Wildlife Grounds Specialist

San Diego Humane Society; Ramona (CA); On-site; USD 30,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

403(b) retirement plan

Pet adoptions and vaccines

Job summary

San Diego Humane Society is hiring a full-time Wildlife Grounds Specialist for the Ramona campus in Ramona, CA. The role focuses on maintaining native plant areas, gardens, irrigation, and habitat support to aid project wildlife.

You will work 40 hours per week, performing routine groundskeeping, plant care, and collaborative habitat planning with the wildlife team to support animal welfare and campus appearance.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Minimum 1 year in horticulture, landscaping, groundskeeping, or related field.
• Experience with power tools and saws preferred.

Responsibilities

• Maintain plants, gardens, and grounds across the Ramona campus.
• Complete groundskeeping and manage irrigation for sustainable watering.
• Operate landscaping tools and basic carpentry to support habitats.
• Collaborate with wildlife staff to select plants and optimize habitat.

Skills

Groundskeeping

Irrigation

Plant care

Landscaping

Use of power tools

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Irrigation equipment

Power tools

Saws

Job description

Job Details: Job Location: Ramona Campus - Ramona, CA 92110, Position Type: Full-Time, Salary Range: $22.00 - $24.48 Hourly, Job Category: Project Wildlife, San Diego Humane Society is hiring a full-time Wildlife Grounds Specialist for our Project Wildlife team!

How you’ll impact our mission:

At San Diego Humane Society, we’re united by our mission to Inspire Compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people. The Wildlife Grounds Specialist supports the daily operations of a rehabilitation facility focused on the care of apex predators and large birds of prey by maintaining and improving the native plants, gardens, orchards, irrigation systems, landscaped grounds, ponds, and animal habitat support areas.

This role delivers service at the gold standard level in alignment with the SDHS Way, to meet the needs of animals and the people who love them by leading with compassion, finding creative solutions, providing personalized care and building connections. If you’re passionate about making an impact in the animal welfare movement, we’d love to talk to you.

What’s in it for you?

At SDHS, we’re proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and commit to being a place where every person – staff, volunteer, and guest – can feel a sense of belonging. We support and invest in employees through conscious delivery of benefits and a workplace environment based on our Core Values.

As an employee you’ll enjoy:

• Competitive pay and paid time-off (including your Birthday Day Off!)
• Comprehensive benefits package, training and well-being programs
• 403(b) retirement plan with 5% match after 1 year
• Free pet adoptions, pet vaccines and spay/neuter services
• …and so much more!

What you’ll do:

• Perform routine and project-based maintenance of plants, gardens, landscaped areas, orchards, native plant areas, and grounds throughout the 13-acre Ramona campus.
• Complete groundskeeping activities and maintain campus roads, paths, access areas, service areas, and work zones. Support landscape health through appropriate plant care and invasive species control.
• Manage irrigation installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs in a timely manner to ensure efficient, appropriate, and sustainable watering across the campus.
• Operate and maintain landscaping tools and equipment such as weed-whackers, mowers, pruning tools, irrigation equipment, saws, power tools, and related supplies. Apply basic carpentry, construction, and repair skills to support habitat features, and enclosure support areas.
• Use medium-sized equipment such as tractors, skid steers, or similar equipment, if trained and authorized.
• Collaborate with wildlife rehabilitation staff to identify appropriate plants for animal use, enclosure screening, shade, enrichment, privacy, and habitat complexity.
• Follow all applicable safety, containment, communication and biosecurity procedures when using tools, equipment, approved control methods, and vehicles, including precautions when working in or near animal areas and around sensitive, high-stress, dangerous, or highly specialized wildlife species.

What we’re looking for:

• Requires a high school diploma or equivalent and a minimum of one (1) year of experience in horticulture, landscaping, groundskeeping, irrigation, ranch work, orchard care, habitat maintenance, carpentry, facilities support, or a related field.
• Experience safely using power tools and saws required. Experience with tractors, skid steers, or similar equipment preferred.
• Experience with Southern California native plants, drought‑tolerant landscaping, native plant care, and plant identification strongly preferred.
• Must possess the ability to balance campus appearance, sustainability, fire‑conscious landscape management, operational needs, and animal welfare considerations.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and be approved by SDHS insurance carrier to drive a company or personal vehicle for work purposes.

Location & Hours:

Based at our Ramona Campus. This position works 40 hours per week.

Pay:

Starting range is between $22.00 - $24.48 per hour.

The listed hiring range for this position depicts the target range of pay rates for candidates. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. Compensation for internal candidates may increase beyond the listed range based on performance over time. For all candidates, the actual starting pay rate is determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to your years of related education and experience, internal pay equity, and position location.