Friends of the Urban Forest is hiring the following positions:
Watering Crew Technician
Classification and Time: Full-time, Non-exempt
Hourly Rate: $22
Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday or Tuesday through Saturday, fluctuating
Reports To: Urban Forestry Program Manager
Date Posted: Revised July 2021
About Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF)
Friends of the Urban Forest is a non-profit organization that helps individuals and neighborhood groups to plant and care for street trees and sidewalk gardens in San Francisco. By making San Francisco greener, FUF supports the health and livability of the urban environment. Since 1981, FUF has planted more than 60,000 trees, totaling almost half of the city’s street tree canopy.
Position Summary
Watering Technicians execute field duties necessary to implement FUF’s community tree planting projects. Watering Technicians are responsible for watering FUF trees the day they are planted and once a week for 3 years to ensure that all newly planted trees are fully established. Watering Technicians drive and operate an Isuzu commercial truck, 750 gallon tank, gas-powered water pump and fire hydrant water meter.
Watering Technicians work closely with the Tree Planting staff, Tree Care staff, Community Engagement staff, community members, community groups, government departments or agencies, outside vendors, and FUF volunteers. Saturday and occasional evening availability is required.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Activities, duties, or responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records.
Details and Responsibilities
Street Tree Watering Program
- Coordinate with planting managers, planting coordinator, and green crew to ensure trees are watered on the day they are planted.
- Water newly planted street trees the day they are planted, and follow a route to ensure each tree is watered once per week for three years until trees are established.
- Maintain and regularly review watering routes and communicate any issues or updates to supervisor
- Track watering activities and log accurately in the database.
- Provide light maintenance on FUF trees as needed and as time allows, including replacing or repositioning water bags, tree ties, and FUF crossbrace labels.
- Safely operate fire hydrants using the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) provided water meter to fill the water tank.
- Operate the water pump and provide light maintenance including refilling the gas tank, replacing the rip cord, and tightening bolts as needed.
- Monitor condition of all watering-related equipment including hoses, hose reel, water tank, water truck, water meter, and water pump, and relay any maintenance needs to the Urban Forestry Program Manager in a timely manner.
- Report on issues with young trees and inform the Urban Forestry Program Manager and/or Tree Care Team in a timely manner.
- Work to improve efficiency of the Street Tree Watering Program.
- Fill in as necessary if/when watering team members are absent.
- Track water usage using a PUC water meter, including bringing the water meter to a PUC office on a bimonthly basis for reading & billing.
- Safely drive company vehicles, including the flatbed watering truck.
- Document and report all incidents, accidents, and close calls as necessary.
- Maintain tools, tool shed, and FUF vehicles in clean working order.
- Follow and enforce FUF COVID-19 safety and personal protective equipment procedures.
Other Duties
- Support Planting Managers as needed to complete planting projects including tasks such as site analysis, marking sidewalks, submitting Underground Service Alert tickets, and nursery stock selection.
- Assist with the maintenance of the FUF tree yards, including watering, inspecting irrigation, and repairing as needed.
- Assist with special projects and day-to-day operations.
- Assist in the planning of, attend, and participate in FUF special events.
- Plant trees and install protective hardware surrounding newly-established trees.
- Mulch, compost, and water trees during planting with our Replacement and Community Planting programs.
- Conduct post-planting surveys as needed, and perform necessary tree care including re-tying, re-staking, and sometimes replanting.
Requirements
- Experience driving box vans, delivery trucks, or other large vehicles.
- Experience working in the public right-of-way.
- Experience with customer service or conflict resolution with members of the public.
- Preferred experience in the field of arboriculture, landscaping, or irrigation systems.
- Provide a Department of Justice record check and fingerprinting per California Penal Code section 11105.3 to be able to work with minors in the Green Teens Program.
- People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
- The ability to lift 40 lbs.
Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to outdoor weather and working conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Office workspace and cubicle assignments change from time to time, and employees should not have any expectation that any assignment is permanent.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling, and climbing all day. The employee must frequently lift and move items over 40 pounds; load tools and planting materials, including trees, into and out of vehicles; and ascend/descend a ladder while performing tree care.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Hours
40 hours per week, Monday through Friday or Tuesday through Saturday, fluctuating.
Status
Job will remain open until position filled.
Contact
If interested and qualified, please email cover letter and resume to resume@fuf.net your name and the job title you’re applying for in the subject line.
Tree Care Coordinator
Classification and Time: Full-time, Non-exempt
Hourly Rate: $22
Benefits: Full health, dental, and vision per FUF Employee Handbook dated September 2017
Reports To: Tree Care Manager
Date Posted: July, 2021
About Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF)
Friends of the Urban Forest is a non-profit organization that helps individuals and neighborhood groups to plant and care for street trees and sidewalk gardens in San Francisco. By making San Francisco greener, FUF supports the health and livability of the urban environment. Since 1981, FUF has planted more than 60,000 trees, totaling almost half of the city’s street tree canopy.
Position Summary
The Tree Care Coordinator is responsible for completing scheduled and urgent structural pruning and tree care for young trees during their establishment period (3 years from the date the tree is planted). This includes planning and scheduling weekly pruning workdays with volunteers/Green Crew/Green Teens and the management and training of Tree Care work crews. This position involves both office and field work (30:70) including digital communications, database management, public speaking, some heavy lifting (max. 40 lbs.) and driving company vehicles. Saturday and occasional evening availability is required. The Tree Care Coordinator works closely with staff, community members, community groups, FUF volunteers, and participants in FUF’s Green Teens program, and reports to the Tree Care Manager.
The Tree Care Coordinator position requires skills and knowledge in tree identification, structural pruning technique, planting and training young trees, long-term tree care, and pest and disease diagnosis. Candidates with prior education/training in tree pruning/biology are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, the position requires strong problem solving and customer service skills over the phone and in person, the ability to communicate information to property owners, to create volunteer rapport, and to train and teach others. We are looking for candidates who are dedicated to FUF’s mission and have a commitment to inclusivity and diversity. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds who feel they will be able to succeed in the duties outlined to apply.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
After accepting the job, the employee will submit to a background check and fingerprinting as required by the California Penal Code for adults who work with minors.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records.
Details and Responsibilities
Tree Care Field Work (70%):
- Create location lists for Tree Care work days using Google Maps and Google Drive/Sheets.
- Coordinate and supervise solo and group Tree Care field work days, including loading all materials and tools, educating and supervising volunteers/Tree Care crews/Green Teens, ensuring a safe work environment, ensuring FUF Tree Care protocols are followed, and ensuring proper disposal of green waste.
- Assess crew’s needs and abilities and work with the Program Manager to ensure that tree care quality and crew/property owner satisfaction are maintained.
- Ensure that all visited trees are recorded with accurate and detailed data including auditing past work and reporting back to the Program Manager about work.
- Maintain quality and cleanliness of tools and tool shed.
- Update Emergency/Urgent Tree Care map to be used in field work.
- Complete Emergency/Urgent Tree Care as needed.
- Visit trees on the Emergency/Urgent Tree Care list and follow up with stakeholders in a timely manner.
Administrative Duties (30%):
- Enter Tree Care data into the Salesforce database, and ensure that sheets in Drive are edited accordingly.
- Ensure that all record data is up to date and accurate.
- Assist in planning and coordination of scheduled Tree Care.
- Assist in the maintenance and tracking of tools and supplies.
- Assist Program Manager in reviewing post-tree care surveys at least once per quarter and work to address issues.
Other Duties
- Participate and assist in events and activities that promote FUF’s mission and help to improve the overall health of the city’s urban forest as directed by the Tree Care Manager.
- Maintain FUF vehicles and storage shed in clean and organized working order.
- Attend Tree Care learning opportunities including local pruning and tree care workshops as well as regional conferences to increase knowledge.
- Keep up-to-date with advances in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture, implementing Best Management Practices as needed to optimize urban forest health and FUF operations.
- Increase the tree care knowledge and skills of field staff and volunteers through in-house classes and discussions to help improve the quality of FUF’s planting and tree care programs.
Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to outdoor weather and working conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Office workspace and cubicle assignments change from time to time, and employees should not have any expectation that any assignment is permanent.
FUF is an organization dedicated to anti-racism, gender inclusivity, and inclusion. Candidates must be aligned with these values.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, and crawling. The employee must frequently lift and move items up to 40 pounds, and load tools and planting materials into and out of vehicles.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Hours
40 hours per week including evening meetings and Saturday workdays as needed.
Status
Job will remain open until position filled.
Contact
If interested and qualified, please email a cover letter and resume to Sal Alvarez at resume@fuf.net with your name and the job title you’re applying for in the subject line.
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Also, consider other ways of getting involved with Friends of the Urban Forest!