Grounds Caretaker

University of California; San Bernardino (CA); On-site; USD 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

San Bernardino Community College District is seeking a Grounds Maintenance Worker to perform routine grounds care including landscaping, mowing, irrigation, and minor repairs on campus grounds and athletic fields.

Requires up to high school equivalency, six months' experience, valid driver’s license and ability to obtain QAC within eight months; outdoor work in various conditions; pre-employment checks apply.

Qualifications

• Equivalent to completion of high school.
• Six (6) months of general grounds maintenance experience.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license.
• Ability to obtain a California Department of Pesticide Regulation QAC within eight months.

Responsibilities

• Performs routine ground maintenance on lawns, flowerbeds, athletic fields, and landscaped areas.
• Mows, edges, weeds, trims shrubs, and applies pesticides as directed.
• Maintains and repairs grounds equipment and tools; performs minor repairs.
• Operates irrigation systems; assists in installation and maintenance.
• Cleans drainage systems and maintains safety protocols.
• Assists with pot hole repair, concrete mixing, and trenching as assigned.
• Performs duties in line with district safety policies.

Skills

Grounds maintenance

Irrigation systems

Equipment operation

Safety compliance

Problem solving

Communication

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Driver's license

QAC certification

Job description

Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job; however, any additional duties will be reasonably related to this class

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Performs a variety of grounds maintenance and repair work in the care and maintenance of District grounds including landscaped areas and athletic fields

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

Receives general direction from appropriate supervisor; checks with supervisor regarding non-routine assignments. May provide technical and functional direction to assigned student workers.

REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES

The following duties are typical for this classification.

1. Performs routine ground maintenance duties on District ground including landscaped areas and athletic fields; mows, edges, weeds and maintains lawns, fields, flowerbeds and other landscaped areas; trims and prunes shrubs, hedges, and trees; applies repellents and pesticides.
2. Maintains lawns, grounds, and other cultivated areas; prepares areas for planting by clearing, grading, fertilizing, and watering ground; prepares areas for flowerbeds by roto-tiling, weed oiling, and laying plastic; plant flowers, shrubs, trees; and lays rock.
3. Picks up leaves, paper and trash in grounds areas; cleans and removes weeds from areas such as sidewalks, parking lots, and roads; dumps trash cans; removes rodents and/or reptiles from campus area as necessary.
4. Operates a variety of grounds maintenance equipment and tools, including gang movers, roto-tillers, tractors, blowers, edger’s, saws, and other similar equipment; performs equipment safety inspections.
5. Maintains and performs minor maintenance on hand and basic power mowers, sweepers, saws, and other similar grounds tools; makes minor repairs such as sharpening blades.
6. May assist in repairing potholes, mixing concrete, marking athletic fields or parking lots, moving permanent exterior furniture, digging trenches, sign or fence postholes.
7. Operates and assists in the installation, maintenance, and repair of the District’s irrigation system as assigned.
8. Cleans storm drainage systems as assigned.
9. Assumes assigned responsibility for the use of application of pesticides.
10. Maintains special cultivated areas on District properties such as, but not limited to golf course greens, athletic fields, specimen areas, green belts, planters and turf areas.
11. Utilizes proper safety precautions related to all work performed.
12. Uses computers in the processing of work requests, campus/district communication, and material and/or information searches.
13. Perform other duties related to the primary job duties.

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Environmental Exposure Tolerance

• Performing under physically demanding conditions
• Accepts and endures the necessity of working in unpleasant or physically demanding conditions
• Shows established adaptation and performance under unpleasant or physically demanding conditions

Safety Focus

• Showing vigilance and care in identifying and addressing health risks and safety hazards
• Maintains high level of conscientious safety practice

General Physical Ability

• Using strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination
• Applying motor and perceptual abilities requiring no specific technique, training or conditioning

Professional and Technical Expertise

• Applying technical subject matter to the job **
• Knows the rudimentary concepts of performing the essential technical operations

Adaptability

• Responding positively to change and modifying behavior as the situation requires**
• Accept and adjust to changes and the unfamiliar

Innovation

• Imagining and devising new and better ways of doing things**
• Fix what is broken; find solutions and fixes with resources at hand
• Finds new approaches to performing familiar tasks
• Create and invent new ideas; envision the unexpected, unexplored, untried**

Critical Thinking

• Analytically and logically evaluates information to resolve problems
• Follow guide, SOP or other step by step procedures for locating the source of a problem and fixing it
• May detect ambiguous, incomplete, or conflicting information or instructions**

Informing

• Proactively obtaining and sharing information

Mechanical Insight

• Chooses the right tool for the job
• Applies principles of mechanical advantage to get the work done
• Follows step-by-step assembly procedures, troubleshooting guides, and simple diagrams

Customer Focus

• Attending to the needs and expectations of customer
• Seeks information about the immediate and longer term needs of the customer
• Anticipates what the customer may want or expect in a product or service
• Works across organizational boundaries to meet customer needs **

Attention to Detail

• Focusing on the details of work content
• Shows care and thoroughness in adhering to process and procedures that assure quality
• Applies knowledge and skill in recognizing and evaluating details of work**
• Applies skilled final touches on products

Using Technology

• Working with electronic hardware and software applications
• Using basic features and functions of software and hardware

Valuing Diversity

• Shows acceptance of individual differences
• Welcomes input and inclusion of others who may be different from oneself
• Shows understanding and empathy for the challenges of groups seeking inclusion or dealing with perceived discrimination

**Lead, Advanced or Senior Level Positions

Education/Training:

• Equivalent to completion of high school.

Experience:

• Six (6) months of general grounds maintenance experience in at least one of the following: irrigation systems, gold course greens, pesticide application, or hardscape repair.

License or Certificate:

• Possession of a valid driver’s license.
• Possession of, or ability to obtain, within eight (8) months of employment, at District’s expense, a California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Qualified Applicator Certificate (QAC) for the use and application of chemical pesticides within or adjacent to District properties.

Desired qualifications:

• Commercial irrigation controller experience.
• Commercial landscape equipment experience.
• Asphalt repair experience.
• Experience in workorder systems.

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in an outdoor field environment; travel from site to site; exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals, noxious weeds and plants, pollens, insect stings, noise, dust, grease, smoke, fumes, noxious odors, gases, and all types of weather and temperature conditions; works near moving mechanical parts; work and/or walk on various types of surfaces including slippery or uneven surfaces and rough terrain.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in a field environment; walk and stand for prolonged periods of time’ frequently stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, crawl, climb, reach, and twist; to frequently push, pull lift, and/or carry moderate to heavy amounts of weight up to 50 pounds; to occasionally lift, carry, push, and/or pull heavier amounts of weight with or without assistance; dexterity of hands and fingers to operate specialized hand and power tools and equipment; operate assigned equipment and vehicles; verbally communicate to exchange information.

Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction; vision sufficient to read computer screens and printed documents; and to operate assigned equipment.

Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.

The person selected for hire will be required to complete the following pre-employment requirements:

• Submit to and successfully pass DOJ live scan/fingerprinting. Cost of live-scan services to be borne by candidate.
• Sealed official transcript(s) in envelope from institution or electronic copies emailed directly from institution (for positions with higher education requirement)
• Tuberculosis (TB) risk assessment
• Other pre-employment requirements may be required depending on the position (i.e. certifications or licenses; see job posting qualifications section for details).

Successful completion of all pre-employment requirements is mandatory to be eligible for employment. These requirements are in accordance with the San Bernardino Community College District’s Administrative Procedures and Board Policies.

FORECASTED RECRUITMENT TIMELINE

Internal HR Screening: 9/7/2-9/8/26

Testing: 9/8/26-9/15/26

1st Level Interviews: 9/28/26-10/6/26

2nd Level Interviews: 10/7/26-10/12/26

Board Date: 11/13/26

Projected Hire Date: 11/16/26