Career Opportunity

Urban Forestry Inspector (3435) - Rec and Parks (Permanent Exempt)

Recruitment: RTF0155711-01096759

Published: May 05, 2025

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

About:

Application Opening: Monday, May 5, 2025
Application Deadline: Friday, May 16, 2025
Appointment Type: Full Time, Permanent Exempt appointment (limited to 3 years). This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. 
Contact: For questions about this position or how to apply, please contact Antonio Archuleta at antonio.archuleta@sfgov.org

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.

Urban Forestry Section
The Urban Forestry Section consists primarily of Arborist Technician, Gardeners and General Laborers responsible for maintaining over 131,000 trees on 4,196 acres of public parkland in City parks, identified Natural Areas and public golf courses. Major sites include Golden Gate Park and Stern Grove.

Role description

Under the direction of Rec and Park's Forester, Urban Forestry Inspector is responsible for assessing tree conditions, maintaining detailed inventory records, and coordinating maintenance and removal activities. The essential duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Assess the condition of trees and vegetation in Recreation and Parks-managed parks and open spaces to determine health, risk, and maintenance needs, using standardized evaluation methods and reporting tools;
2. Maintain comprehensive tree records including species, condition assessments, maintenance history and risk evaluations to support proactive forest management and planning, optimize resource allocation and improve public safety;
3. Implement a GIS-based tree inventory database for Rec and Parks to optimize Urban Forestry Management;
4. Implement GIS-based work order system to improve planning, scheduling and tracking of tree maintenance and reforestation activities;
5. Coordinate with RPD staff and contractors to plan and schedule tree hazard evaluations and  tree-related work to ensure safe and effective implementation for urban forestry operations;
6. Respond to and resolve public complaints regarding trees and urban forestry operations to maintain public trust and operational transparency.
7. Assist with addressing emergency tree situations including tree assessments,  pruning and removal during storm events or critical response situations to mitigate hazards and restore normalcy;
8. Performs additional duties as assigned.

How to qualify

Experience: Three (3) years of verifiable experience in tree planting and maintenance activity, inspecting and evaluating trees; writing reports, and making presentations. Experience in pruning trees alone is not qualifying experience, AND

License and Certification:
Possession of Arborist Certification through the International Society of Arboriculture a plus or ability to obtain certification within 18 months of appointment;

AND

Possession and maintenance of a valid Class C Driver License.

Substitution: College-level coursework equivalent to two years (60 units) in arboriculture, urban forestry or horticulture may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.

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

Desirable Qualifications: The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Experience working in a public parkland environment; and
• Experience in working with GIS-based applications, and other applications related to urban forest management

Verification of Education and Experience:
Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.   

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.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedure
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview.

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

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

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. 

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

Drug Test Requirement: Applicants for positions in this classification who are not currently employed by the City and County of San Francisco in a safety-sensitive position represented by Local 261 are required to pass pre-employment drug (including marijuana) and alcohol testing upon reasonable suspicion or after-work related accident. Applicants with positive result from pre-employment drug test will be restricted from hire in safety-sensitive positions for six months after the date of the positive test.

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.

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.