SKILLED LABORER - LANDFILL

Dane County; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Dane County is seeking a Skilled Laborer for its Waste and Renewables Department in Madison, WI. This full-time position involves operating heavy equipment, maintaining landfill operations, and ensuring quality service in diverse environmental conditions. Ideal candidates will hold a high school diploma, possess strong skills in equipment handling, and be committed to safety and quality in a dynamic work environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of experience in construction or maintenance.
• Valid Wisconsin Class B CDL required.
• Ability to lift 70 pounds and work outdoors.

Responsibilities

• Operate heavy motorized equipment like bulldozers and dump trucks.
• Maintain and repair leachate collection and gas piping systems.
• Ensure proper disposal of solid waste.

Skills

Operating heavy equipment

Maintenance skills

Customer interaction

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Heavy motorized equipment

Personal computer

Job description

The Dane County Department of Waste and Renewables in Madison, Wisconsin, is recruiting for a full-time (1.0 FTE) Skilled Laborer position. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be invited to complete a written and practical exam. Must be available to work nights, weekends, holidays, and during emergencies or unexpected maintenance events.

The eligibility list created from this posting may be used to fill future Skilled Laborer - Landfill vacancies over the next six (6) months.

COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND INCLUSION

As an employer, we strive to provide a work environment where diversity and differing opinions are valued, creativity is encouraged, continuous learning and improvement are fostered, teamwork and open/honest communication are encouraged, and meeting customer needs through quality service is a shared goal. All employees must be able to demonstrate multicultural competence – the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to work with others who are culturally different from self in meaningful, relevant, and productive ways. Applicants from traditionally underrepresented populations including women and racial and ethnic minorities are especially encouraged to apply.

DEFINITION

Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables (W&R) owns and operates the County’s landfills, household hazardous waste collection site, a construction and demolition recycling facility, various other recycling programs and a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Plant that converts landfill gas to pipeline quality RNG. This classification operates heavy equipment and performs manual work in maintenance or construction at the landfill, Clean Sweep, construction and demolition recycling facility, RNG plant or other offsite locations.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

Operates heavy motorized equipment including motor graders, bulldozers, large capacity loaders, hydrovac truck, sanitary landfill compactors, and other heavy equipment. Makes excavations, digs ditches, and cuts road grades. Hauls dirt, gravel, rock, sand, or other materials. Confines, compacts and covers solid waste. Plows snow and applies ice control materials. Directs trucks or other vehicles with special solid waste to proper disposal areas and rejects loads that are unacceptable for proper disposal. Checks that equipment is serviced with gas, oil, water and lubricants. Performs or assists with manual work in maintenance or construction including cleaning work areas and litter pickup. Installs, repairs or maintains leachate collection and gas piping systems. Drives heavy equipment to transport between sites, to test after repairs, and assists with construction activities. Performs load inspections, keeps simple records. Mows grass, seeds new areas, and inspects landfill cover for erosion. Drives water truck for dust control. Drives concover truck and sprays material for daily cover. Provides general supervision of temporary hire laborers who perform litter clean up and litter pickup. Performs as scale attendant including scale operation through a computerized program and handles cash transactions and provides information to the public. Performs other duties as assigned.

Education, Training and Experience:

Must possess a high school diploma or equivalent and two (2) years of experience in construction or maintenance, or at least six (6) months of operating medium-heavy sized motorized equipment (front end loader, bulldozer, excavator, etc.). An equivalent combination of training and experience may be considered. Applicants who have completed a County sponsored internship program will be considered to have met the minimums of this position.

Special Requirements :

Must have a valid driver’s license, a good driving record and access to reliable personal transportation, or equivalent. Must be available to work nights, weekends, holidays, and during emergencies or unexpected maintenance events. Must be able to be on-call for night and weekend work.

Certifications/Licenses:

Valid Wisconsin Class “B” Commercial Driver’s License required at time of hire. Valid Wisconsin Class “A” Commercial Driver’s License required within 12 months of hire. N (Tanker) endorsement preferred but not required. Everyone who has a commercial driver’s license (“CDL”) must be registered in the US Department of Transportation’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Registration is available at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/register. Applicants must pass drug/alcohol testing after a conditional offer of employment has been made. NCCCO crane operator certification preferred but not required. WDNR NR 524 Certified Landfill Operator License required within 12 months of hire.

Background Check Statement:Some positions may require a criminal background check which can include fingerprinting due to the nature of the job’s responsibilities. Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Law, s. 111.31 – 111.395, Wis. Stats., prohibits discrimination because of an arrest or conviction record. However, Dane County may disqualify an applicant if the position’s responsibilities are substantially related to the applicant’s criminal history (e.g., the nature of the crime and its relationship to the position, whether hiring, transferring or promoting an applicant would pose an unreasonable risk to the business, its employees, customers and vendors, etc.) Management reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Physical and Environmental Work Requirements:

Ability to lift 70 pounds maximum with frequent lifting (up to 50 times a day) and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 40 pounds. Ability to wear a respirator. Ability to enter and work in small confined spaces. Physically capable of running heavy equipment; operating hand tools and power tools; climbing ladders; working from heights; working with poor lighting; and working in conditions of wind, dust, rain, snow, ice, extreme temperatures, and excessive noise. Active landfill construction site that is open in all weather conditions. Unheated transfer station building with several large moving vehicles in close proximity. Maintenance building with multiple pieces of automotive and heavy equipment. Over 75% of work is performed outside. Working with and around chemicals, landfill leachate, and landfill gas.

Knowledge of the methods, materials, and equipment used in the construction and operation of a sanitary landfill, transfer station, compost sites, and other solid waste facilities. Knowledge in the construction of gravel roads, highways, and piping systems. Skill in operating heavy equipment for activities such as cutting to grade, excavation and backfilling of trenches, moving earth, loading trucks with excavators and/or loaders, grading and rolling road surfaces, and operating close to fixed and moving objects. Knowledge of the methods of and ability to perform HDPE pipe welding or PVC pipe installation and repairs. Ability to service and to make minor repairs and adjustments to equipment, ability to do heavy manual work including maintenance of underground piping and pumping systems. Ability to deal tactfully with the public on routine matters and to establish effective relationships with all persons at solid waste facilities, ability to keep accurate reports, ability to read and write, ability to make simple mathematical calculations with accuracy, ability to handle cash and maintain simple records related to cash transactions, ability to operate a personal computer in accordance with standard operating procedures, ability to follow written and oral instructions.