Nursery Specialist - Botanical Gardens - Rec & Parks (3428)

Career Opportunity

Nursery Specialist - Botanical Gardens - Rec & Parks (3428)

Recruitment: RTF0127865-01072094

Published: December 13, 2022

Contact:

Antonio Archuleta - antonio.archuleta@sfgov.org
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Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

Department: Recreation & Park Commission
Job class: 3428-Nursery Specialist
Salary range: $91,312.00 - $111,020.00
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
Exam type: Position Based Test
Rule: Rule of 3
List type: Combined Promotive and Entrance

About:

Application Opening: December 13, 2022
Application Deadline: January 13, 2022 at 5:00 PM
Compensation: $40.6625 - $49.4375/Hourly; $6,504 - $7,910/Monthly; $84,578 - $102,830/Annually

Contact: For questions about this position or how to apply, please contact Shawnda McBeth at shawnda.turner@sfgov.org

About the Recreation and Park Department
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 rangers, 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.

About the San Francisco Botanical Garden

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is finishing construction of a new nursery facility with 3,500 sqft of greenhouse and 5,000 sqft of outdoor growing area. Designed for implementing nursery phytosanitary best management practices and the production of a wide range of nursery stock, the nursery will support the propagation and growing of plants for horticultural displays, plant collection development and plant conservation work. The Nursery Specialist will routinely work with and lead volunteers and staff from both the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the non-profit partner of the Public-Private Partnership.

Role description

Under supervision of the 3430 Chief Nursery Specialist, 0923 Manager II and ultimately the Deputy Director of Parks & Open Spaces, the Nursery Specialist is required to:

Perform propagation tasks for a wide range of species (woody, herbaceous, and tropical); make and set cuttings or grafts; sow seeds; transplant seedlings or rooted cuttings to pots or flats; gather seeds, lay out field crop beds; pot and repot plants.
Perform nursery plant care tasks such as watering potted plants and nursery stock, weeding pots and nursery grounds, sterilize and mix soils for plant propagation and production activities; prepare and apply fertilizers to crops as needed; prune and stake nursery stock.
Make necessary adjustments to ventilation, temperature, humidity and other environmental factors affecting plants; supervise the irrigation and cultivation of all crops.
Prepare floral displays and fill orders for greenhouse stock; inspect nurseries and greenhouses for maintenance needs; and make minor repairs as required.
Follow principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM); research, specify, and execute control tactics such as implementing measures to mitigate soil and water borne pathogens, monitoring pest and predator populations; release of beneficials; preparation and application of fungicides and insecticides, or other pest control methods for use in the nursery and greenhouses.
Keep detailed records about plants in the living inventory for incorporation into the plant records computer database; keep detailed plant propagation records; identify plants in the living collection; keep detailed plant culture and growth records; responsible for participating in plant inventories; maintain detailed records of plant propagation activities and production records; keep detailed IPM records.
Participate in conducting tours; providing plant information to the public; interact with the public; teach classes; write articles for newsletters.
Lead groups of employees, interns and volunteers in the performance of a variety of nursery activities. including propagation and plant care and the maintenance and organization of tools, equipment, hoses and general facility.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Two (2) years of professional experience in the propagation and culture of plants in a commercial or municipal nursery, greenhouse or conservatory environment; AND
Possession of valid Driver’s License; AND
Candidates who become eligible for appointment will be required to obtain a Qualified Applicator’s Certificate (QAC) or a Qualified Applicator’s License (QAL) from the State of California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Incumbents who fail to obtain this certificate or license with a six (6) month time period from the date of appointment will be separated from employment.

Substitution:

Completion of 30 semester/ 45 quarter units in Horticulture, Agronomy or a related field from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience; OR
Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university with major course of study in Horticulture, Agronomy or related field may be substituted for up to two (2) years of required experience.

Verification of Experience and Education

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Failure to provide the required verification when requested may result in rejection of application and/or appointment in this class. Refer to the following links for information on acceptable forms of verification:

Verification Guidelines: http://www.sfdhr.org/index.aspx?page=20#verification
Education Verification: https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification from this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

What else should I know?

Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire (Weight: 100%):
Qualified candidates will be sent a Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire that must be completed by the set date. Candidates will be evaluated on their relative knowledge, skill and ability levels in job-related areas including, but not limited to, knowledge of: techniques, materials and equipment used in propagation, cultivation and installation of horticultural displays and landscapes; directing, delegating, and coordinating the work of a large and complex staff; principles and practices of supervision, including: motivating, training, disciplining, and evaluating the work of subordinate staff; disciplinary practices sufficient to discipline subordinate staff; preparation, management and monitoring of budgets and the development of short and long term work plans; and ability to: design horticultural displays and interior plant installations.

A passing score must be achieved on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidate responses on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire cannot be changed once submitted. Candidates will be placed in rank order according to their final score on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire.

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

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 3 scores. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Exam Type: Combined Promotive and Entrance

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

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1 and Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this announcement and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date.

In line with the Official Public Health Order to slow the spread of COVID-19, “shelter-in-place” has been issued for all San Francisco residents that is expected to be in effect until further notice. As a result, Department of Human Resources (DHR)’s office (located at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103) is currently closed to the general public. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the Exam Analyst listed at the end this job ad.

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 vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

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.

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.