Parks and Grounds Maintenance Worker II

County of Sonoma; Santa Rosa (CA); On-site; USD 62,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary advancement

Paid time off

Health premium contributions

Post-retirement health reimbursement

Retirement benefits

Parental leave

Professional development

Job summary

County of Sonoma seeks a Parks and Grounds Maintenance Worker II to care for Sonoma County Regional Parks, grounds, trails, buildings, and marinas. You will perform pruning, mowing, planting, and weed control to support environmental stewardship and public enjoyment.

The role requires a valid CA driver’s license, outdoor work in all weather, and potential lead responsibilities on projects. Benefits include health, retirement, and paid time off.

Qualifications

• Two years of experience in semi-skilled building construction, repair, maintenance, or grounds keeping work including use of trucks and hand tools.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Ability to read and write in English and perform basic arithmetic.

Responsibilities

• Maintain Sonoma County Regional Parks grounds, trails, buildings, and marinas.
• Prune, cut trees, mow, plant, and weed; perform landscaping tasks.
• Possibly serve as lead worker on special projects and guide other staff.

Skills

Landscaping tools

Power tools

Chainsaws

Mowing equipment

Construction & maintenance

Job description

Position Information

Preserve and maintain the parks of Sonoma County by joining Regional Parks as a Maintenance Worker II.

Starting salary at $33.24/hour ($69,375/year) and a competitive total compensation package!*

About Regional Parks

Sonoma County Regional Parks provides essential opportunities for people to connect with nature throughout the more than 60 parks and beaches from Petaluma to Gualala and Sonoma to Bodega Bay. Each park offers something different, from wild landscapes, miles of trails, sports fields, playgrounds, or campgrounds. Regional Parks contributes to the vibrancy and well-being of the community by expanding access to recreation experiences, serving as responsible stewards of cultural and natural resources, and ensuring that our parks are clean, safe, and welcoming.

About the Position

As a Parks and Grounds Maintenance Worker II, you will help to maintain Sonoma County Regional Parks, grounds, trails, buildings, and marinas for the betterment of our community and environmental stewardship. You will perform a variety of maintenance tasks, repair, and landscaping duties, including pruning, tree felling, mowing, planting, and weeding. This position may serve as a lead worker on special projects and provide guidance to other Parks Maintenance Worker staff.

An ideal candidate for this role will be self-motivated, have a passion for maintaining nature, and possess many of the following:

• Experience using landscaping and mechanical tools such as mowers, string trimmers, chainsaws, blowers, and power and hand manual tools
• Experience in construction and maintenance of gravel roads, asphalt roads, retaining walls, fences, concrete pads, park amenities, and water treatment systems
• Skilled in working with a variety of building materials and applying effective problem-solving techniques to complete projects safely and efficiently
• Familiarity with environmental field work, including habitat restoration, plantings, erosion control, trail drainage improvements, and related projects
• Ability to safely operate four-wheel drive trucks, trailers, tractors, mowers, and utility vehicles
• Knowledge of plants and experience installing, maintaining, repairing, programming, and troubleshooting irrigation systems in landscaped areas and sports fields
• Outstanding communication and customer service skills to effectively interact with staff, volunteers, and the public

Please note: This position requires possession of a valid Class C driver's license, wearing a uniform, working outdoors in all weather conditions and occasional weekends.

The County of Sonoma is interested in finding the best candidate for this position and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, education, and training to meet the minimum qualifications, as described below. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and transferable skill set and how they set you up to be the best candidate for this position.

What We Offer

Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

• Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement health insurance/benefits
• Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
• Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
• Additional Benefits - Excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, employee assistance program, professional development, and more
• Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education

*Salary is negotiable within the established range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found in the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Memorandum Of Understanding (SEIU MOU) and our Employee Benefits Directory.

This recruitment is being conducted to fill one full-time position in the Regional Parks Department. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) positions as they occur during the active status of the list. Qualified County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: Any combination of education, training, and experience which would likely provide for possession of the knowledge and abilities herein. Normally, this would include two years of experience in semi-skilled building construction, repair, maintenance, or grounds keeping work which included the use of trucks, light mechanical machines, and hand tools.

License: Possession of a valid driver license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position. A valid State of California Class A Commercial Driver's License, including valid and appropriate California Endorsements is desirable.

Please note: The position advertised on this announcement requires possession of a valid California Driver's License

Desirable Qualifications: Depending upon assignment, possession of one or more of the additional licenses and/or certificates is desirable: An Arborist certificate; a general contractor's license; a Pesticide Applicator's license; a Playground Safety Inspector certificate; Pool Operator certificate; a Water Treatment Operator (T1) certificate issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board; and/or other comparable certificates.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of: basic construction materials, safety practices, and tools commonly used in parks and building construction, repair maintenance, and grounds keeping work; ADA requirements for building and construction projects; semi-skilled carpentry, welding, masonry, plumbing, and electrical systems; the calibration and mixing of herbicide or pesticide sprays, and of other means of controlling weeds, insects, and parasites; the techniques related to the care of lawns, plants, shrubs, and trees; propagation, planting, cultivation, pruning, and fertilization; preventative maintenance and safe operation of trucks, gardening equipment, machines, and power tools; maintenance and operation of water and septic/sewer systems in parks; hazmat and proper disposal of raw sewage.

Ability to: Perform a variety of light and heavy unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled parks and building construction, repair, and maintenance tasks; effectively assign, coordinate, and oversee the work of other assigned personnel engaged in the maintenance and care of parks and grounds; apply appropriate techniques related to using, maintaining, and repairing power tools; set priorities to comply with departmental work management systems; accurately complete report forms, keep simple records, make simple reports, and provide materials and cost estimates for supervisor's review; perform landscaping work to include the propagation, transplanting, cultivation, pruning, grafting, trimming, spraying, and fertilization of lawns, plants, shrubs, and trees; plan, install, and maintain a variety of hydraulic and electric sprinkler and drip-irrigation systems; drive, operate, haul, and/or adjust a variety of equipment, such as trucks, trailers, forklifts, tractors, rollers, trenchers, water tenders, riding power mowers, power edgers, blowers, aerators, renovators, chain saws, wood chippers, power sprayers, skip loaders, excavators, bulldozers, backhoes, and related equipment; effectively answer questions from the general public; work independently and as a member of a crew; establish and maintain effective working relationships; problem solve and make sound decisions; follow oral and written instructions; read and write in English; perform basic arithmetic calculations; use electronic equipment to communicate.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Responses to supplemental questions will be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:

An Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Personally identifiable information (PII) is removed from the standard application fields and applicable attachments. This PII blind screening practice redacts a candidate's personal information that could potentially influence or bias the scoring process. Personal information includes the applicant's name, former last name, address, phone number, email, driver's license number, school name, education start and end dates, age, date of birth, gender, and race. This PII blind screening practice helps contribute to a fair and equitable examination process. Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.

Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

Additional Information: A background investigation is required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to candidates.

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

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