Tree Warden

City of Medford; Medford (MA); On-site; USD 69,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Medford is seeking a Tree Warden to lead the Forestry Division within the Department of Public Works. You will oversee maintenance, planting, inventory, and assessments of public shade trees and municipal trees, guiding projects and ensuring safety and compliance.

Qualifications include an associates degree in arboriculture or urban forestry, 5 years of relevant experience (8 preferred), a valid driver’s license, and MCA/ISA certification.

Qualifications

• Associates degree in arboriculture, urban forestry, or equivalent.
• 5 years relevant experience, 8 preferred.
• Massachusetts Certified Arborist (MCA) or ISA Certified Arborist certificate.
• Valid driver’s license required.

Responsibilities

• Direct the Forestry Division and oversee projects and tasks to care for public shade trees and municipal trees.
• Direct and oversee pruning for public safety and tree health.
• Direct and oversee removal of dead or dying trees.
• Issue permits for removal of public shade trees, including hearings per M.G.L. Ch 87.
• Identify planting locations for new trees and oversee planting.
• Maintain and update GIS-based tree inventory data.
• Inspect trees to determine potential hazards and oversee utility arboriculture operations.
• Supervise Forestry Division staff and manage contracts and grants for tree work.

Skills

Public communication

Team leadership

Problem solving

Public safety awareness

GIS software

Education

Associates degree in arboriculture/urban forestry

Tools

GIS software

Smartphones/tablets in field

Job description

POSITION: Tree Warden #J2026-0042

DEPARTMENT: DPW - Forestry

HOURS OF WORK: Full-time (40 hours/weekly) Monday to Friday: 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM; nights and weekends may be required

SALARY: Weekly: $1,518.31 - $1,694.84 (Non-Union NPW17)

Basic Function:

The Tree Warden is responsible for carrying out the tasks and projects required for the care, preservation, maintenance, inventory, control, planting, and assessments of public shade trees as well as other City of Medford trees per the direction of the Commissioner of Public Works. The Tree Warden is the head of the Forestry Division of the Department of Public Works

Responsibilities:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Direct the Forestry Division and oversee projects and tasks to provide care and control of public shade trees, and trees located on municipal property.
• Direct and oversee pruning of trees for public safety and tree health.
• Direct and oversee the removal of trees that are dead or dying.
• Issue permits for the removal of public shade trees, including coordinating and holding tree removal hearings pursuant to M.G.L. Ch 87.
• Identify appropriate planting locations for new tree plantings
• Direct and oversee the planting of new trees.
• Perform and submit regular updates and revisions to the GIS based tree Inventory in coordination with the Engineering Division using electronic field equipment such as smart phones, tablets, or other device to capture GPS location and field data.
• Perform inspections and assessments of trees to determine potential hazards
• Oversee arboricultural operations of utility companies working on municipal trees.
• Supervision of Forestry Division staff.
• Prepare bid packages for contract tree work including new plantings.
• Manage projects and contracts relating to tree work and associated grants including accepting tree work by contractors and authorizing payments.
• Prepare grant proposals to obtain additional funding for improving or providing care to municipal tree assets.
• Manage work orders and tasks assigned to the Forestry Division
• Adhere to ANSI safety standards.
• Maintain Medford's Tree City USA status.
• Perform other related job duties as required.

Education & Experience:

Any equivalent combination of the below-listed education, training, certification, and experience, is qualifying:

• Associates degree in arboriculture, urban forestry, or equivalent.
• 5 years relevant experience, 8 preferred.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Massachusetts Certified Arborist (MCA) or International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist certificate.

Knowledge, Skills & Licenses:

• Excellent knowledge of relevant Massachusetts General Laws related to essential functions; tree pruning and care methods. Excellent knowledge and skills on tree identification, including both the common and scientific names of species and varieties. Knowledge of arboriculture and state laws concerning pesticides and herbicide application.
• Strong communication, problem solving and customer service skills. Strong computer and technology skills. Strong management skills. Strong leadership skills. Strong supervisory skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. Ability to maintain good public relations and to maintain effective collaborative working relationships with City of Medford staff, department heads, fellow employees, officials and general public. Respond to inquiries in a courteous and professional manner. Ability to meet deadlines. Ability to work independently without daily direction. Ability to use smart phones or other tablet style devices while in the field

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT:

• While performing the duties of this position, an employee is regularly required to sit, talk or hear, in person and by telephone, use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate standard office equipment (such as calculators, copiers, typewriters, fax and personal computers) and reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus to ready and use typically used tools during the work assignment, including smart phones and tablets
• Standard indoor office environment, and field work via a vehicle on city streets, parks, and other municipally controlled land. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.
• Vehicles driving and field crew supervision in an urban environment with expected environmental conditions such as vehicle and pedestrian traffic, weather extremes such as high and low temperatures, high concentrations of dust, dirt, grease, fumes, smoke, or intense odors; and loud noises, where continued attention must be given to safety protocols; during emergency situations, work may be performed under considerable pressure.
• Uses moderate physical strength and effort occasionally, such as moving, lifting, carrying, and stacking heavy objects, and pulling, pushing, standing, or walking for extended periods of time.
• Routinely reads documents for general understanding and analytical purposes, including handwriting, maps, blueprints, and forms; inspects surroundings and fine details to assess conditions of materials, equipment, landscapes, and buildings; and reviews detailed information displayed on a computer screen.

The City of Medford is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/504 Employer Residents of the City of Medford, Women, People of Color, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply.