Seasonal Groundskeeper - Youth Sports Complex - City of Greeley

Salary Range:

Level I    $15.14 - $18.93 Hourly

Level II   $16.69 - $20.87 Hourly

Job Summary:

This individual will work with a diverse team on a variety of projects and assignments, while serving locations in the Culture, Parks and Recreation Department for events such as Softball and Baseball league seasons and large-scale tournaments.  Facilities include but are not limited to Butch Butler Field, Forbes Field, Youth Sports Complex, Twin Rivers Softball Complex, Monfort Sports Park and The Island Grove Multi-Use Fields.

The Groundskeeper – Athletic Facilities role is a hands-on, hardworking individual who must be willing to drop anything and everything for an emergency; big or small, including the occasional operation of large area turf mowers. The City relies on the Groundskeeper to follow safety protocols, while being responsive, thorough, and a resourceful self-starter with a customer focused mindset.

Scheduling for this position varies and will include working evenings, weekends, and holidays, as followed by State and Federal law.

This is a continuous posting and can be closed at any time.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills:

Minimum Requirements:

Level I

• Minimal to no previous experience.
• Must be 16 years of age or older.
• Possess a valid driver’s license and a good driving record.

Level II

• Two (2)+ years of experience in park grounds, cemetery, golf course, horticulture or arboriculture, open space management, Rights of Way or similar fields.
• Must be 18 years of age or older. 
• Possess a valid driver’s license and a good driving record.

Preferred

• None

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability and willingness to assist others with questions about facilities operations, hours, and general regulations.
• Ability to work a variety of small and large events and venues.
• Ability to operate handheld tools and pressure washing equipment. 
• Ability to operate golf carts, turf utility vehicles, and two-stroke engine tools including string trimmers, hand and backpack blowers; hand power tools, push mowers, shop equipment, etc. 
• Ability to identify most common native vs. non-native plant species,
• Ability to identify native and non-native plants of concern in open spaces and make informed decisions on the actions based on each species,
• Ability to safety operate:
  • a motor vehicle on public roadways if age requirements are met, including trucks.
  • power equipment, such as high-pressure washers and hand blowers.
  • 3’ – 6’ wide riding rotary mowing units, used for mowing small park areas, and small parkways.
  • 10’-16’ wide riding mowers used in Parks.
  • commercial truck and pull a trailer with loaded equipment.   
  • brush weed-eater, rototiller, snow throwers, and backpack blower.
  • water truck, forklift, tractors, front end loaders, excavators and skid loader machines and their various attachments, including backhoe, auger, pathway surface leveler, groomer, synthetic turf sweeper.
  • chainsaws and woodchippers in team settings.
  • rotary mowers 16’ wide or larger in turf areas.                                           
• Ability to walk throughout facility grounds of various topographical conditions to visually identify needed work and inspect work results.
• Ability to handle difficult situations using tact, patience, and good judgment.
• Collaboration skills, including the ability to work with others from different areas and backgrounds to reach a common goal. 
• Interpersonal skills, including the ability to facilitate interaction, communication, and teamwork between others.
• Oral, written, and listening communication skills, including the ability to accurately interpret what others are saying and convey messages, information, concepts, and details accurately and clearly.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple concurrent and competing tasks and responsibilities, and adapt to changing priorities while maintaining personal effectiveness.
• Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and stay on task when completing special projects and daily assignments.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and reliable professional judgment, as well as collaboratively with a team to achieve desired results.
• Ability to maintain a strong work ethic, positive problem-solving attitude, and enthusiasm for the work performed.
• Knowledge of customer service principles and best practices, including customer needs assessments, meeting quality service standards, and evaluating customer satisfaction.
• Knowledge of incident response and handling methodologies.
• Customer service skills, including the ability to actively listen, address customer needs, defuse tense situations, and maintain an open, flexible, and friendly demeanor.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ages.

Essential Functions:

• Maintains lip transitions and spot leveling of infields.
• Assists in maintaining Hollywood’s, home plates and pitching rubbers.
• Water packs hitter's boxes, pitching mounds and slide zones.
• Inspects and cleans bases, temporary home plates and temporary pitching rubbers before setting out. 
• Cleans and stocks restrooms, including port-a-lets.
• Cleans and removes debris from parking lots, shelters and turf areas.
• Empties trash receptacles regularly throughout assigned areas.
• Assists with repairs and maintenance of playgrounds, shelters, hard courts and site furnishings, grooming and striping athletic fields, while inspecting building sites for vandalism and graffiti.
• Performs safe operation of hard surface and turf vacuums, mowers, string trimmers and pressure washers.
• Pulls weeds in landscape beds and mulched parking lot medians.
• Performs hand watering and simple water valve operation for lawns and landscape beds.
• Performs vegetation management of non-turf and off-trail landscapes in open areas and along trails and sidewalks, including utilization of hand work on native and non-native/noxious species.
• Performs athletic field maintenance by building mounds, setting up temporary fencing, installing home plates, pitching rubbers and Hollywood stems.
• Assists in proper loading and securement of equipment in the field.
• Ensures proper setup and grooming of fields for a variety of sporting events, including baseball, soccer, and softball.
• Understands and reads tape measures of over 300’ in length for field setup.
• Operates a transit for proper field setup.
• Operates field striping equipment.
• Sets up temporary fence on uneven terrain for special events.
• Sets up and tears down of batting cage netting, inspect for safety and level surface within cages.
• Stands up large soccer goals and stake in place.
• Performs basic irrigation tasks including, hand watering, sprinkler adjustment, soil moisture identification and management.
• Assists with herbicide application from a pump sprayer and other more technical weed management tasks. 
• Performs more technical irrigation work to include mainline repair, system redesign, and valve replacements.
• Operates large area turf mowers from 72” wide to 16’ wide on athletic facilities, including preventative daily maintenance and upkeep of equipment.
• Operates tractors and various maintenance equipment to perform aerating, fertilizing, seeding, loading and unloading of soils, debris and various landscaping materials.
• Operates skid steer and attachments for maintenance activities.
• Operates snow removal equipment to include single stage snow blowers to tractor mounted snow blowers and brooms.
• Applies fertilizer, pesticide, and insecticide chemical applications using manual and ride-on spreaders, handheld and backpack sprayers, and vehicle mounted sprayers.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

• Work outside with exposure to all weather elements.
• Long periods of time involved in planting, hand weeding and maintaining grounds using a shovel, rake and other tools.
• Schedule availability to work late nights, weekends and holidays for sports event setup and cleanup duties.
• Hours may be flexible depending on assigned area, 20-40 hours per week, with weekends and holidays as assigned.
• Extended hours operating grounds equipment - i.e. poly cord trimmers, mowers, & a multitude of other equipment.
• Incumbent may be exposed to loud amplified sound equipment while working grounds.
• Follow workplace safety rules at all times.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervisors, co-workers and general public.
• Handle difficult situations using tact, patience and good judgment.
• Manual labor, prolonged standing, kneeling, bending and walking, climbing ladders and stairs.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds on a frequent basis.
• Ability to lift arm above shoulder level and to move objects.
• Mix and use chemicals for weed and grass control following label and local regulations.
• Manual dexterity enough to operate hand and power tools.
• Vision enough to perform above functions and to read printed instructions.
• Exposure to vegetation that can cause punctures, biting insects, wildlife, off-leash dogs.

EOE Statement: The City of Greeley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

ADA Statement: We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting.  Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: HR@Greeleygov.com .

Conditions of Employment: Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.