload the documents, you can scan and email the materials to Dorothy.S.Young@sfgov.org with the subject line: 3210 Verification. 

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying experience at any point in the recruitment and selection process.  Verification of qualifying work experience as a swimming instructor and/or lifeguard must be verified by submitting written documentation, on the employer’s letterhead. The verification of work experience must include the applicant’s full name, the job/position title(s), a description of job duties performed, dates of service, number of hours worked as a swimming instructor / lifeguard, and a signature of the employer.

Note: 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.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedure
Training & Experience Examination (Weight: 100%): Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be sent an online exam link.  The exam is designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas.

The Training & Experience exam link will be emailed to the address listed on the candidate’s online application. Candidates will be required to respond to the Training & Experience exam in the time frame indicated and must submit the completed questionnaire as directed in order to have it evaluated. Responses cannot be changed once submitted.

A passing score must be achieved on the Training & Experience Examination in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List.  Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Note:  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

Eligible List Duration: The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be twelve (12) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Upon approval of the Human Resource Director (see Civil Service Rule 111A.26.5), the eligible list resulting from this announcement may be used by other departments that also use this classification or a similar classification.  To find Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/ASO-Level-Chart.pdf?documentID=21246.

Certification Rule: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of the List. The hiring department may conduct additional selection processes to make final hiring decisions.

Terms of the Announcement and Appeal Rights
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations.  Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting of the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.

What else should I know?

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

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Position Based Testing Information
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Candidates for positions with the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department may be disqualified from consideration should their conviction history not meet the standards established under California Public Resources Code 5164.

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 “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen.

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, @smartrecruiters.com, and notification@careers.sf.gov).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Dorothy Young, at Dorothy.S.Young@sfgov.org.

Race and Social Equity Statement

We believe that parks and open space in San Francisco provides the opportunity to model equitable access for all.  With this belief, San Francisco became the first city in the United States for which 100% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park. The Recreation and Park Department’s goal is to close the gaps and improve equity and access to quality parks and open space, and recreation activities for historically marginalized communities.  

We envision a department that proactively infuses racial and social equity in its internal operations.  With a multi-disciplinary team of talented individuals - gardeners, recreation leaders, park rangers, custodians, craft shop personnel, park and recreation managers and more, the department is committed to doing its part to provide equitable access to parks and programs for all the communities we serve to enjoy, as well as foster a work environment where our differences are celebrated, and everyone has what they need to thrive regardless of their race, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin.

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

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.