*This posting is for the Grounds Maintenance Technician position. Candidates interested in the Grounds Maintenance Technician - Environmental Quality Control posting (Job ID: 2337) must submit a separate application for consideration. Please contact the department at peremploy@cityofomaha.org with any questions.

Posting Type: Open Competitive

Work Type: Full-Time

Nature of Work: This is skilled and manual labor work in maintaining the appearance, usability, and safety of landscapes, grounds, sports fields, and related facilities of City parks and City land. Work involves caring for grounds, ballfields, playgrounds, and athletic complexes at the City of Omaha’s parks and other specified areas. Routine work assignments are performed independently; however, work is inspected during progress and upon completion by the assigned supervisor.

Education and Experience: The knowledge, skills, and abilities may be acquired through, but are not limited to, the following combination of education and/or experience.

Two (2) years of experience in working in landscaping or maintenance.

Special Qualifications:
Must possess a valid class "B" commercial driver's license with "N" endorsement and air brake certification by the end of the probationary period.
Must possess a current category 04 Certified Federal and State of Nebraska Pesticide Applicator's Certificate by the end of the probationary period.
Must possess a 2nd grade hoisting and engineer's certificate by the end of the probationary period.
Must possess a forklift operator's certificate by the end of the probationary period.

Pay Range: $20.26 with step increases to $27.25 Hourly

Benefits: Forty-hour work week. Paid leave per year: twelve days vacation; eighteen days sick; and fourteen holidays. Employee’s group health insurance, including major medical, vision, and dental, for individual or family. Defined benefit pension plan, plus Social Security, and more. See hr.cityofomaha.org for detailed information.

Who Can Apply: Any person who meets the qualifications and other requirements described in this posting.

How to Apply: Completed City of Omaha employment applications must be submitted using the online application from the City website. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to check and ensure that any and all required application materials and supplemental forms are received by the City of Omaha Human Resources Department by the stated deadline. You may confirm receipt of any materials and forms by contacting the Human Resources Department. If the materials are not received in the Human Resources Department by the stated deadline, they will not be considered. There will be no exceptions to this rule. If you do not meet the requirements at the time of this posting, once you do meet the requirements you may apply when it is posted again.

Examination Information: The multiple-choice/written examination will be on April 25, 2024, at the Omaha/Douglas Civic Center, 1819 Farnam St.. An invitation via email to the exam will be sent to candidates once their application has been received, reviewed by a recruiter, and accepted to the test for the position. The test is designed to assess knowledge of the job, skills, and abilities of this position. The passing score on the examination is 50%. This will be weighted 100% in the final score.

Veteran Points: To claim five (5) points for veteran’s preference, you must submit proof of service (such as a DD-214) that includes the date of induction, date of honorable separation, and Social Security number. (You must have completed more than 180 consecutive days of active duty.) To receive an additional five (5) points credit for disability, you must submit proof of eligibility from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs dated within the last 12 months. This information must be submitted to the Human Resources Department by April 25, 2024.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of propagating, planting, fertilizing, cultivating, pruning, and general care of plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs.
• Knowledge of basic irrigation systems.
• Knowledge of the methods, tools, materials, and practices used in landscaping and grounds maintenance.
• Knowledge of the use of fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides and other disease management techniques used in grounds maintenance.
• Skill in the use of tools used in forestry and grounds maintenance.
• Ability to recognize and treat various diseases, insect and abiotic problems of flowers, trees, shrubs, and turf.
• Ability to understand oral or written instructions.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with fellow employees and members of the general public.
• Ability to adhere to safety policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Ability to operate automotive equipment and tools used in forestry and grounds maintenance.
• Ability to reach, balance, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, stand, walk, push, pull and otherwise perform the movements involved in exercising the essential functions of this position for periods of up to eight (8) or more hours.
• Ability to move objects weighing up to fifty (50) pounds up to 33% of the time; weighing up to twenty (20) pounds 34 to 66% of the time; and weighing up to ten (10) pounds from 67 to 100% of the time.

Essential Functions: Any one position may not perform all of the duties listed, nor do the listed examples include all of the duties that may be performed in positions allocated to this class.

• Mows, edges, and trims grass in parks and various city properties.
• Prunes trees and shrubs, mulches leaves, seeds, mulches, fertilizers, and removes debris from natural areas.
• Cares for city parks and ballfields, including watering, aerating, tilling and dragging ballfields, and adding sand to playgrounds.
• Diagnoses plant problems and applies pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to trees and shrubs.
• Inspects grounds and performs necessary upkeep, minor repairs, or reporting issues.
• Performs general maintenance to equipment pertaining to landscaping and grounds maintenance.
• Performs general maintenance to park equipment, including painting, repairing storm damage, putting up and removing sunshades, replacing fence posts.
• Performs tree maintenance, including trimming limbs, removing trees, chipping, and grinding stumps.
• Maintains equipment and service maintenance records.
• Fills potholes with asphalt.
• Drives heavy equipment, such as loaders and trucks with loaded trailers.
• Prepares athletic complexes for use by members of the public, including cleaning pools.
• Removes snow from city properties using all forms of snow removal equipment.
• Disposes of litter and other debris appropriately.
• Cleans public restrooms.
• Maintains and repairs irrigation systems throughout city properties.
• Trains and provides work direction to other employees.
• Maintains regular job attendance in accordance with a schedule established for the position by the supervisor.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or as the situation dictates within the scope of this classification.

Conditions of Employment: Candidates must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or proof of permanent residence or authorization to work. The City of Omaha reserves the right to conduct criminal history, driving record, reference and credit checks and a background investigation on applicants for employment. Successfully passing a criminal background review, reference check, and if applicable, a credit check, is required as a condition of employment. If applicable, the City will require that you successfully pass a review of the driver's license, driving abstract, a pre-employment drug test, a hearing test and a back screening examination as a condition of employment. Failure to provide the information requested in the application process in a truthful, accurate and complete manner may result in disqualification, revocation of conditional employment or termination.

Reasonable Accommodation: The City of Omaha does not discriminate on the basis of disability. If you need a disability-related accommodation during the job application or selection process, advise the Human Resources Department at least 48 hours prior to the need by emailing peremploy@cityofomaha.org.

For a complete description of this job classification, visit hr.cityofomaha.org

Contact Points:

City of Omaha Human Resources Department
1819 Farnam St, Suite 506
Omaha, NE 68183

Phone: (402) 444-5300
Fax: (402) 444-5314

Website: hr.cityofomaha.org
Email: peremploy@cityofomaha.org