Horticulture Technician

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve. The General Services Department's innovative, service-oriented individuals support the City we love. Building and maintaining City facilities and public spaces is what we do. Promoting our enviable quality of life and serving as a foundation of a healthy economy is why we do it. If you are interested in applying your unique skills to meaningful work while growing in your career, our team is for you. Salary Hiring Range: $43,348.00 - $50,170.00 Work Hours/Days: Monday - Friday 6:00 am to 2:30 pm Position devoted to managing horticultural assets on City property through the performance of semi-skilled and skilled labor: operating light-duty equipment and power tools; applying fertilizer, water and herbicides; installing ornamental plants in landscapes, beds, and containers; employing horticultural practices such as pruning, deadheading, hand weeding, and mulching. Other responsibilities within the Landscape Services Division include turf and road-side maintenance through seeding, mowing, edging, and weed-eating as well as spreading mulch and removing leaves in fall, ice/snow in winter, and litter year-round. Incumbents may be required to assist with general maintenance tasks in addition to their primary assignment. Duties during the growing season (March-November) mostly follow an established operational routine with work limited primarily to carrying out assignments, operating tools and equipment and performing work efficiently to meet established standards and deadlines. Duties during the cool season (December-February) include installing landscape beds, retaining walls, unit pavers, and trees; pruning trees and shrubs; mulching beds and landscapes; collecting debris and litter; removing snow and ice. An incumbent is responsible for participating in the work assigned to a crew, to include; performing technical work (mowing, edging, trimming, blowing, spraying), following care and custody protocols on equipment and vehicles; operating light-duty equipment and power tools; fueling equipment, and filling/rinsing and properly storing spray-units; maintaining assigned PPE and supplies; reporting daily work metrics to a supervisor (including pesticide logs); and performing related duties. Performs horticultural operations that enhance the health and appearance of ornamental plantings on City properties including use of hand tools (soil knife, hoe, trowel, shovel, mattock, hand pruners, loppers, hand saw, garden rake, leaf rake, watering hose/wand), power tools (blower, weed-eater, lawn mower, bed definer, chain saw, water pump) and chemicals (fertilizer, formicide, herbicide). Performs mowing operations including deployment of necessary equipment and gear, adheres to use of PPE and proper work zone setup in a roadside environment, performs mowing and litter collection operations as assigned, picks up litter along service areas, operates zero-turn, walk behind and ride-behind mowers, hedge trimmers, blowers, edgers, string trimmers ("weed-eaters"), vehicle-mounted tank sprayers and backpack sprayers, and salt spreaders. Performs technical work, service checks, and preventative maintenance on applicable equipment. Performs and documents care, and custody protocols associated with assigned gear; and operates light-duty equipment, power and hand tools. Gathers and reports information on work metrics to supervisor. Provides customer service; responds to customer questions and concerns; understands and stays current on policies and procedures. Performs other duties of a similar nature and level as assigned. High School Diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSet, TASC). Two (2) years of operations and specialized maintenance experience in the field of landscaping, agriculture, or applied horticulture. A valid North Carolina Class C Driver's License with a satisfactory driving record. This position is critical to emergency operations and will report to work, despite, or because of, an emergency or disaster event. The City of Durham Encourages Diversity in the Workplace. Two (2) years of experience working in outdoor environments. Experience managing horticultural plantings. Experience operating lawn equipment. Experience using horticulture hand tools. Skilled in plant identification.